Scratching the surface: the use of sheepskin parchment to deter textual erasure in early modern legal deeds

Sean Doherty; Stuart Henderson; Sarah Fiddyment; Jonathan Cedric Finch; Matthew James Collins

doi:10.1186/s40494-021-00503-6

Scratching the surface: the use of sheepskin parchment to deter textual erasure in early modern legal deeds

Sean Doherty, Stuart Henderson, Sarah Fiddyment, Jonathan Cedric Finch, Matthew James Collins

Archaeology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Historic legal deeds are one of the most abundant resources in British archives, but also one of the most neglected. Despite the millions that survive, we know remarkably little about their manufacture, including the species of animal on which they were written. Here we present the species identification of 645 sixteenth–twentieth century skins via peptide mass fingerprinting (ZooMS), demonstrating the preferential use of sheepskin parchment. We argue that alongside their abundance and low cost, the use of sheepskins over those of other species was motivated by the increased visibility of fraudulent text erasure and modification afforded by the unique structure of their skin.

Original language	English
Article number	29
Number of pages	6
Journal	Heritage Science
Volume	9
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-021-00503-6
Publication status	Published - 25 Mar 2021

Bibliographical note

Keywords

parchment, DNA, ZooMS,
post-medieval

Access to Document

10.1186/s40494-021-00503-6

Scratching the surface: the use of sheepskin parchment to deter textual erasure in early modern legal deeds
© The Author(s) 2021
Final published version, 2.44 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "Scratching the surface: the use of sheepskin parchment to deter textual erasure in early modern legal deeds",

abstract = "Historic legal deeds are one of the most abundant resources in British archives, but also one of the most neglected. Despite the millions that survive, we know remarkably little about their manufacture, including the species of animal on which they were written. Here we present the species identification of 645 sixteenth–twentieth century skins via peptide mass fingerprinting (ZooMS), demonstrating the preferential use of sheepskin parchment. We argue that alongside their abundance and low cost, the use of sheepskins over those of other species was motivated by the increased visibility of fraudulent text erasure and modification afforded by the unique structure of their skin.",

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AU - Henderson, Stuart

AU - Fiddyment, Sarah

AU - Finch, Jonathan Cedric

AU - Collins, Matthew James

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N2 - Historic legal deeds are one of the most abundant resources in British archives, but also one of the most neglected. Despite the millions that survive, we know remarkably little about their manufacture, including the species of animal on which they were written. Here we present the species identification of 645 sixteenth–twentieth century skins via peptide mass fingerprinting (ZooMS), demonstrating the preferential use of sheepskin parchment. We argue that alongside their abundance and low cost, the use of sheepskins over those of other species was motivated by the increased visibility of fraudulent text erasure and modification afforded by the unique structure of their skin.

AB - Historic legal deeds are one of the most abundant resources in British archives, but also one of the most neglected. Despite the millions that survive, we know remarkably little about their manufacture, including the species of animal on which they were written. Here we present the species identification of 645 sixteenth–twentieth century skins via peptide mass fingerprinting (ZooMS), demonstrating the preferential use of sheepskin parchment. We argue that alongside their abundance and low cost, the use of sheepskins over those of other species was motivated by the increased visibility of fraudulent text erasure and modification afforded by the unique structure of their skin.

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KW - post-medieval

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