It all starts with an animal, in the insular context it’s believed always to be calf with deer also a possibilty for some. New DNA testing methods will soon allow this to be known for certian. I use both calf and roe deer, as I have access to both locally and they are very similar in quality. For making replicas I always use calf to keep it as original as possible. Collecting local stillborn calves in spring is a great source of high quality hides and would have been in the early medieval period also.
Animals are ideally skinned when still warm, newborn calves can be hung up to process, older animals are too heavy so need to be skinned on the ground.
skins then need to be salted and stored, the slaughter most likely took place at one time, my moneys on Martinmass in November when animals are in peak condition and hide damaging parasites such as warble fly aren’t active.salted skins are soaked in running water for two days before usethe soaked hide is then scraped with a dull blade over a wooden beam to remove residual flesh and membranethe fleshed hide is then soaked in an alkaline solution, lime or soda ash depending on local topography, see the hearth section for preparation of the various options. the alkaline along with bacterial action loosen the hair enough for it to be scraped off after a few weeks depending on temperatures.the hide is then rinsed in running water for 2 days to remove the alkalinity and return it to neutralThe hide is then stretched on a herse to dry, when dry the flesh side is dry scraped with a lunellum
Insular vellum is usually degrained calf which is made by delaminating the hide to remove the grain layer and leave the corrium undrerneath. This is what happens when you pour boiling water over the grain side of a stretched and dried hide and scrape it with a tiny lunellum, a very efficient technique to produce high quality degrained parchment. The archaeology of the 8th century parchment workhshop found at Tarbat suggests this is the method used.once its dry your done, cut it out and take it to the scriptorium
