Although early medieval English manuscripts that explicitly identify their scribe(s) are scarce, secondary evidence, such as letters mentioning female scribes or writing implements recovered from religious houses, demonstrates that women could and did copy texts. As scribal self-identifications are rare, it is incorrect to assume an anonymous scribe male by default: Professional scribes would produce the same type and quality of work, irrespective of gender. In some manuscripts, contextual clues such as the presence of gendered grammatical forms or features associated with a particular scriptorium can suggest the gender of its scribe(s) – although, in most cases, even this evidence is inconclusive or absent.