a great library was set up in Pergamon that rivalled the famous Library of Alexandria. Parchment ( pergamenum in Latin), however, derives its name from Pergamon, the city where it was perfected (via the French parchemin). Herodotus mentions writing on skins as common in his time, the 5th century BC and in his Histories (v.58) he states that the Ionians of Asia Minor had been accustomed to give the name of skins ( diphtherai) to books this word was adapted by Hellenized Jews to describe scrolls. The article originally appeared on and is reprinted below with the author's permission.Īccording to the Roman Varro and Pliny's Natural History, vellum and parchment were invented under the patronage of Eumenes of Pergamum, as a substitute for papyrus, which was temporarily not being exported from Alexandria, its only source. This fascinating blog post about the history of vellum and parchment is written by Richard Norman, an experienced British bookbinder now living in France, where he runs Eden Wookshops with his wife and fellow bookbinder, Margaret, specializing in Family Bibles and liturgical books.
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