Vellum

• Vellum, also known as Parchment, is a prepared animal skin used for writing on.
• It is from the latin ‘vitulinum’ meaning ‘calfskin’, but Roman vellum was also made from any other animal skin available. Vellum was made from a good quality skin, whereas Parchment was from a lesser quality skin.

Method of manufacture

• The skin was first washed with water and then separately with lime.
• It was then soaked in the lime for a period of days to remove the hair.
• All remaining hair was removed.
• The skin was then tied to a frame until it was completely dry.
• Any remaining hairs were then removed.
• The skin was finally cleaned and cut into sheets.

• After this, the vellum was made up into book form, either into a Scroll or Codex.
• The alternative to Vellum was Papyrus or Parchment.

Recent use

• New Laws were always printed on vellum in the Houses of Parliament in London.
• In the Medieval period, the Master Vellum Makers were so rare, that they were often imprisoned by their employer, to prevent them being employed elsewhere.

Other writing materials

• Palimpsest
• Papyrus
• Scroll
• Codex