The Role of Scribes

Egyptian Scribes

Ancient Mesopotamia

Materials

Commonly Used:

Reed Pen

Stylus

Wax Tablets

Wax Cylinders

Clay Tablets

Papyrus

Leather Parchment

Contemporary Cultural Significance

In early Egyptian culture, we find an abundance of visual references to scribes. Some Egyptians who were not scribes posed for sculptures and paintings with pen-brush and papyrus. Writing was a specialized task reserved for those with literary skill, power, or riches. Thoth was their god of writing, and some scribes were painted with him in his baboon form.

Education:

Although formal education in Mesopotamia was limited to wealthy boys, literate girls were not unheard of. The role of the scribe was reserved for sons from families of scribes or high ranking members of society. The schools for scribes were connected to the palaces and temples. Through rote copying of the cuneiform and sample texts from various disciplines of study, student scribes learned the craft. Scribes learned different languages and which tools worked best for each language. (1991)

The Significance of Scribes Today

Employment:

Estate Scribe

Government Scribe

Military Scribe

Literary Scribe

Messenger

Notary

Mesopotamian Wax Cylinder

Contemporary Cultural Significance

Scribes were an essential part of business, education, and religion in Mesopotamia. Important texts of the day included sacred revelations, magical mysteries, artistic literature, legal documents, government documents, historical records, epic tales, mythology, agricultural accounts, and correspondence. Some Mesopotamians used wax cylinders for personal adornment and identification. Those with great wealth or power employed scribes not only for practical reasons, but also as a symbol of status.

Materials Used:

Papyrus

Papyrus Burnisher

Carving Tools

Paint

Leather Roll

Pen-brush

Palette

Pottery

Education:

Egyptian scribes learned their craft from a teacher at home, an official school, or a court school (1991). Students copied an array of texts on geography, mathematics, and the benefits of being a scribe. Students also transcribed dictated material, but allowances were made for variations in orthography. Scribes in training were not punished for making mistakes, but they were disciplined for laziness. Unlike the strict class system of scribes in Mesopotamia, Egyptian scribes could rise up in station by being employed by a wealthy or powerful man. School was an essential networking opportunity for scribes of lowly birth.

Hebrew Scribes

Education:

Literacy levels were fairly high, as children learned how to read and write at home. The position of scribes were achieved through family relationships.

The Role of Scribes

In their own time ...

Materials

Commonly Used:

Ink wells

Leather Scrolls

Dead Sea Scrolls

The works of scribes that exist today leave us with a historical record and context of the lives of ancient peoples. Sacred texts exist still today that continue to give people hope and belief in higher powers. Ancient texts give us a connection to our ancestors and an insight into daily life of those who came before us. The modern book and computer are ways we continue the tradition of recorded information. Although the media for recording information has evolved, the importance of the written word has not diminished. In fact, our society today relies on written communication more now than ever before. The literacy rate soars as the need for reading and writing becomes increasingly essential for daily life.

Jennifer Hutchinson

Contemporary Cultural Significance

Professional Hebrew scribes worked in palaces and temples, as private secretaries, or wrote documents and correspondence for citizens. The role of the scribe was often passed from father to son, and they sometimes achieved a high status. Bible scribes could earn more money than those performing menial or clerical tasks. However generally speaking, the job of a scribe offered high status but low pay. Today, a copyist of the Torah can earn a substantial amount of money for each copy he completes, depending on how elaborate it is.

scribes had the exclusive responsibility of recording history, knowledge, and information. Some scribes had jobs performing menial and ephemeral tasks, such as recording economic and clerical information. These were practical tasks to make daily life easier. Other scribes transcribed the ideas of gods and kings, who trusted them with the task of recording and protecting sacred words.

Although the role of scribes is not often pondered today, scribes were a prevalent part of societies for centuries. They played a significant role during their own lifetimes and impacted the use of recorded history for posterity.

Education:

The quality of education for Athenian children was determined by their family's wealth and financial contribution. However, the average child attended elementary school and learned the alphabet, syllables, poetry, music, gymnastics, and literature. The goal of Athenian education was to mold boys and girls into productive citizens of Athens. Higher education involved rhetoric, which produced a need for scribes.

Materials Commonly Used:

Stylus

Tablet

Parchment

Reed pens

Black Ink

Sepia Ink

Stone slabs

Contemporary Cultural Significance

Scribes were paid on a scale of quantity, quality, and significance of the work. The most elaborate sacred texts earned the scribe more money than a quickly notarized document. The classical Greek world centered on literature and the intellectual output of scholars, poets, dramatists, and philosophers demanded scribes to record this prolific amount of information.

Illustration borrowed from www.crystalinks.com/egyptwriting.html

Greek and Hellenistic

Scribes

Materials

Commonly Used:

Parchment

Ink & Pigments

Knife or Razor

Gold Leaf

Codex

Awl

Stylus

Desk

Reading Frame

Vellum

Education:

Scribes were strongly tied to the church and most commonly wrote in the scriptorium with several other scribes. Some were seated in their own carrels, which influenced those used in academic libraries today. The role of scribes and monastic life were almost inseparable during this time.

Materials

Commonly Used:

Codices

Papyrus

Parchment

Stone

Wood

Bronze

Wax Tablets

Stylus

Inks

Reed pens

Education:

The education of Romans was heavily influenced by the Greek culture, so much of the language in education was bilingual. Girls were educated more than the Greek girls, but school attendance was not the norm. Schoolboys were taught letters, syllables, words, literature, rhetoric, oratory, poetry, and philosophy.

References:

Arvin, L. (1991). Scribes, script, and books. American Library Association:

Chicago.

Gerhardt, L.N. (1984). From papyrus to power tools. School Library Journal,

31(3), 35.

Kist, J. (2010). The Mesopotamian origins of writing, printing, and publishing.

LOGOS: Journal of the World Book Community, 21(3/4), 252-254.

Kerby-Fulton, K. (2014). The clerical proletariat: The unemployed scribe and

vocational crisis. Journal of the Early Book Society, 17, 1-34.

Contemporary Cultural Significance

Monastic scribes copied the sacred words of God, and were devoted to their mission of spreading Christianity to the world. Many of the Bibles completed by the scribes and illumination artists were for decorative purposes in sacred places of worship.

Contemporary Cultural Significance

Writers and orators employed scribes to travel with them. Scribes worked as secretaries, public servants, accountants, archivists, and military clerks. Scribes were usually appointed jobs for life. As in the Greek culture, there was a plethora of intellectual output, and scribes were instrumental in recording the knowledge and ideas of the most influential authors and philosophers of the day.

Medieval Scribes

Roman Scribes