Vellum | Writing Material - Encyclopedia Britannica

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major reference

• In drawing: Surfaces

  Vellum, delicate and without veins, resembles parchment in its smooth surface. Modern watercolour paper is a pure linen paper glued in bulk and absolutely free of fat and alum; its two surfaces are of different grain. For pastel drawings, a firm, slightly rough surface is…

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paleography

• In paleography: Types of writing materials

  …use today, is parchment, or vellum, the terms being often used interchangeably. Vellum is a term usually applied to skin from a calf (cf. veal, veau), while parchment is an expression often applied to sheepskin or goatskin. The word parchment is derived from Pergamum in Asia Minor, the ancient centre…

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publishing history

• In history of publishing: Vellum and parchment

  Vellum and parchment are materials prepared from the skins of animals. Strictly speaking, vellum is a finer quality of parchment prepared from calf skins, but the terms have been used interchangeably since the Middle Ages. The forerunner of parchment as a writing…

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types of parchment

• In parchment

  …lamb came to be called vellum, a term that was broadened in its usage to include any especially fine parchment. The vellum of most early manuscripts, through the 6th century ad, is of good quality. After this, as demand increased, a great amount of inferior material came on the market,…

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use in Greek writing

• In calligraphy: Origins to the 8th century ce

  A number of original vellum manuscripts have survived from the 4th century ce onward, preserved in libraries such as at the monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai. These materials of diverse origin suggest that the forms and shape of Greek handwriting were remarkably constant throughout the Greek world,…

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