100 sheets of stolen vellum

[Fabrizio Salani]

In the 15th and 16th centuries, the highest-quality parchment was usually produced in Italy, France, and Spain, because artisans used lamb, goat, or calf skins (usually stillborn animals or fetuses, hence the term "uterine parchment," although today the theory of stretched skin is more prevalent). The lowest-quality parchment was typically produced in Northern Europe: Germany, England, Scandinavia, Czechoslovakia, Sweden and so on, where ox or cow skins, or at least those of adult or older animals, were used. This resulted in larger, more irregular hair follicles, which made writing more difficult and less fluid. The parchment was thicker, yellowish in color, and therefore required more invasive cleaning processes, which ultimately affected its quality.