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Celtic Writing Materials

The Egyptians used papyrus to keep their records the surface was rough and difficult to work with because it was made by laying reeds criss-cross, and pressing them together. The reed pen used as the writing tool meant small and fine letters and other detail work were impossible to write.

With the introduction of parchment - the name given to any animal skin used for writing purposes, such as sheep, calf and goat, although vellum was originally the word used for calf skin -a smooth surface was possible. Preparation of the skins for writing was a lengthy process and has changed little throughout the centuries.

The skins were first soaked in water to clean them, then put into vats containing lime and water, which washes out some of the fats and soluble proteins and also loosens the hair on the skin. The hair was then pulled away and a blunt knife used to remove the surplus flesh and fat. Some times the skin would be split into two, depending on the thickness of the hide used. The monks would return the skins to more lime vats and then give them a final wash. Stretching was the next stage: cords attached to the outer edges of the skins were tied on to rectangular frames. Any fats or oils that remained were removed at this stage by applying a paste of lime, ashes or alum. The skins were scraped down again with a blunt knife.

They were left until dry, then cut and finished by rubbing pumice stone into the skin, thus making the surface smooth for writing on what is called the ’nap’ surface of the skin. Consequently each skin had its own unique quality: sometimes tiny black dots were left on it - this was where the hair follicles were; it could be white or yellow in colour. All these factors added to the texture and look of the page.

In some cases the spine of the calf can be seen running down vertically with the spine of the book. It is calculated that the Book of Kells used more than 185 calf skins to complete the manuscript. Some of the calves were killed especially, when they were between two and three months old, for the quality of the skin, though because of their size they might be used for only one page.