Zwei hochmittelalterliche Schreibgriffel aus Aschaffenburg

Abstract

Two styli dating to the High Middle Ages from Aschaffenburg

The discovery of two styli dating to the High Middle Ages from Aschaffenburg initiated a closer examination of this find category. Only few parallels can be named for the one stylus from the foundations of a canon’s stone house built around 1180. The second stylus from the slope of the Stiftsberg belongs to a separate type and the number of its repre- sentatives has been nearly doubled by the presented research. These styli appear in the context of clerical building sites between the 12th and 14th century with a geographical distribution from Switzerland up to Letland. They lead to the assumption that besides the function of writing instruments they also served as a trademark of those stone masons and architects from northern Italy who are archived to have been the architects and sculpterers of many of these build- ings.