Editing Parchment (section)

==Modern use==
Parchment (or vellum) continues to be used for ritual or legal reasons.  [[Rabbinic literature]] traditionally maintains that the institution of employing parchment made of animal hides for the writing of ritual objects,<ref>Maimonides, Hilkhoth Tefillin 1:3.</ref> as detailed below. In the United Kingdom, Acts of Parliament are still printed on vellum.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Why is the UK still printing its laws on vellum? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35569281 |date=15 February 2016 |magazine=BBC News magazine}}</ref>

The heyday of parchment use was during the medieval period, but there has been a growing revival of its use among artists since the late 20th century. Although parchment never stopped being used (primarily for governmental documents and diplomas) it had ceased to be a primary choice for artists' supports by the end of the 15th century [[Renaissance]]. This was partly due to its expense and partly due to its unusual working properties. Parchment consists mostly of [[collagen]]. When the water in paint media touches the parchment's surface, the collagen melts slightly, forming a raised bed for the paint, a quality highly prized by some artists.
[[File:Sachsenspiegel.jpg|thumb|right|upright|A 1385 copy of the [[Sachsenspiegel]], a German legal code, written on parchment with straps and clasps on the binding]]
Parchment is also extremely affected by its environment and changes in humidity, which can cause buckling. Books with parchment pages were bound with strong wooden boards and clamped tightly shut by metal (often brass) clasps or leather straps;<ref name="pul" /> this acted to keep the pages pressed flat despite humidity changes. Such metal fittings continued to be found on books as decorative features even after the use of paper made them unnecessary.<ref name="pul">{{cite web |url=http://libweb5.princeton.edu/visual_materials/hb/cases/closures/index.html |title=Clasps, Furniture, and Other Closures |year=2004 |work=Hand Bookindings |publisher=Princeton University Library |access-date=4 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111208042037/http://libweb5.princeton.edu/visual_materials/hb/cases/closures/index.html |archive-date=2011-12-08 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Some contemporary artists prize the changeability of parchment, noting that the material seems alive and like an active participant in making artwork. To support the needs of the revival of use by artists, a revival in the art of preparing individual skins is also underway.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}} Hand-prepared skins are usually preferred by artists because they are more uniform in surface and have fewer oily spots – which can cause long-term cracking of paint – than mass-produced parchment, which is usually made for lamp shades, furniture, or other interior design purposes.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}