Medieval Monks

A mailing envelope showing a medieval scribe at work in a room in a monastery that was set aside for writing or copying manuscripts. A scriptorium in some venues found scribes standing but rarely sitting as they listened to speaker or reader of what it was they were supposed to write down.

The slope of the writing desk was at 60 degrees. The reason was that when the quill was dipped in ink and held in the hand to write, the ink in the quill settled in the center and not on the tip where, when touched to the parchment it would run out and leave a blob that was difficult to clean up. The monks had to prepare their writing parchment before the day began; and they had to make their ink using lamp black and water and their sepia ink was made from the cuttle fish. When their writing tools and desk setup was complete; and after morning prayers and a meal of bread and water was done, off they marched to the cold, damp, room ready to begin recording what the master read aloud.

A monk listened carefully as the work to be copied had to be correct or, if in some error, the scribe would be whipped and be forced to say many extra prayers.