Parchment, Please

Near the year 1000 we find Maximos Planudes nude writing to a friend in Asia Minor asking for parchment because the right quality is not for sale in his own neighborhood, presumably Constantinople. In the end, all he receives are some asses’ skins, which do not please him in the least, and a note: Dear Max, No parchment till the summer, months after the population begins to eat meat. Low yield should come as no surprise, our medieval animals being much smaller than their modern counterparts. Love, A. Minor