Vellum

Vellum (from the Latin for "wool" or "pelt") is a sort of parchment, a material for the pages of a book or codex, usually made from calf skin. The term can also refer to a manuscript or book written on such material.

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Vellum was originally a translucent or opaque material produced from calfskin that had been soaked, limed, and unhaired, and then dried at normal temperature under tension, usually on a wooden device called a stretching frame. Today, however, vellum is generally defined as a material made from calfskin, sheepskin, or virtually any other skin obtained from a relatively small animal, e.g., antelope. Some authorities do not even distinguish between vellum and parchment, although traditionally the former was made from an unsplit calfskin, and consequently had a grain pattern on one side (unless removed by scraping), while the latter was produced from the flesh split of a sheepskin, and consequently had no grain pattern. The important distinction between vellum (or parchment) and leather is that the former is not tanned but is prepared essentially by soaking the skin in lime and drying it under tension.

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Most medieval manuscripts, whether illuminated or not, were written on vellum. Uterine vellum was made in the 13th and 14th centuries from the skins of unborn or still-born animals.

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Limp vellum or limp-parchment bindings were used frequently in the 16th and 17th centuries, and were sometimes gilt but were also often not embellished. In later centuries vellum has been more commonly used like leather, that is, as the covering for stiff board bindings. Vellum can be stained virtually any color but seldom is, as a great part of its beauty and appeal rests in its faint grain and hair markings, as well as its warmth and simplicity.

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Latin: Latin is an Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. It gained great importance as the formal language of the Roman Empire. All Romance languages are descended from Latin, and many words based on Latin are found in other modern languages such as English. The ...

Parchment: Parchment is a material for the pages of a book or codex, made from fine calf skin, sheep skin or goat skin. Cooking parchment paper (see below) is used in baking....

Page: In the sense of an apprentice, assistant or errand boy:For a servant or knight's apprentice, see page.For an attendant at a wedding or cotillion, see page.For someone who takes notes and delivers papers in the United States Capitol, see page.For someone who assists Members of Parliament in the Canad...

Vellum related Images and Photos (experimental)

Watercolour Map on Vellum of Northern Europe 1624