Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned hides of animals; mainly sheep, calves and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for more than two millennia.
The ancient preparation process is described as follows: the hides are washed, filed, plucked, scraped, washed a second time, stretched evenly on a frame, scraped a second time, unevenness is reduced and then sprinkled with sifted chalk and rubbed with a pumice stone. The skin was prepared to receive writing only on the hairy side, although in exceptional cases, such as in a long text, it was inscribed on both sides. Parchment is not tanned, therefore it is different from leather, which makes it more suitable for writing.
The word parchment comes from the name of the city of Pergamum, where it is believed that a large quantity of this paper was made and of an unequaled quality, although if we go back in history the existence of this famous paper comes from a time before the city of Pergamum.
It is commonly confused with Papyrus paper, although the difference between papyrus and parchment is that papyrus is a plant of the reed family, native to the Nile river valley, while parchment is material, made of polished skin. of a calf, sheep, goat or other animal, the relative thing is that both are used as writing paper.
At present the Parchment is still used in some universities; the word parchment is still used to refer to the certificate presented at graduation ceremonies (title), although the modern document is printed on paper or on a thin card; although doctoral graduates may have the option of having their parchment written by a calligrapher on parchment. The University of Notre Dame still uses animal parchment for its diplomas. Similarly, the University of Glasgow and Heriot-Watt University use goatskin parchment for their degrees.
As a bonus: Did you know that the oldest surviving parchment manuscript is found in the Vatican Virgil, from the 4th century?
