An Introduction to Iron Gall Ink with Demonstration

Sara Charles

Date: 26 February 2021

Time: 11.00 – 13.00 GMT

An introductory talk on iron gall ink – the main ink of the medieval period used for manuscripts and charters. This talk will give information on the history of the ink from antiquity up to the present day, discuss the nature of the oak gall wasp and the many types of ink they produce. This will be followed by a demonstration on how to make the ink. 

Sara Charles is a book historian at the University of London. She uses 'historical remaking', to recreate manuscript production techniques to understand the practices of the past. This methodology feeds into the codicological elements of her PhD on medieval martyrologies