Hey, I saw part of the film Aguirre: The Wrath of God about Spanish Conquistadors in South America, and one of the characters was signing a document, using a quill pen, but he also used a stencil to produce his signature.

Why might a stencil be used for a signature, and when were they used predominantly (historically)? Would it be for an illiterate person, or just as a standard way of writing, like a wax seal or something? Even the illiterate Joan of Arc signed her own letters, and I don't think she used a stencil or forgot the spelling of her name or anything.