Wild times were afoot in 15-century Venice. When we stopped on our pre-museum stroll through Venetian history, Gutenberg’s printing press had just taken off. Venice had become the printing capital of the world. But what about the impact of all this on the scribes of the day? Did anyone ever stop to consider the plight of the lowly scribe?
Ah, the lowly scribe… Being a scribe was no walk in the park. Sure, they worked indoors and didn’t have to get muddy and dirty. If you were a scribe, you worked in a scriptorium. But scriptoria were not known for the howls of uproarious laughter emanating from within their walls.
Gotta Have Something to Write On
The scribe had to have the skill of a diamond cutter, but commanded about as much respect as a common candle-maker. Some scribes had to prepare their own parchment. What a job that was.
First, of course, they had to get their hands on some unsuspecting sheep. Then kill one, skin it, soak the hide, dehair it, soak it in lime, stretch it, dry it, and finish it so it’s ready for writing on.
If the scribe was lucky, to use the word loosely, he worked in the scriptorium while other people had the nasty job of preparing parchments. Now the scribe could concentrate on scribing.
Just Imagine…
Imagine the job of the scribe… Everything had to be done in ink, of course, nice and neat, letter by letter, with no mistakes. They didn’t have Flair pens or Sharpies back then. Scribes used some type of quill, (preferably goose), or a sharpened stick dipped in ink. There wasn’t any “White-Out” back then, either, eh?
Think about it… You’re the lowly scribe. From morning ’til night, there you’d be, scribing away, stroke by stroke, letter by letter, word by word. After quite awhile you’re halfway through a page with no mistakes.
A couple more lines. Then a couple more. You’ve made it almost all the way to the bottom of the page. Now the pressure to not make a mistake grows with every stroke!
Finally you complete the page. What a relief! Then you ask, “So how many more pages in this volume are there, anyway? 497? Mamma mia!” And so goes the day of the lowly scribe.
The Colophon
When scribes reached the end of a book or document, they were often allowed to put in their own two cents in an end-piece called a colophon. They could write whatever they wanted, at least theoretically. (But if they wrote something like “Boy my hand is really tired,” that might not bode well for the next assignment, eh?)
Here’s a colophon from a an ancient book copied by a scribe, along with a partial translation. Don’t ask me who “Eusebius” was — that’s beyond the scope of this work, which has already run somewhat far afield.
(OK. Eusebius was a Greek historian).
So the lowly scribe had it pretty rough, but at least there was job security. There were lots of things that needed copying, and it took a long time. That is, until Gutenberg came along. All of a sudden, bing, bang, boom, no one needed a scribe anymore. Gutenberg… Bah!
Overheard in a Tavern?
As you might imagine, Gutenberg was not a popular figure in the scribe community. Far from it. For instance, the following conversation between a couple of scribes is rumored to have been overheard in a tavern back in the day….
1st Scribe — “I heard Gutenberg is setting up another shop down the road.”
2nd Scribe — “Gutenberg, shootenberg! I’m sick of hearing that name! Wench! Fetch another pint for me and my friend! And make haste!”
1st Scribe — “Everyone thinks he’s so great. It’s disgusting”
2nd Scribe — “Gutenberg’s press — the greatest invention in the history of
mankind. I can’t believe the drivel I hear nowadays. “
1st Scribe — “What about the quill pen? Now that was an invention! And
parchment! Anyone would say that parchment is the greatest invention of all time. Anyone except a sheep, that is. Arg! Arg!”
2nd Scribe — “Arg, indeed! That was a good one! Where’s that wench!”
We could go on, but you get the idea. Besides, the conversation goes downhill from here, (if that be possible).
Let us end this brief history with a colophon written by a scribe in the 15th century. Here it be…
“All that have pleasure in this booke to reade,
Praie for my soule, and for all quicke and deade
In the yeare of Christ MCCCC seaventie and seavene
This worke began. Honor to God in heavene.”
To be continued…
