Wax tablets in the Middle Ages

Post Reply
Carolus Raeticus
Textkit Enthusiast
Posts: 584
Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:46 am
Contact:

Wax tablets in the Middle Ages

Post by Carolus Raeticus »

Salvete!

I have just stumbled upon a passage in the second volume of Frater Felix Fabri's "Evagatorium". He and his companions are currently in a ravine and enjoy a badly needed break. Frater Felix uses this opportunity to record the voyage from Gaza to that place.
Frater Felix wrote: Ego in hac valle rescripsi paene totum iter a Gaza usque huc;
scripseram enim sedens in asino dispositiones et habitudines regionum
et viarum in tabula de cera, quam cingulo portavi et ibi totum in
libello rescripsi et de cera delevi, ut consequenter alia scriberem.
I was surprised that wax tablets were still in use in the late Middle Ages. I had always thought that these went the same way as the Romans.

Valete,

Carolus Raeticus
Sperate miseri, cavete felices.

User avatar
jeidsath
Textkit Zealot
Posts: 5332
Joined: Mon Dec 30, 2013 2:42 pm
Location: Γαλεήπολις, Οὐισκόνσιν

Re: Wax tablets in the Middle Ages

Post by jeidsath »

Here's Chaucer:

His felawe hadde a staf tipped with horn, A peyre of tables al of yvory, And a poyntel polysshed fetisly, And wroot the names alwey, as he stood, Of alle folk that yaf hem any good,.... And whan that he was out atte dore, anon He planed awey the names everichon That he biforn had writen in his tables.... (Lines 1740-1759: Pratt 297f)

And Wattenbach says that they were still in use in his time at the Rouen fishmarket (c. 1875).
Spoiler
Show
Image
“One might get one’s Greek from the very lips of Homer and Plato." "In which case they would certainly plough you for the Little-go. The German scholars have improved Greek so much.”

Joel Eidsath -- jeidsath@gmail.com

Carolus Raeticus
Textkit Enthusiast
Posts: 584
Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:46 am
Contact:

Re: Wax tablets in the Middle Ages

Post by Carolus Raeticus »

Salve Jeidsath and thank you for the insight. I never would have dreamed that this archaic writing material was in use for such a long time. Although, in hindsight, it should not have surprised me. After all, paper was probably not that cheap for quite some time. And in the absence of note pads, post-it notes and pieces of pottery for use as ostracon...

Vale,

Carolus Raeticus
Sperate miseri, cavete felices.

User avatar
Scribo
Global Moderator
Posts: 917
Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2008 2:28 pm
Location: Between Ilias and Odysseia (ok sometimes Athens).

Re: Wax tablets in the Middle Ages

Post by Scribo »

Wood seems to be a fairly common material too. I know in the Roman period thin sheets of wood with bee's wax served for letters in Britain. I think this could have continued. I attended a lecture, years ago, on the formation and development of Norse runes, which argued for wood there as well at some point.

Cheap. Easy to make. Unlikely to leave a lasting material record.
(Occasionally) Working on the following tutorials:

(P)Aristotle, Theophrastus and Peripatetic Greek
Intro Greek Poetry
Latin Historical Prose

User avatar
AmyOfRome
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 68
Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2022 12:08 pm
Location: USA

Re: Wax tablets in the Middle Ages

Post by AmyOfRome »

Scribo wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 7:31 am Wood seems to be a fairly common material too. I know in the Roman period thin sheets of wood with bee's wax served for letters in Britain. I think this could have continued. I attended a lecture, years ago, on the formation and development of Norse runes, which argued for wood there as well at some point.

Cheap. Easy to make. Unlikely to leave a lasting material record.
Right! It's surprising and not surprising. I am also planning on having someone do some custom cut wood pieces for me to make an example of this and try it out, the wax tablets (because I do painting and things like that, not so much in the way of woodworking), I already have beeswax because I am also trying encaustic painting which was used at the time. Beeswax and a hardener, damar or carnauba wax, plus pigment.

User avatar
AmyOfRome
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 68
Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2022 12:08 pm
Location: USA

Re: Wax tablets in the Middle Ages

Post by AmyOfRome »

Image
I have attempted to make some, have read that soot or similar could be put on top to make the writing stand out more. I tried wood and beeswax. It was an interesting experiment anyway! I am stringing them together with leather cords.

Post Reply