Scribes

Scribes are individuals trained to read and write in societies where literacy is specialized. Their core functions include copying texts, recording transactions, and producing written documents for administration, religion, and culture. Scribes often acted as custodians of knowledge and stewards of written tradition.

In ancient Egypt, scribes formed a distinct and respected class. Trained in hieroglyphic and hieratic scripts, they copied religious and medical texts, maintained state records, and supervised workshops. Literacy conferred prestige, and many scribes served in temples, palaces, or royal bureaus.

In Mesopotamia, scribes wrote with cuneiform on clay tablets and were essential to temples, palaces, and bureaucracies. Scribal schools taught signs, grammar, and administrative procedures. Scribes transcribed laws, economic accounts, letters, and literary tablets, shaping the administration of city-states.

Across other traditions, scribal roles appeared in medieval Europe, where monasteries and scriptoria copied manuscripts by hand, preserving classical and religious works. Later, chancelleries and universities employed trained clerks to draft charters, chronicles, and records. The advent of printing reduced demand for manual copying, though scribal skills persisted in archives and offices.

Materials and training: scribes used writing utensils and materials appropriate to their script—for example, reed pens and papyrus in antiquity, quills and parchment in medieval Europe, or styluses for clay. Training often occurred in schools or workshops under temple, royal, or clerical patronage, varying by culture.