The pen - mightier than the sword?

Years ago as a yoof enjoying art lessons I spent many happy hours ensconced in calligraphy. To the extent that the art master taught me how to carve a quill. You wouldn't think so by the standard of this one.

This is a tiny quill from a seagull, I used a small scissors used for fly tying to cut the quill and made a real dogs breakfast of it. However, to use a large beautifully created quill from a swan or goose is indeed to travel back in time and appreciate the work done by the calligraphers of times gone by. The beauty of a manuscript, or any book, handwritten and illuminated with such skill, without the assistance of electrical light, glasses or magnifying glasses is, to me, astounding.

Back to the original question. Is the pen mightier than the sword?

The written word can raise the ire of folk in a way which no other method of communication before the creation of the internet could. Newspapers, books, pamphlets, one page diatribes nailed to a post could inspire and terrify. On the other hand even the best politician or rabble rouser can be bested by a big lad with a broadsword, or in this day and age a .50 Browning. Can the weapon bearing oaf defeat the intelligentsia? Initially of course, there is nothing a scribe can do when faced down by a weapon; but the legacy of the written word will outlive and ultimately defeat the power of the armed man.