Pottery & Tableware
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Pottery
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Writing & Record Keeping
A penner is a leather case for protecting quills when travelling. This penner is stylistically dated to the 14th century. Note that this penner’s lid is distorted and no longer fits properly.
Most pens were quills, but some were made of other materials such as reeds. Still others were made of more durable materials. Shown at left are (top to bottom) a sheet metal pen with a slit nib, a goose wing bone pen, and a cast copper alloy piece.
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Tableware: Glassware
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Tableware: Settings
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Tableware: Utensils
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Sources and References
Reference 1
Reference 2
Record keeping was an important part of running a medieval household. Notes on daily expenses could be taken on wax tablets for later transfer to more permanent records. Expenses for a trip might be re-corded on paper (considered a perishable material) but any important documents would be recorded on parchment.
Medieval inkhorns were usually just that: pieces of horn used to hold ink. The one in our camp is only slightly modified to allow it to stand on its own. Some were more highly modified and decorated, like this surviving pair.
A surviving leather case containing waxed tablets and having a slot for the stylus.
Sources and References
Survivals strongly inform our reconstructed objects in this area.
Additional material comes from written sources including Theophilus’ recipe for ink. We have also referred to material in collections of the Museum of London and the York Archaeological Trust. Biddle 1990; British Museum/de Hamel 1992; Theophilus 1979
