History is Alive :: Quills and Ink

We studied Constantine and the move of Christianity into Britain in our history last week. One aspect the book touched on was the monasteries and lives of monks. We learned how much work went into making a book and writing down history, the Bible, stories, etc.

So we made quills and ink.

Starting with finding feathers. The monks would find goose or swan feathers but we have our own flock of feather loosing animals in the backyard so that is where we went to look.

Next, we soaked the feathers in soapy water. I'm not sure the complete purpose of this step but possibly something about the oils of the feathers.

While the feathers were soaking we worked on our ink. The recipe in the book called for crushed walnut shells but apparently walnuts are a seasonal item and only available ANYWHERE in November-January/February. So I went with tea.

I let it steep for a long time and reduce so we'd have a strong brown color. I added vinegar to it after it was done...don't know why, the recipe called for it and all my internet looking suggested it so I went with it.

The next day we got out our feathers, trimmed them and set to work writing. I also put some vinegar into some straight grape juice concentrate to have another ink option.

I cut a small piece of felt for a blotter. After they dipped their quill they blotted it on the felt to get a clean line in their writing. Fun

The kids had a lot of fun with the writing. They liked trying the two inks and trying to write and seeing the different thicknesses of the writing as they moved the quill. It was a fun exercise.