Caligraphy and Contracts

An apprenticeship contract between Master Morian and Eoghan of Ferns modeled off of medieval contracts and sprinkled with Terry Pratchett references. The contract is written on parchment, using oak gall ink and a quill.

            Contracts are a fascinating subject to me. They represent not just an agreement between two or more people, but they also represent the things that those people care so much about that they are willing to put those things in writing and be enforceable. Even in the medieval period, contracting was critical to many relationships and undertakings. One specific kind of contractual relationship was key to education, employment, and labor. The relationship between master of a craft and apprentice saw the use of contracts called Indentures. These agreements provided for the instruction of the apprentice in a particular craft or trade, but also addressed compensation, expected behavior, and the obligations of both teacher and student towards each other.

           Many medieval contracts also have a very distinctive quality compared to many modern contracts - they are short. Further, these medieval contracts are short by necessity. It was customary in many instances at the time for the contract to be written out twice on the same piece of parchment, and then torn or cut down the middle. As a result, both parties would get a copy, and in the event of a dispute the copies could be matched up to prevent tampering or forgery.  As a result, a contract had to be short enough to fit twice on a single piece of parchment. I have also seen some medieval documents using letters or designs running through the torn areas, seemingly to add another element to prevent illicit duplication.

            A couple of years ago, when my friend Morien became a master of the Laurel in the SCA, I pledged that the first time he took an apprentice I would write an apprenticeship contract to mark the occasion. As it turned out, Morien took four apprentices in quick succession (including me). So now we all get contracts!

           I drew upon several references from the 13th through the 15th century to create these commemorative documents. This included using actual terms and language from medieval Indentures in drafting the documents. I also sprinkled in some references to the author Sir Terry Pratchett…. for reasons. Once Morien gave his approval, I began writing out the terms. When time allowed, I used oak gall ink and a quill. When it did not, I used a fine tipped modern ink pen.