Parchment

In the words of scholars Roberts and Skeat, “parchment of good quality is the finest writing material ever devised by man” (1987), and it has played an instrumental role in book production through centuries. Read on and watch the video at the bottom of this page to understand its unique qualities and history.

When did parchment come about?

In Ancient times, books were written on papyrus scrolls, though writing was also often done on wax tablets and even ostraca (shards of broken pottery). The process of making papyrus naturally lends itself to scrolls, however other materials, like parchment, had to be sewn together in order to create a scroll, which was extra work on top of the extra cost that parchment carried over papyrus. As for when parchment actually came about, scholar Johnson suggests that parchment first came to Rome around 173-168 BC, during which time difficulties in Egypt presumably led to a shortage in its export. While the verity of this account may be debated, what we do know is that papyrus dominated most of Ancient times, when the scroll form was most popular, and it wasn't until later with the rise of the codex that parchment became relevant. In any case, the codex form began to grow in popularity, partly because it is more sturdy and partly because the growing population of Christians seemed to favor the codex form.

The earliest single quire codices date about the late first century, however it wasn't until the fourth century that the parchment codex truly dominated, its form becoming more complicated with the invention of multi-quire codices.The codex is similar to our modern form of the book, and while codices were indeed made from wax tablets and papyrus, parchment was more suited for the codex form. In fact, papyrus was made into scrolls before being cut into sheets for the codex, an unnecessary step alike to the extra work required to sew parchment into a scroll. As a result, parchment assumed an important role, becoming the primary material for codices. Eventually, unlike with scrolls, making codices became a highly standardized process for which parchment was integral, lending itself to pricking and ruling, smooth writing, and many other qualities.

What makes parchment so special?

As you may watch in the below video, parchment is a truly durable material, and we have fine surviving books that are over a thousand years old, their parchment still white, smooth, and supple. Though parchment varies greatly in its quality, fine parchment is very smooth and even, unlike papyrus, and even after hundreds of years, it remains flexible and intact. In Ancient times, papyrus came mostly from Egypt because it required special conditions to grow, but parchment could be made locally, requiring mainly animal skins. As you may read below, the process of making parchment was still costly and time-consuming, but unlike papyrus, one didn’t have to cross oceans on tiresome voyages to trade for it, a significant cost of papyrus. The smooth and white qualities of parchment were very important to monks crafting illuminated manuscripts, because such detailed work on the rough and uneven surface of, say, papyrus would have been exceedingly more difficult and unwieldy.

How is parchment made?

To make the parchment, the animals skins are carefully selected and preserved with salt, which will keep them fresh for up to six months. They must be soaked in a bath of lyme for several days in order to remove the hair, and after that time period, the hair comes away quite easily. Because parchment, as opposed to leather, is not specially treated or dyed, you can clearly see a hair and skin side of the parchment, that is, you can see the hair follicles of the animal if you look closely. After the hair is removed, the skin is stretched on a wooden frame and special knives are you used to further clean and scrape the skin. During this process, the skin can actually be stretched so much that it can tear, in which can the skins had to be sewn up. After the skins are stretched, they must then be dried, and following the drying process, the are finally cut down into usable sheets of parchment. To get to this point, it will have taken four weeks, and it is essentially the finished product, though it may require some sanding.

I want the experience of writing on parchment. What should I do?

In Medieval times, parchment was incredibly expensive as it was made from animal skins and required the tedious process that I have described above. Some of the most valuable parchment was made from uterine calf--that is, calf still inside its mother, and as you can imagine, such parchment demanded exorbitant prices. Today, it is still possible to acquire parchment, and as in Medieval times, the prices are still quite high, commanding up to several hundreds of dollars for a fine sheet. If you really want to write on parchment, you can find poorer grades of parchment, which was also often used in Medieval times. It is obvious it is of lesser quality because it is thicker, darker, less supple, and the hair follicles are very obvious. Parchment has a hair and skin side, yet it is often difficult to detect which side is which with fine parchment (as you will see in the below video). Such parchment will indeed give you the experience of writing on parchment, though it will be a bit more difficult due to the lesser quality. If you are interested in varying qualities of parchment produced today, you may explore Permagena, a modern producer of parchment providing varying qualities made out of a wide range of animals, even including uterine calf. In any case, paper is a great substitute for parchment! The finest parchment feels and looks very close to nice paper, so it's no wonder that it has been the material that has replaced it.

Watch the below video to understand how expensive and fine parchment could be in Medieval times:

*I would like to credit Rauner Special Collections Library for the access to these manuscripts and the ability to film*

 

References

BBC. (2010, August 2). How parchment is made [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-SpLPFaRd0

This video is a wonderful source for learning about the process of making parchment. Parchment is still made in modern times, but the process has changed significantly, and this video attempts to keep with the Medieval practices. It provides excellent visuals and narration to understand the entire process, allowing insight into the craftsmanship required to make parchment.

Johnson, R. R.. (1970). Ancient and Medieval Accounts of the "Invention" of Parchment. California Studies in Classical Antiquity, 3, 115–122. http://doi.org/10.2307/25010602

This gives an alternative story to the "discovery" of parchment as a result of a shortage during the years 173-168 BC.

Roberts, C., & Skeat, T.C. (1987). The Birth of the Codex. Oxford: Oxford University.

This text is instrumental in understanding the rise of the codex, which is inextricably linked to the rise of parchment. To truly understand parchment's importance in history, reading this text will help one to understand the context in which the codex and parchment arose.

Skordas, G.. (1946). The Parchment Stretcher at the Maryland Hall of Records. The American Archivist, 9(4), 330–332. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40288542

Winsbury, R. (2009). The Roman Book (Classical Literature and Society). London: Bristol Classical.

Like the Roberts and Skeat text, parts of this book provide an excellent history and background on parchment, including its rise and qualities. It is an excellent complement to these other sources, providing some alternative theories and viewpoints on parchment and related subjects.