The Fothairt were a Medieval Irish people based in Leinster .
35-621: The Fothairt are referenced in Leabhar Ua Maine . Their genealogies are preserved in Leabhar na nGenealach , the Great Book of Lecan , Bodleian Library, MS Rawlinson B 502 , and/or Bodleian Library, MS Rawlinson B 512 . Dáibhí Ó Cróinín writes that "The Fothairt were the original population group around the site of Bridgit's monastery at Kildare " (p. 197), further stating that the Uí Ercáin,
70-589: A branch of the Uí Meic Cruaich (a sub- sept of the Fothairt) "are remembered in the 'Vita Tripartia' as having been specially favoured by Patrick, who blessed them ( Dobert Pátraic bendachtain ... for Uu hErcá huili ) and their king, Fergnae mac Cobthaig, who is also mentioned in the life of Fintan/Munnu of Tagmon, where he encounters the saint in campo Lyffi ('in the Liffy plain')." (p. 197). The kingship of Leinster
105-486: A cruder form, usually thick, harsh, less highly polished than vellum, but with no distinction between skin of calf, or sheep, or of goat. French sources, closer to the original etymology, tend to define velin as from calf only, while the British Standards Institution defines parchment as made from the split skin of several species, and vellum from the unsplit skin. In the usage of modern practitioners of
140-577: A diploma as a "sheepskin" alludes to the time when diplomas were written on vellum made from animal hides. British Acts of Parliament are still printed on vellum for archival purposes, as are those of the Republic of Ireland . In February 2016, the UK House of Lords announced that legislation would be printed on archival paper instead of the traditional vellum from April 2016. However, Cabinet Office Minister Matthew Hancock intervened by agreeing to fund
175-490: A high-quality traditional vellum, paper vellum could be produced thin enough to be virtually transparent to strong light, enabling a source drawing to be used directly in the reproduction of field-used drawings. Vellum is ideally stored in a stable environment with constant temperature and 30% (± 5%) relative humidity . If vellum is stored in an environment with less than 11% relative humidity, it becomes fragile, and vulnerable to mechanical stresses . However, if it
210-442: Is also used on instruments such as the banjo and the bodhran , although synthetic skins are available for these instruments and have become more commonly used. The Catholic Church still issues its decrees and diplomas for its officials on vellum. Modern imitation vellum is made from plasticized rag cotton or fibers from interior tree bark . Terms include: paper vellum, Japanese vellum, and vegetable vellum. Paper vellum
245-590: Is based in Newport Pagnell , Buckinghamshire . A modern imitation is made of cotton . Known as paper vellum, this material is considerably cheaper than animal vellum and can be found in most art and drafting supply stores. Some brands of writing paper and other sorts of paper use the term "vellum" to suggest quality. Vellum is still used for Jewish scrolls, of the Torah in particular, for luxury bookbinding , memorial books, and for various documents in calligraphy . It
280-588: Is devoted to the origins and genealogies of the Ó Ceallaigh dynasty of Uí Maine, its contents updated to the time of compilation. Works found in this work are quatrains paying tribute to the long reign and continuing prosperity of the Uí Dhiarmada (i.e., the descendants of Diarmuid Mac an Bháird), praising the Mac an Bhairds in their capacity as Chiefs of Cinél Rechta Soghain of east-central County Galway . Some forty folios have become detached and lost. One fragment
315-414: Is generally smooth and durable, but there are great variations in its texture which are affected by the way it is made and the quality of the skin. The making involves the cleaning, bleaching, stretching on a frame (a "herse"), and scraping of the skin with a crescent-shaped knife (a "lunarium" or " lunellum "). To create tension, the process goes back and forth between scraping, wetting and drying. Scratching
350-473: Is highly probable that many other Kildare clerics, whose origins cannot be established with certainty, belonged to Fotharta." (p. 586, NHI) Indeed, the Uí Ercáin were noted in the 'Tripartite Life' as being blessed by Saint Patrick , who promised them that not only would they never be subjects of an "outside" king, but that "they [would] have their own brithemnas, capacity of judging and being judged, in their own territory. *(p. 873, NHI) All quotes from
385-513: Is preserved as folios 17–19 of London, British Library, MS Egerton 90. Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh drew upon some of the missing material while writing Leabhar na nGenealach at Galway in 1649–1650. Texts he utilised included Seanchas Síl Ír, and perhaps Clann Ollamhan Uaisle Eamhna. Material was also incorporated into Cuimre na nGenealach , written in early to mid-1666. MacFhirbhisgh's transcriptions are noted by Nollaig Ó Muraíle as being very faithful compared to surviving portions. A catalogue
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#1732855133984420-424: Is usually translucent and its various sizes are often used in applications where tracing is required, such as architectural plans . Its dimensions are more stable than a linen or paper sheet, which is frequently critical in the development of large scaled drawings such as blueprints . Paper vellum has also become extremely important in hand or chemical reproduction technology for dissemination of plan copies. Like
455-577: The Annals of the Four Masters , unless otherwise stated. Leabhar Ua Maine Leabhar Ua Maine (also Leabhar Uí Dubhagáin , The Book of Hy-Many and RIA MS D ii 1 ) is an Irish genealogical compilation , created c. 1392–94. Previously known as Leabhar Uí Dubhagáin , after Seán Mór Ó Dubhagáin (died 1372) of the prominent family of historians and musicians in East Galway, it
490-419: The 180-copy edition of Johannes Gutenberg 's first Bible printed in 1455 with movable type was also printed on vellum, presumably because his market expected this for a high-quality book. Paper was used for most book-printing, as it was cheaper and easier to process through a printing press and to bind . The twelfth-century Winchester Bible was also written on approximately 250 calfskins. In art, vellum
525-400: The artistic crafts of writing, illuminating, lettering, and bookbinding, "vellum" is normally reserved for calfskin, while any other skin is called "parchment". Vellum allows some light to pass through it. It is made from the skin of a young animal. The skin is washed with water and lime ( calcium hydroxide ), and then soaked in lime for several days to soften and remove the hair. Once clear,
560-426: The baselines on which the text was entered and with vertical bounding lines that marked the boundaries of the columns". Most of the finer sort of medieval manuscripts, whether illuminated or not, were written on vellum. Some Gandhāran Buddhist texts were written on vellum, and all Sifrei Torah (Hebrew: ספר תורה Sefer Torah; plural: ספרי תורה, Sifrei Torah) are written on kosher klaf or vellum. A quarter of
595-407: The boundaries between these terms. In 1519, William Horman could write in his Vulgaria : "That stouffe that we wrytte upon, and is made of beestis skynnes, is somtyme called parchement, somtyme velem, somtyme abortyve, somtyme membraan." Writing in 1936, Lee Ustick explained that: To-day the distinction, among collectors of manuscripts, is that vellum is a highly refined form of skin, parchment
630-522: The continued use of vellum from the Cabinet Office budget. On 2017, the House of Commons Commission agreed that it would provide front and back vellum covers for record copies of Acts. Today, because of low demand and complicated manufacturing process, animal vellum is expensive and hard to find. The only UK company still producing traditional parchment and vellum is William Cowley (established 1870), which
665-531: The covering for stiff board bindings. Vellum can be stained virtually any color but seldom is, as a great part of its beauty and appeal rests in its faint grain and hair markings, as well as its warmth and simplicity. Lasting in excess of 1,000 years—for example, Pastoral Care (Troyes, Bibliothèque Municipale, MS 504) , dates from about 600 and is in excellent condition—animal vellum can be far more durable than paper. For this reason, many important documents are written on animal vellum, such as diplomas. Referring to
700-565: The manuscript to the Royal Irish Academy in 1883, where it is currently housed. The manuscript is a massive, oversized vellum book written in Irish, its contents are described by one of the scribes as bolg an tsolathair ( a mixed bag of contents ). It includes a series of metrical dindsenchas , An Banshenchas , Cormac's Glossary , Lebor na Cert , portions of Lebor Gabála , poems, genealogies and pedigrees . The largest single section
735-520: The medieval instructions now followed by modern membrane makers. The makers rubbed them with a round, flat object ("pouncing") to ensure that the ink would adhere to the surface. Even so, ink would gradually flake off of the membrane, especially if it was used in a scroll that was frequently rolled and unrolled. Once the vellum is prepared, traditionally a quire is formed of a group of several sheets. Raymond Clemens and Timothy Graham point out, in their Introduction to Manuscript Studies , that "the quire
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#1732855133984770-417: The piece of skin. The number of sheets depends on the size of the skin and the required length and breadth of each individual sheet. For example, the average calfskin could provide roughly three and a half medium sheets of writing material. The makers can double it when they fold the skin into two conjoined leaves, also known as a bifolium. Historians have found evidence of manuscripts where the scribe wrote down
805-652: The sake of brevity'", were killed at the battle of Ath Senaig (Ballyshannon, near Kilcullen, County Kildare) in 738 as supporters of King Áed of Leinster (p. 200). Despite their political eclipse, the Fothairt "continued to supply leading clergy to Kildare. To Ui Chúlduib ... belonged the two abbesses, Muirenn (d. 918) and Eithne (d. 1016); to the obscure Forthair Airbrech belonged the earlier abess, Sebdann (d. 732) and another Kildare ecclesiastic (d. 750); while two further abbesses, Coblaith (d. 916) and Muirenn (d. 964), belonged to an ecclesiastical branch of Forthairt Fea. And it
840-564: The same thing, however the quality level differs, sometimes greatly. Though Christopher de Hamel , an expert on medieval manuscripts, writes that "for most purposes the words parchment and vellum are interchangeable", a number of distinctions have been made in the past and present. The word "vellum" is borrowed from Old French vélin 'calfskin', derived in turn from the Latin word vitulinum 'made from calf'. However, in Europe, from Roman times,
875-409: The skin by attaching it to a frame (a "herse"). They attach the skin at points around the edge with cords and wrap the part next to these points around a pebble (a "pippin"). They then use a crescent shaped knife, (a "lunarium" or "lunellum"), to clean off any remaining hairs. The makers thoroughly clean the skin and process it into sheets once it is completely dry. They can extract many sheets from
910-449: The skin of other animals), or simply by being of a higher quality. Vellum is prepared for writing and printing on single pages, scrolls , and codices (books). Modern scholars and experts often prefer to use the broader term "membrane", which avoids the need to draw a distinction between vellum and parchment. It may be very hard to determine the animal species involved (let alone its age) without detailed scientific analysis. Vellum
945-409: The surface with pumice , and treating with lime or chalk to make it suitable for writing or printing ink can create a final look. Modern "paper vellum" is made of plant cellulose fibers and gets its name from its similar usage to actual vellum, as well as its high quality. It is used for a variety of purposes including tracing, technical drawings, plans and blueprints . Tracing paper is essentially
980-433: The two sides of the skin are distinct: the body side and the hairy side. The "inside body side" of the skin is usually the lighter and more refined of the two. The hair follicles may be visible on the outer side, together with any scars from when the animal was alive. The membrane can also show the pattern of the animal's vein network called the "veining" of the sheet. The makers remove any remaining hair ("scudding") and dry
1015-489: The word was used for the best quality of prepared skin, regardless of the animal from which the hide was obtained. Calf , sheep , and goat were all commonly used, and other animals, including pig, deer, donkey, horse, or camel were used on occasion. The best quality, "uterine vellum", was said to be made from the skins of stillborn or unborn animals, although the term was also applied to fine quality skins made from young animals. However, there has long been much blurring of
1050-518: Was Ádhamh Cúisín (fl. c.1400); the only other scribe known by name is Faolán Mac an Ghabhann na Scéal (d. 1423). It is a massive, oversized vellum book written in Irish. It was property of the O'Kelly clan until 1757, when it was sold to William Betham . In 1814, Betham proceeded to sell the manuscript to the Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos . The Duke then donated
1085-601: Was held from the mid-8th century to 1042 by the Uí Dúnlainge , who bolstered their early gains "by means of political marriage with Sárnat, daughter of Eochu mac Baíth of the Fothairt" (p. 197). A branch of the Forthairt, the Uí Brigti, explicitly claimed a connection with Bridgit (p. 198). In addition, two kings of Forthairt, Fergus mac Móenaig and Dub dá Chrich mac aui Cellaig mec Triein, "as well as 'many others, omitted for
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1120-495: Was later also known as the Book of the O'Kelly's , written at the behest of Muircertach Ó Ceallaigh (d. 1407), Bishop of Clonfert (1378–93) and then Archbishop of Tuam (1393–1407). The book was written by ten scribes in Uí Mháine not before 1392 and sometime after 1394. There were ten scribes, eight of whom are anonymous . The principal scribe and overall compiler of the manuscript
1155-474: Was made of the manuscript's contents in the seventeenth century, while it was in the possession of Sir James Ware and before the subsequent loss of certain folios. This reveals it also to have included, at that time, texts like Lebor Gabála Érenn and Acallam na Senórach . Vellum Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material . It is often distinguished from parchment , either by being made from calfskin (rather than
1190-504: Was the scribe's basic writing unit throughout the Middle Ages". Guidelines are then made on the membrane. They note " 'pricking' is the process of making holes in a sheet of parchment (or membrane) in preparation of its ruling. The lines were then made by ruling between the prick marks ...The process of entering ruled lines on the page to serve as a guide for entering text. Most manuscripts were ruled with horizontal lines that served as
1225-556: Was used for paintings, especially if they needed to be sent long distances, before canvas became widely used in about 1500, and continued to be used for drawings, and watercolours . Old master prints were sometimes printed on vellum, especially for presentation copies, until at least the seventeenth century. Limp vellum or limp-parchment bindings were used frequently in the 16th and 17th centuries, and were sometimes gilt but were also often not embellished . In later centuries vellum has been more commonly used like leather, that is, as
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