28-10-2025, 10:33 AM
I claimed before
It seems that some Medieval Jewish scholars described that practice and even gave distinct names to unsplit vellum and to the two layers of split vellum.
However, the author who wrote the entry on vellum for the Diderot Ecyclopedia in the 1700s claimed that split vellum was just a Medieval Tiktok meme, and when he asked contemporary vellum makers they laughed at the idea.
So, what is the truth? Presumably only the thickest (calf?) skins can be split, and the process surely would require special tools and skills. Are there extant manuscripts which were definitely written on split skin?
All the best, --stolfi
(15-10-2025, 08:05 PM)Jorge_Stolfi wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.To make vellum, the skin was usually split into two layers.I had read that somewhere the internet, and I tried to find a source. Surprisingly, is seems that it is still disputed whether such thing was ever done.
It seems that some Medieval Jewish scholars described that practice and even gave distinct names to unsplit vellum and to the two layers of split vellum.
However, the author who wrote the entry on vellum for the Diderot Ecyclopedia in the 1700s claimed that split vellum was just a Medieval Tiktok meme, and when he asked contemporary vellum makers they laughed at the idea.
So, what is the truth? Presumably only the thickest (calf?) skins can be split, and the process surely would require special tools and skills. Are there extant manuscripts which were definitely written on split skin?
All the best, --stolfi