On a recent visit to Plymouth Plantation I came across a
wonderful little book in the gift shop Understanding Colonial Handwriting
by Harriet Stryker-Rodda. Since we had
planned to make quill pens this semester I thought it would be a good
resource. It turned out to be exactly
what I needed. Below is the history
piece I shared with the students.
Handwriting done during the American colonial period was
deeply influenced by the standards of writing in Europe, where writing was
considered an Art. Until the middle of the 16th
century in Europe the ability to write was left entirely to scribes,
secretaries, or cloistered priests who studied to perfect themselves in the art which then closely followed precise,
hand-printed forms.
As the printing press in the mid-15th century
gradually displaced the scribe and the illuminator of manuscripts, these
skilled people found it necessary to change their occupations. Some became writing masters. Some found employment in expanding government
offices where good handwriting was a requisite.
A natural result of this was the development of copybooks for
instruction. From 1600 there was a
continuous stream of copybooks published in Europe. They were small and were illustrated with
woodcuts showing the author’s own style of writing. There were as many styles of handwriting as
there were authors. Each had his own
style, held his pen in his own way and taught handwriting in the bounds of his
own geographical area.
Eventually, it became necessary to systematize and
standardize the forms. One of the highly
revolutionary ideas of the Commonwealth in 1649 in England was that English
should become the official language for all domestic administrative
purposes. It was ordered that records of
all kinds were to be written “in an ordinary, usual and legible hand and
character.”
In the thirteen colonies it has been estimated there were
about 52,000 persons at this time, few of whom knew how to write much more than
their names. If education was extended
to children in their settlements, at home or in schools, reading, writing and
ciphering were all it was believed most of them would ever need. Very often the teacher sewed together a
copybook or wrote sentence models and letters on a child’s slate by the teacher
and the child copied them below.
Early handwriting required three tools: the quill pen,
the ink, and the paper. In class we further discussed the tools and examined
the colonial alphabet. We made quill
pens and practiced copying the colonial alphabet.
Assignment:
Level 3: The students were asked to go home and use
the computer to type out the alphabet.
Please pull up a blank work document and let them choose a font that is
new to them. Let them look through the
huge variety of fonts. We talked about
how in England with different Copybooks each teacher had a different style,
much like we have different fonts today.
Have them choose One Font and type out the letters size 36 both capital
and lower case. Bring this to class.
Not everyone went
home with ink this week because not all the jars had lids. I have a few I can bring in next week, that
way everyone can use their quill pen and ink at home.
For fun have them
do some colonial arithmetic. http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/TM/WS_colonial_arithmetic.shtml. Click here for a link to the website.
Level 4: The students took home everything they need
to finish copying the colonial alphabet at home. They should all have ink and a quill
pen. The ink soaks through so have them
use a stack of newspaper under their work.
Please bring this back to class.
They also took home colonial arithmetic, this is more for fun, both
worth a try.
Extension Activities:
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson166.shtml
is a great site explaining colonial schooling with many extension activities
(including the answers for the arithmetic). Click here for the link.
Also, a list of colonial manners. Read these through as a family, there are
some good ones. George
Washington, sometime before the age of 16, transcribed Rules
of Civility & Decent Behavior In Company and Conversation.
The link below will get you there. http://www.history.org/Almanack/life/manners/rules2.cfm Choose one, copy it down with pen and ink and
illustrate it. Click here for the link.
The Bible was often a families’ only book and highly
regarded. Consider with your children
the abundance we have in comparison with the colonial Americans. Take time to cherish the Word of God by
reading it together. Copy a favorite
verse or passage with pen and ink.
Parents give it a try too!
