18th February 2016
N ew sadem ic.com
™
- British English edition
page
4
The skin from calves, sheep, goats,
and deer can be used to make
parchment. The skin is washed
and then soaked in a special liquid
for many days. This removes most
o f the animal hair. Afterwards the
skin is stretched across a wooden
frame. The parchment maker then
scrapes both sides with a knife
as the skin dries. This gets rid
o f any remaining hair and makes
the parchment the same thickness.
Therefore making a small amount
o f parchment can take several
weeks. Parchment made from calf
skin is usually called vellum. This
name comes from an old French
word that means calf.
Long ago all books were hand
written and made o f parchment. In
England all laws made by parlia
ment were recorded on long pieces
o f vellum. These were rolled up to
be stored. Vellum is very durable.
It can last for thousands o f years.
The A cts o f P arliam ent storeroom a t the Palace
o f Westminster, in London, the capital o f the UK
Some o f the U K ’s most famous
historical documents were written
on vellum. The Domesday Book
and Magna Carta are examples.
The Domesday Book was pro
duced in 1068. It is a record o f all
the towns, villages and farmland in
England. Magna Carta is a Latin
phrase. It means ‘Great Charter’.
King John o f England put his seal
on Magna Carta. The charter lists
many rules. A group o f wealthy
landowners forced the king to
agree to them in 1215. Many his
torians say that Magna Carta was
the world’s first constitution. This
is the set o f rules by which a coun
try is governed.
Paper was invented in China over
two thousand years ago. Papermak
ing slowly spread around the world.
It was first used in the Middle East
around the year 700. By the 1400s
paper was being made in most
European countries. As paper was
quicker and less expensive to make,
it soon replaced parchment.
The Palace o f Westminster, in London
However, in England, important
documents continued to be written
or printed on vellum. The elected
members o f the U K ’s parliament
meet at the Palace o f Westminster,
in London, the country’s capi
tal city. The parliament has two
‘houses’, the House o f Commons
(usually called the Commons) and
the House o f Lords (usually called
the Lords). The Commons is the
lower house and the Lords the
upper. M ost people in the House
o f Lords are appointed. None
are elected. The Lords’ job is to
check all legislation that is passed
by the Commons.
In the Palace o f Westminster
there is a room where all the Acts
o f Parliament are stored. The older
ones were written on rolls o f vel
lum. Nowadays, new laws are draft
ed on paper. Then, after the law is
finalised, two copies are printed in
booklets made from vellum.
The House o f Lords wanted to
stop using vellum to save money.
It said that archive paper would
be used for new laws. This paper
lasts for about 500 years. Many
people complained. David Cam
eron is the prime minister o f the
UK. A few days after the House
o f Lords’ announcement, a person
who works for M r Cameron’s of
fice declared that vellum would
still be used. The prime m inister’s
office would now pay for it. Only
one company still makes vellum
in the UK. Its boss said that the
prime m inister’s office had made
a sensible decision. □
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