Working wordsmiths (1)

I love being a writer!

Over the years I have written everything from a press release to get a politician out of the poop to a libretto for an award-winning opera. I have adapted novels for the stage, and written monologues for radio. But though I’ve often used the word, I have never been a scribe.

Scribes have existed for as long as there has been writing in one form or another.

In the 1st century, scribes had knowledge of the law, and could draft legal documents, copy and edit existing works and write new texts. But even before them, the scribes of Ancient Egypt were key to the success of the ruling bureaucracy. With their system of hieroglyphs—'The Words of God’ (as deciphered by Jean Francois Champollion in 1823)—the highest level of scribe was a ‘sesh’ which translates as ‘to draw’.

In Medieval Britain, scribes were usually monks. The work was hard, laborious, and the scribe would often blame their tools, scribbling complaints in the margins:

‘Let me not be blamed for the script, for the ink is bad, and the vellum defective, and the day is dark.’

However, the Illuminated manuscripts those scribes produced were wondrous works of art. Medieval scribes were often teenagers, valued for their excellent eyesight, and might be rewarded by being excused a prayer session!

Scribes are frequently mentioned in the Bible. For instance Ezra, who was a scribe and “a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses,” (Ezra 7:6). However, scribes were particularly described as being opposed to Jesus and his teachings. A scribe could therefore be quite powerful.

A proofreader is a close cousin to the scribe and in the hands of a good proofreader, many a writer has been spared the blushes of the published work with typos! But proofreaders, like scribes, are in a position of trust. Imagine the scribe or proofreader who changes a word. Just one word. That's what happened in Jose Saramago's novel 'The History of the Siege of Lisbon' (Portuguese: História do Cerco de Lisboa) published in 1989. The proofreader, Raimundo Silva, inserts one word into the text:

'Not'

claiming the Crusaders did not come to the aid of the Portuguese king in taking Lisbon from the Moors, a change that had enormous ramifications for both Silva and 'history'.

Scribes still exist in modern day America and can earn a pretty decent salary. According to ScribeAmerica, medical scribes are employed to work alongside healthcare providers to enhance delivery of care, reduce the administrative burden, and improve care team workflow. Working as a medical scribe can give the sense of being a valuable part of a team, though special skills may be required, as this pharmacist discovered:

A PHARMACIST’S LOT

Before computers, you needed a degree

in hieroglyphics – a Phd ideally.

In addition, to have the kind of brain

that resembled an Enigma machine

was a real bonus. Other skills? Hebrew,

Qabalistic speculation, a few

words of Farsi, familiarity

with Celtic Ogham would come in handy.

Understanding ancient bardic ABCs,

ability to read runes, or tea leaves

a distinct advantage, and they preferred

a natural talent to speak spider,

though none of this was in the job description,

despite the daily need to read prescriptions.

by Elaine Ruth White (from a writing workshop on work)

However, even in this modern age, as every writer knows, there are moments we blame our tools and conditions—the laptop is ancient, the internet failed, and the eyeballs are aching.

As one ancient scribe penned in his margin:

‘Now I’ve written the whole thing, for Christ’s sake, give me a drink.’