{"id":4294,"date":"2020-02-12T16:01:30","date_gmt":"2020-02-12T16:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/?p=4294"},"modified":"2020-02-12T16:01:30","modified_gmt":"2020-02-12T16:01:30","slug":"making-quills-part-1-curing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/2020\/02\/12\/making-quills-part-1-curing\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Quills Part 1: Curing"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Katie Hartman<\/p>\n

Quills are part of the basic materials needed to create a medieval manuscript. Their use and creation were a basic part of the scribe\u2019s daily work and the quill is usually regarded to be the symbol of the scribal trade.\u00a0 Typically, medieval quills were taken from geese or swans.\u00a0<\/span>The best feathers for making a quill are the first five flight feathers, or primaries. For a medieval scribe in Europe, goose feathers were probably most commonly used because they were easy to get, but swan was considered to be superior. In North America, turkey feathers have been quite popular for quills. Other species of birds, such as owls, crows, and macaws may also give suitable feathers for quill making.<\/p>\n

To make a quill, you need a decent primary flight feather<\/span>\u2014goose or turkey would be easiest to find today. Craft stores and fly fishing shops often carry a variety of feathers. However, there are people who save feathers from when their birds molt and you can find them for sale on craigslist, Etsy, and other online sellers.\u00a0 If you are into the concept of using a whole animal when it is killed, there are some hunting reserves that save the feathers and pelts from the animals killed on their property to sell if the hunter does not want them. Butchers may also sell you the feathers if they process the animals themselves.\u00a0 If you live in a rural area or go hiking often, you can keep an eye out for feathers that the birds have shed and you can wash them when you get home.<\/span><\/p>\n

The feathers will need to be prepared, cut, and then dried. There are various methods for drying or preparing a quill for being cut, these include: 1. Drying over a long period of time, 2. Curing, and 3. Dutching.\u00a0 The easiest method is to simply let the feathers dry for several years, but this isn\u2019t an optimal situation for those of us who don\u2019t want to wait that long.\u00a0 Curing and Dutching are the answer to this. I will be covering two methods of curing in this blog post, dutching in a second one, and the cutting of the quill in a third.\u00a0 In this post I will cover curing a quill with sand and curing a quill in the microwave. Please note that there are many methods for curing a quill with sand. Some people prefer to use the stove while others use the oven, it may take some experimentation for you to find your preferred set up.\u00a0 The method provided here was adapted from <\/span>The Historical Handbook for Scribes<\/span><\/i> by Brown and Lovett, <\/span>The British Library Companion to Calligraphy Illumination & Heraldry: a History and Practical Guide <\/span><\/i>by Lovett, and posts from the blogs of <\/span>The Pensive Pen<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Her Reputation for Accomplishments<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 For a discussion of curing quills on the stove, see the <\/span>Wet Canvas<\/span><\/i> forum post listed in the bibliography.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Equipment:<\/span><\/p>\n

For Preparing the Feather<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Feather(s)<\/span><\/p>\n

A glass or jar of water<\/span><\/p>\n

Scissors<\/span><\/p>\n

A crochet hook or knitting needle<\/span><\/p>\n

Exacto knife or quill knife*<\/span><\/p>\n

For Sand Curing<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Cooking Thermometer<\/span><\/p>\n

Silver or white sand<\/span><\/p>\n

Large heat proof mixing bowl , baking dish, or pie pan, at least two and a half inches deep<\/span><\/p>\n

Oven preheated to 350\u00b0F<\/span><\/p>\n

Spoon<\/span><\/p>\n

For Microwave Curing<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Microwave<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Method:<\/span><\/p>\n

Preparing the Feather for Curing or Dutching<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Wash the feather<\/i><\/b>– wash the feather in warm water with a mild soap, such as Dawn dish soap, in order to remove dirt and other gunk.\u00a0 Using a small dish brush or a clean toothbrush can help lift persistent dirt.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Dry the feather<\/i><\/b>– pat the feather dry.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Cut the feather<\/i><\/b>– with your scissors or a sharp knife, trim the top of\u00a0the quill so that it is about 9 in in length.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Remove the long barbs<\/i><\/b>– gently remove the barbs from the shaft of the feather.\u00a0 You can simply pull the barbs off with your hands or you can trim them with scissors.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\n

    \"Two
    Top feather is before it is trimmed; bottom feather is after trimming and barbs are removed. Image from\u00a0The Pensive Pen<\/em>,\u00a0\u201cQuills \u2014 Experimentation.\u201d<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n
  5. Cut the barrel<\/i><\/b>– cut the tip off the barrel (the bottom of the feather shaft) with your scissors.\u00a0 THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT IF YOU ARE USING THE MICROWAVE METHOD.\u00a0 IF YOU DO NOT CUT THE END OFF THE BARREL THE FEATHER MAY EXPLODE.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Remove the membrane<\/i><\/b>-Take the crochet hook and insert it into the barrel of the feather, gently scrape the inside of the barrel to pick up the interior membrane and pull it out through the open end of the barrel.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  7. Scrape off the waxy outer layer<\/i><\/b>– using your fingernail, blunt side of your scissors, or blunt side of the quill knife, remove the outer waxy layer of the feather\u2019s barrel.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  8. Soak the feathers<\/i><\/b>– take your cup or jar of water and place the feather in it, barrel end down.\u00a0 Make sure that the water fully covers the barrel. Let the feather soak overnight.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    At this point the feather is ready to be dried, cured or dutched.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Curing the Quill with Sand<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Prepare the sand<\/i><\/b>– Put enough sand in your chosen heat proof container for it to be about two inches deep.\u00a0 Put the dish with the sand in the 350\u00b0F oven. Let it sit in the oven for 20-25 minutes.<\/span><\/li>\n
    2. Dry the feathers<\/i><\/b>– Take the feathers out of the water and dry them so they are not soaked with water.<\/span><\/li>\n
    3. Check the sand temperature<\/i><\/b>– when the cook time on the sand is up, check the temperature with the thermometer.\u00a0 It should be at about 220-250\u00b0F. Some prefer to heat the sand up 300\u00b0F, it may take some experimentation to find what you prefer.<\/span><\/li>\n
    4. PLUNGE THE QUILLS<\/i><\/b>– once you are satisfied with the temperature of your sand, remove it from the oven and place on a heat safe surface.\u00a0 Take a quill in one hand and the spoon in the other. Carefully pour a spoonful of sand into the barrel of the quill and plunge the barrel end quickly into the sand.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
    5. Timing<\/i><\/b>-There seems to be no general consensus about how long to leave the quills in the sand.\u00a0 Some advocate for leaving them in for a minute or less while others say that 20-30 minutes is ideal. When the quill has been in the sand for the right amount of time, the barrel should have changed from a milky, opaque white to a semi translucent yellow and should feel stiff.<\/span><\/li>\n
    6. Remove from sand<\/i><\/b>–<\/i>\u00a0Remove the quill and shake out the sand from the inside.\u00a0 The barrel should now have a yellow-ish, waxy, semi-transparent appearance and it should feel stiff and unyielding.\u00a0 You may now move on to cutting the quill.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Curing the Quill in the Microwave\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Microwave the Quill<\/i><\/b>– <\/b>after preparing the quill, following the steps above, place the quill on a microwave safe plate or paper towel.\u00a0 Microwave the quill for 10 seconds at a time, checking its progress as you go.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
      2. Remove the Quill-<\/i><\/b>remove the quill from the microwave once the barrel has lost its milky white color and is instead yellow-ish, waxy, and semi-transparent appearance.\u00a0 The quill should also feel stiff and unyielding to pressure from your fingers. The quill is now ready for cutting.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

         <\/p>\n

        \n

        Citations and Bibliography:<\/span><\/p>\n

        Brown and Lovett.\u00a0 <\/span>The Historical source Books for Scribes. <\/span><\/i>Toronto-University of Toronto Press, 1999.<\/span><\/p>\n

        Clemens, Raymond and Timothy Graham.\u00a0 <\/span>Introduction to Manuscript Studies<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 Cornell University Press, 2007.<\/span><\/p>\n

        Lady Smatter. \u201cHow to Ruin a Feather to Make a Pen.\u201d <\/span>Her Reputation for Accomplishments<\/span><\/i>, 21 June 2014, <\/span>https:\/\/herreputationforaccomplishment.wordpress.com\/2014\/06\/21\/how-to-ruin-a-feather-and-make-a-pen\/<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        Lovett, Patricia.\u201cMaterials and Equipment .\u201d <\/span>The British Library Companion to Calligraphy Illumination & Heraldry: a History and Practical Guide<\/span><\/i>. \u00a0 The British Library, 2000, pp. 13\u201334.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        \u201cQuills and Quill Knives.\u201d <\/span>Patricia Lovett MBE: Calligraphy, Illustration, Design<\/span><\/i>, 14 Apr. 2018, <\/span>www.patricialovett.com\/quills-and-quill-knives\/<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        Quills.\u00a0 \u201cCuring a Quill.\u201d <\/span>Wet Canvas <\/span><\/i>forum, Oct 2005.\u00a0 <\/span>http:\/\/www.wetcanvas.com\/forums\/showthread.php?t=513710<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

        \u201cQuills \u2014 Experimentation.\u201d <\/span>The Pensive Pen<\/span><\/i>, 29 Dec. 2013, <\/span>www.thepensivepen.com\/2013\/12\/playing-with-quills.html<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        by Katie Hartman Quills are part of the basic materials needed to create a medieval manuscript. Their use and creation were a basic part of the scribe\u2019s daily work and the quill is usually regarded to be the symbol of the scribal trade.\u00a0 Typically, medieval quills were taken from geese or swans.\u00a0The best feathers for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":423,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[440,439,438,437],"class_list":["post-4294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-manuscripts","tag-curing-quills","tag-how-to","tag-manuscript-making","tag-quills"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/423"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4294"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4303,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4294\/revisions\/4303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}