Page 6 They learned that all the fonts in the English alphabet were formed due to the angled shape of the quill nib, which creates thick and thin lines with the up and the downstroke. Over several sessions they worked on writing a letter to someone explaining what the project was about. To finish the project each student made a wax stamp seal using some wooden doweling and oven bake clay for their personalized crest. They then sealed their letters with wax to mail them off in true medieval fashion. We discussed the benefits of the quill and why it was in use for 1200 years before it was replaced by the steel nib pen. The steel fountain pen is the modern- day equivalent of the quill, and is a recyclable, refillable, reusable pen. The steel ballpoint pen was invented in the 1920s and became popular during the first world war due to its durability. The 1960s saw the invention of the plastic ballpoint pen and soon these replaced the steel version as they were cheap and disposable. Billions of pens end up in the landfill each year and we tend to just take it for granted that this is just a part of living in the 21st Century. However, as the students found out, we do have a choice as to what we write with. Whether we choose to go back to using a feather quill, or a steel fountain pen that can be refilled repeatedly and eventually recycled. Or perhaps we choose to write with the good old -fashioned pencil which also has a softer environmental impact on the planet. 