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European Papermaking
Papermaking reached Europe from China via Central Asia and the Islamic world, with hand paper mills appearing in Muslim Iberia from the 1150s and rea…
Timeline
- c. 1150–1250Iberian Peninsula (Muslim regions) · Iberian PeninsulaIn the 12th century papermaking reached the Muslim polities of Iberia via Samarkand, Damascus and elsewhere, producing paper by hand from rag fibers. Some products entered Christian Europe through Mediterranean trade, replacing expensive parchment for certain documents.
- c. 1271–1280Fabriano · MarcheIn the 1270s Fabriano in Italy introduced water-driven beating and sheet-forming techniques, establishing one of Europe's earliest large-scale paper mills, and developed watermarks, glue sizing and other processes. Paper quality and output rose markedly, making it the center of European papermaking technology.
- c. 1280–1500France and Germany · Western EuropeAt the end of the 13th century Italian craftsmen brought papermaking to southern France and the Rhine region of Germany, building mills powered by river water. Paper gradually replaced parchment as the main writing material for universities, the church and commerce, creating the material conditions for the spread of printing in Europe in the 15th century.
Sources
- Papermaking: The History and Technique of an Ancient Craft — Dard Hunter (1978)
- Science and Civilisation in China, Volume 5: Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 1: Paper and Printing — Joseph Needham (1985)