A lead point, also known as plummet, is a piece of lead alloy, sometimes contained in a holder (the precursor of the pencil), which could be used for drawing, annotation, and ruling. Lead point began to be widely used in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Graphite, derived from carbon, was not generally used before the seventeenth century. See also Hard point and Metal point.
Graphite; Mine d'argent; Mine de plomb; Plombagine
Mina di piombo; Nero di piombo; Mina d'argento; Piombaggine; Grafite
Mina de plomo; Mina de plata; Plopmbagina
Michelle Brown, Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts (Malibu, CA: J. Paul Getty Museum in association with the British Library, c1994).