29-05-2026, 01:22 PM
These questions are interesting, but would require significant study to answer.
How do we take a representative sample of manuscripts written on paper and parchment from the first half of the 15th century?
How do we define "new stuff"?
How do we (as relative amateurs with only access to digital scans) differentiate between different qualities of parchment?
How do we tell the difference between writing substrate that was low quality to begin with vs artifacts that had the bad luck to become battered and accumulate signs of usage over the centuries?
How do we collect a representative sample of manuscripts written on poor quality parchment?
Without answering these questions and doing the research, all we can really do is speculate.
How do we take a representative sample of manuscripts written on paper and parchment from the first half of the 15th century?
How do we define "new stuff"?
How do we (as relative amateurs with only access to digital scans) differentiate between different qualities of parchment?
How do we tell the difference between writing substrate that was low quality to begin with vs artifacts that had the bad luck to become battered and accumulate signs of usage over the centuries?
How do we collect a representative sample of manuscripts written on poor quality parchment?
Without answering these questions and doing the research, all we can really do is speculate.