Quill pen
A quill is the middle part ( web ) of a bird's feather . The upper part of the keel is spring shaft ( rachis called), the lower spring coil ( Calamus ) or spindle . There are two openings on the coil: an upper umbilicus ( superior umbilicus ) and a lower umbilicus ( inferior umbilicus ). In the case of the cover feathers belonging to the contour feathers, a so-called secondary feather ( hypopenna ) can be found above the upper navel in many bird species .
The quill as a writing implement
Quills as nibs have replaced the reed ( calamus ) as a writing implement in Europe since the 4th century AD . They are the forerunners of metal nibs, mostly steel or gold, as is often used in fountain pens . Since feathers were mostly used by geese , they are also called goose quills or (older) gantens. As a rule, the five outermost feathers of a grand piano were used for writing. If you want to write with a quill, you should, because of the shape of the quill, use the feathers on the right wing if you are left-handed or the feathers on the left wing if you are right-handed , because the slightly curved shape of the feathers on the wings is a mirror image and affects the handiness of the Write out. The annoying fletching of the keel was mostly removed for writing.
If you want to cut a keel, you have to harden it first. To do this, the keel is cut at an angle and the marrow removed or pushed back. Then you soak the quills in a glass of water until they appear completely white. The soaked keel is now put in a container with hot sand, which must be so hot that the keel hisses but does not tear. You leave them in there until they are transparent at their tips. Finally, the skin on the keel is scraped off with a sharp knife and wiped off. Then the cut can be made.
It was not until the end of the 18th century that the steel nib was developed, which was inserted into a holder, the pen holder. Previously, the quills were common and gradually replaced.
Other uses
- In Alpine quill embroidery , leather is embroidered with peacock quills.
- Quills were used as picks in Renaissance music.
- Sturdy quills, such as those of the common raven , were historically and are still partially cut to size for the harpsichord (in addition to quills made of plastic, leather or brass). For example, bird feathers of the varieties buzzard, goose, vulture, crow, swan and turkey are available in the harpsichord parts market.
- A character in the Sparkasse comic magazine Knax has the name Gantenkiel .
See also
Web links
proof
- ↑ Renate Neumüllers-Klauser (Ed.): Res medii aevi. Small lexicon of medieval studies. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1999, ISBN 3-447-03778-4 , p. 227.
- ↑ Hall of keyboard instruments: Kiel instruments ( Memento of the original from 23 September 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Deutsches Museum, musical instruments exhibition.
