Knowra Parchment Parchment Parchment is a durable writing material made by cleaning, stretching, and drying animal skin. Unlike paper, it is made from skin rather than plant fibers.
Lime (material) : Lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide, used in construction and in processing hides. Lime solutions loosen hair and epidermis from hides during many parchment-making processes.
Animal hide : Animal hide is the skin of an animal, used as a raw material for leather and other products. Parchment begins as hide before processing removes hair, flesh, and oils.
Pergamon : Pergamon was an ancient Greek city in Anatolia and a major cultural center. A later tradition linked parchment's name and development to Pergamon.
Illuminated manuscript : An illuminated manuscript is a handwritten book decorated with painted images, ornament, or gold and silver. Parchment provided a durable surface for painted decoration and gilding.
Vellum : Vellum is fine parchment traditionally made from calfskin, though modern usage varies. The terms overlap, but vellum often distinguishes fine calfskin parchment from other skins.
Fleshing : Fleshing is the removal of residual flesh and fat from an animal hide. Removing tissue helps produce a clean, even parchment surface.
Collagen : Collagen is a structural protein abundant in connective tissues, including animal skin. Its fiber network gives parchment much of its strength and dimensional behavior.
Codex : A codex is a book made of bound pages, rather than a continuous scroll. Parchment's foldable sheets suited the codex form that displaced many scrolls.
Magna Carta : Magna Carta is a 1215 charter issued by King John of England that limited royal authority. Its surviving engrossments are written on parchment.
Leather : Leather is animal skin preserved through tanning for durable use. Unlike parchment, leather is tanned and generally not prepared as a writing sheet.
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