Palimpsest

A palimpsest is a manuscript page, scroll, or book that has been written on, scraped off, and used again. The word palimpsest comes from two Greek roots (palin + psEn) meaning "scraped again." Romans wrote on wax-coated tablets that could be reused, and a passing use of the rather bookish term "palimpsest" by Cicero seems to refer to this practice.

Development of palimpsests

Because parchment and vellum, both prepared from animal hides, are more durable than paper or papyrus, most palimpsests known to modern scholars are parchment, which rose in popularity in western Europe after the 6th century A.D. Also, where papyrus was in common use, reuse of writing media was less common because papyrus was cheaper and more expendable than costly parchment. Some papyrus palimpsests still survive, and Romans referred to this custom of washing papyrus. The reed from which it was made did not grow in Italy.

Related Topics:
Parchment - Vellum - Western Europe - 6th century A.D - Papyrus - Italy

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With the passing of time the faint remains of the former writing that had been washed from parchment or vellum, using milk and oat bran, would reappear enough so that scholars can make out the text (which they call the scriptio inferior, the "underwriting") and decipher it. In the later Middle Ages the surface of the vellum was usually scraped away with powdered pumice, irretrievably losing the writing. Therefore the most valuable palimpsests are those that were overwritten in the early Middle Ages.

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