I understand the doomsday book to be vellum, not parchment. (Tanned calf skin, not cellulose). Which means that barring deliberate destruction it will probably outlast the castle that its housed in.
Vellum is basically inert, and suffers damage only from external sources. Parchment will degrade naturally over time, even when kept in a managed environment.
Slashdot Mirror
Unbelievable.
I spend three years studying the middle ages, get my degree, and then promptly forget what the sources I studied were actually recorded on. Sheesh.
I understand the doomsday book to be vellum, not parchment. (Tanned calf skin, not cellulose). Which means that barring deliberate destruction it will probably outlast the castle that its housed in.
Vellum is basically inert, and suffers damage only from external sources. Parchment will degrade naturally over time, even when kept in a managed environment.