Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 34-35. (2014-2015)
Articles
108 A. A. Rusu after centuries: the German society (Saxon) from Transylvania was probably in the forefront among users of reading and writing. Even earlier, then the middle of the 15th century, nobles had used their own clerks (notary, proto-notary, clerks) that could be doubled or not by religious personnel (priests-chaplains for private service, confessors, deacons, scribes). They were destined for understanding, interpret ing and archiving the documents containing the privileges, to sustain the private correspondence, to record the genealogy and keep the inventory of the assets. For the practice of writing the costs were supported by the lords. * The archaeology of intellectual life always relied on very few, non-perishable elements. Even less were analytically collected and grouped.6 Particularly, writing had harsh fate due to similar operations. Its tools are frequently repeated but in the same time rarely are identified.7 It is still the research season, when contemporary art historians think they could ‘read’ from a medieval painting that they were writing on paper with a stilus,8 and not with a quill or a pen. Alongside the perishable quills, we wanted to allude to the fact that one part of the metal cornets, from bronze sheets, could come from paintbrushes,9 from which, at least a few could have been used for writing. To finish the history of metal writing tools, it is worth retaining that in the 16lh century the first metal pens appeared together with inks.10 These, almost certainly, had evolved from the metal cornets of the paintbrushes. Iconography reveals the usefulness of certain special knives, with a more fragile structure and well-sharpened blades, which were used for scraping/erasing of mistakes on parchment. Neither are inkpots named or identified but only later by written sources, and archaeologically any kind of small container or vessel, made from ceramic, bone or metal could have been used for this purpose but unfortunately, together with these a number of other purposes can be raised (toy vessels, vessels used for keepirjg salt or spices etc.). Extremely rare are the vessels that combine the ink containers and the place for inserting a source of light, like 6 An interesting exception, although poorly illustrated, is the exhibition catalogue: Magyar iskola 1996. 7 For example, see the classic works: Jakó 1956b, 183-184; Jakó - Manolescu 1971, 43-45. 8 Jenei 2013,27,41. 9 Rusu 2002, 92. 10 Vándor 2002a, 79; Vándor 2002b, 136, cat. 92-93. open lamps or candlesticks.11 Finally, the history of writing cannot be separated from the history of using eyeglasses.12 With the transition to epigraphic writing, having entirely different demands and specific tools, the existence of another type of writing, of generous material evidence should also be taken into discussion. Here, we refer to the frequent occurrence of medieval graffiti. Their impressive number, on medieval frescoes, has drawn attention as a chance for ante quern dating of the frescoes or even of the architectural ensemble, in which they can be found. As an outcome of ignorance of the graffiti’s values, these were silently or even with disregard erased by restorers preoccupied only with the reconstruction of frescoes. It could not be a more unfortunate clearance of historic evidence, some at the expense of others. The inscriptions on the walls are of different types. It can be clearly seen that some of them are fine and neatly drawn, in a way which betrays the familiarization of their authors not only with writing but also with the technique of scratching. It can be excluded that the finest inscriptions were made with simple knives. The pinch of a knife often produces unwanted gouges at the curve or breaking of letters, and hinders the fluency because it should be twined radically to produce the desired lines. Furthermore, the dimensions of incised inscriptions is so small that it is close to the type of writing found on other materials, thus contradicts its execution with a simple knife blade tip. One can conclude that such inscriptions were produced with precise tips and not blade tips. The easiest is to presume that this tip-tool could be a simple nail. A nail could have been handy as well, but it was not always suitable for writing. From scholarship dealing with the history of writing one finds out that in the coffer of clerks various type of tips could be found, from lead or iron, awls as well as compasses intended to ensure the marking or measurement for drawing aesthetic text frames. In order to be easier held between the fingers and to be handled with safety, the ‘nail’ or the tip needed a new form, which transformed it in a tool meant for scratched writing that was a stilus,13 Thus, one should remember that we have 11 The only complete piece, which we know can be seen in the exhibition at the Tárgu NeamJ Museum (15th and 16th? centuries) 12 A humble start, taken from written sources (1546), see: Strätulescu - Rusu 2012. 13 About the use of stili on hard materials, besides wax tablets see: Ginalski 2003, 381.
