The Significance, Making Process, Evolution, and Impact of the Feather Pen in Humans

Feather Pen
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Feather Pen
Introduction
The majority of people associate ancient writers with a sheet of parchment and an ornate quill pen. Religious tracts, magnificent manuscripts, great literature, novels, legal treatises, and historical documents were all recorded and documented with quill pens. The Magna Carta was signed using a quill pen by King John, ushering in the reign of British Common Law (Reinhart, 2018). A quill was used to write the United States Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution (Reinhart, 2018). Quill pens are generally manufactured from goose or swan feathers, stronger and more prominent than feathers from other birds. However, hawk and owl feathers have also been used. Quills made from the outer feathers of living birds after they molt in the spring are the strongest. Quill pens work via capillary action, which is the process in which a liquid drags itself down a very narrow tube, similar to how water rises inside a plant. This paper will discuss the significance, making process, evolution, and impact of the feather pen in human pass. The quill pen is the most provenance handwriting tool because of its long history of use.
Significance of Feather Pen
Quills were used to write with ink before the invention of the dip pen, metal-nibbed pen, fountain pen, and, eventually, the ballpoint pen (Reinhart, 2018). Like early reed and later dip pens, a quill does not have intrinsic ink storage and must be dipped into an inkwell frequently while scribbling. Because many papers are now made from wood pulp, which would quickly wear out a hand-cut goose quill, it is no longer used as a calligraphy instrument. On the other hand, Quills provide an unrivaled sharp stroke and greater flexibility than a steel pen for a select few writers hence being the most provenance handwriting tool. Europeans used live swans, geese to produce this tool; the best feathers were obtained from live swans, turkeys, and birds. After that, the feathers were gently dried to remove any oils that would interfere with the ink ("The History of Pens | The Journal Shop," 2017). The feather was then dipped into an inkwell to fill the reservoir in the hollow shaft of the feather ("The History of Pens | The Journal Shop," 2017)). These ink pens were long-lasting, although they needed to be sharpened frequently. The writer needed a particular knife for this; thus, the phrase pen-knife was created. The way people wrote altered as a result of this sort of pen.
Quill pens have been used since the sixth century and were one of the most popular writing utensils throughout the Middle Ages and into the nineteenth century. While historians are not sure where they come from, they are said to have originated in Spain. Quill pens were previously made from various bird feathers, especially large birds like swans, geese, and turkeys (Ames, n.d.). They would then cut a small ink storage area into the surface above it, dip the quill into an ink bottle, and scribble their message on the paper (Ames, n.d.). While quill pens have long been popular, many individuals have lost interest in them. During this time, the Bible, Koran, and Torah were all meticulously written with quills to enhance the beauty and purity of their manuscripts (Reinhart, 2018). Quills fell out of favor after creating the metal pens mass-produced in the United Kingdom in 1822 by John Mitchell of Birmingham. Quills were not employed as writing implements in the Middle East or much of the Islamic world. As for writing utensils, only reed pens were employed. Due to their compatibility with parchment and vellum, quill pens were the preferred writing equipment during the Middle Ages hence being the most provenance handwriting tool. Previously, a red pen was utilized, but a cured quill was employed to make a more acceptable letter on an animal's skin.
Feather pens were frequently employed to produce figures, adornments, and imageries on manuscripts in addition to written text. Many writers, on the other hand, favored their work to use brushes. Good penmanship enabled a range of distinct strokes in formal hands since the tip was square cut and unyielding, much as it is now with modern steel pens (Shah, 2020). Quills became increasingly pointed and flexible much later, in the 1600s, as writing became more popular, notably in the copperplate script popularized by the many printed guides available from the Writing Masters (Shah, 2020). The order in which the quills are placed in the wing determines their name. cA professional scribe would not consider any other wing feather adequate. Reed pens were too stiff and did not last long since they wore out quickly, while wax tablets did not last long and were heat-sensitive ("Quill – Facts and History of Quill Pen," n.d.). That is why quills replaced them on their own. It is thought that quills became more popular as a writing method due to their superiority to reed pens. It was simple to write on parchment and vellum with quills. They were also employed to illustrate manuscripts with figures using fine brushes, and they became increasingly popular.
The best quill pens were manufactured from geese flight feathers, albeit a single bird only generated enough feathers for two or three pens. The scribe needed to cut the shaft, sharpen the point and create the slit that allowed the ink to flow from pen to parchment, so the base or shaft of the feather had to be at the right angle (Reinhart, 2018). When writing became popular and prospered, it expanded throughout the Western world hence the pen being the most provenance handwriting tool. Quills were used to write and sign many essential papers. Quills were used until the 19th century when metal pens became mass-produced, but they are still used in some circumstances today. Quills represent clerks and intelligentsia in fundamental and socialist symbols since the 19th century. The Radical Civic Union, the Czech National Social Party in conjunction with the hammer, a symbol of the labor movement, and the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro are other significant instances (Cornwell et al., 2009). "The seals of the United States Census Bureau and the Administrative Office of the United States Courts feature quills" (Cornwell et al., 2009). Quills are featured on the coats of arms of several US Army Adjutant General organizations that deal with administrative matters (Shah, 2020). Several Spanish municipalities have quills on their arms, while Saint Hilary of Poitiers' emblems is three books and a quill pen becoming an essential tool. The quill pen was not only used to write, but it also served as a symbol of someone's occupation and intellect (Ames, n.d.). Many writing and history organizations still use the image of quill pens as a symbol at events to honor this vital tool (Cornwell et al., 2009).
Quill pens only lasted a week before they needed to be replaced. There were additional drawbacks to using them, such as the time it took to prepare them. Animal-skin writing parchments from the Middle Ages required meticulous scraping and cleaning (Bellis, 2020).  The writer needs a special knife to sharpen the quill. A coal burner sat beneath the writer's high-top desk, drying the ink as rapidly as possible (Shah, 2020). The feathers were dried to remove any oils that might have reacted with the ink. The pen's tip was made by cutting the end of the feather with a knife to sharpen it (Shah, 2020). These pens were tough, but they regularly needed to be sharpened with a knife to be the most provenance handwriting tool. Before the invention of the quill, all writings were in capital letters. However, as the quill's smoothness and writing speeds improved, more decorative and speedier writing methods, including lowercase letters, emerged (Shah, 2020). The quill pen would be used for nearly a thousand years. The quill's popularity stemmed in part from its accessibility. It was frequently the ink that was difficult to come by. When powdered ink ran out, a liquid ink was made with egg whites, honey, and ashes (Bovey, 2014). Because anybody could use a quill, this low-cost invention became a catalyst for the proliferation of creative works. The humble quill has provided us with much of the content and insight today (Bovey, 2014).
Because of its distinctive feather appearance, the quill is recognizable to the individual than the papyrus pen. As literature moved geographically to Western Europe and the British Isles, this became the intermediary between parchment and ink (Tifa, 2016). Although literature had spread throughout Europe, literacy had fallen. The best quills are usually from turkeys because of their vital feather tips. Much of the ancient world burnt organic materials like wood and oils to create Carbon Black Ink during Classical Antiquity (Tifa, 2016). After that, the remains were combined with water. Tree gum prevented the ink particles from sticking together. What distinguishes the quill pen from the reed pen? For starters, the quill is as lightweight as a feather. The feather's aerodynamics aid in the rapidity with which it writes. Both the quill and the reed pen can hold ink due to capillarity (Ariel, 2019). However, the quill is more adaptable in writing small scripts and refining strokes (Tifa, 2016). During this time, there may have been a link between the size of the scripts and the conversion to the quill (Tifa, 2016).
Process of Making a Feather Pen
The strongest quills are made from the primary flight feathers that birds shed during their annual molt. Most British authors like left-wing feathers because they curl away from the line of sight and over the back of the hand (Tifa, 2016). There is no need to consider curvature or sight-line because the quill barrel is only six or seven inches long. Furthermore, while the quill was prominent, writing with the left hand was banned, and quills were never offered as left or right-handed, just by shape and variety (Ariel, 2019). In the Middle Ages, the quill pen was used to outline images in manuscripts finely. The ink formulations were similar in Ancient Egypt and Greece but likely employed different organic components. Colored inks were not widely used, especially in Classical Antiquity, and when feather pen was used, it became the most provenance handwriting tool. Writing with these pens is challenging, and it is even more difficult if a person makes their own. Like most traditional writing tools, Quill pens are pressure-sensitive, so making sure your hand is not overly aggressive or tense will make the writing process go much more smoothly (Drew, n.d.). They will work with bottled ink, but the writer should expect a learning curve as you become used to how it responds to the paper surface and their drawing or writing skills. In the field, feathers or wooden nibs can be made by cutting the end of feathers or a short piece of reed/bamboo to a point with just a tiny slit to hold ink (Drew, n.d).
On the top part of the quill, a slit is made with a pen-knife. The ink will flow from the shafts to the quill points through the slit capi...