The skins of animals have been used as a writing material since quite an early period, and the use of vellum was probably an improvement upon this. Pliny, in his “Natural History,” tells the story, on the authority of Varro, of how Eumenes II., King of Pergamus from 197 to 159 B.C., was desirous of extending the library in his capital, but the Ptolemies, being jealous, stopped the export of papyrus, thinking by this means to prevent the royal library from growing. Owing to the lack of papyrus, skins were employed and, necessity being the mother of invention, the manufacture of vellum came about. Whether any real importance can be attached to this story or not, it is certain that Pergamus was a great centre for the manufacture of vellum. In fact, the word “parchment” is derived from charta Pergamena, i.e., “paper from Pergamum.”
It is easy to see how this ideal writing-material, with the quill pen, must have had a great influence upon the formation of letters. Generally speaking, the writing on parchment or vellum is crisper and more sharply defined than that on the papyrus.
There is not the slightest doubt that the influence of the tool and the writing-material had a great deal to do with forming the shapes of the letters. Good lettering was seldom or never consciously designed, but was the result of certain influences at work.
In the development of lettering in the past, the pen, as a letter-making tool, has played a most prominent part. A reed or quill pen cut with a broad nib, so as to give crisp thick and thin strokes, is an ideal tool for the formation of letters, but one thing is necessary: the pen must be allowed to have its own way. The letters should not be designed first and copied with the pen afterwards. If the lettering is to be pen-formed, let it be formed with the pen; it should come straight from the pen.
The capabilities of the pen as a letter-making tool should be carefully studied. The reed or quill pen should be used, and one of the best ways to become intimate with the pen is to cut it to shape for oneself. One is thus able to understand the possibilities of this tool as a means for the formation of letters, in a much more intimate manner than if a ready-made tool is placed in the hand. The first thing to endeavour to grasp is how to cut and use the pen. After this has been mastered, the next step should be the formation of letters. This is followed by forming letters into words. Then comes writing and designing with masses of writing. Not until the student is thoroughly familiar with the use of lettering should he attempt to add any decoration to it. A fine piece of writing in black, or black and red, on vellum or fine hand-made paper is a piece of decoration by itself, but a bad piece of lettering cannot be made beautiful, however much ornament be added afterwards. The first step towards the study of illumination proper comes then, and attention should be given to the place of the initial letter and the part it has played in the past as a starting-point for the decoration in the MSS. of the mediæval period. At first a good deal can be done with the use of black and red only, or black, red, and blue. Then come simple decoration with gold and colours; the use of raised burnished gold; the application of illumination for commercial purposes; and the illuminated MS. book.
CHAPTER II
THE DEVELOPMENT OF WRITING IN THE PAST
Before describing the method of cutting and using the pen, it may possibly be instructive to survey briefly the development of writing through the centuries.
The alphabet, as we know it, has been traced right back to that used by the Phœnicians. In fact, until a comparatively short time ago, it was thought by some that it could be traced back to the Egyptian hieroglyphics, but in the light of recent discoveries this theory is no longer tenable. The origin of our alphabet is therefore still a matter for research, although there seems to be no doubt concerning its descent from the Phœnician alphabet.