The pages of most books were of mottled parchment, that is, dried sheepskin, which was universally available—and nowhere more abundant than in Ireland, whose bright green fields still host each April an explosion of new white lambs. Vellum, or calfskin, which was more uniformly white when dried, was used more sparingly for the most honored texts.

— Thomas Cahill How the Irish Saved Civilization (1995)

More quotes by Thomas Cahill

Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter (2003)

Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter (2003)

How the Irish Saved Civilization (1995)

How the Irish Saved Civilization (1995)

Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter (2003)

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Thomas Cahill (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.