What did Medieval monks soak hide in and why?

Answer 1

Medieval monks did not soak hide in anything, unless they were preparing their own parchment (which would normally be the job of professional parmenters, not monks).

The skins of sheep, goats and calfs were first placed in running water (such as a stream) until the skins began to rot; this loosened the fleece or hair so it could then be easily scraped away with a blade. The rotting must then be stopped by drying the skins and stretching them on a wooden frame. The inner (flesh) side of the hides could then be scraped to remove blood vessels and fat. After repeated washing, drying and scraping the hides were smooth and thin and could then be whitened with "pounce", made from chalk, pumice and finely-ground cuttle bones. This eventually produced parchment (sheep or goat skin) or vellum (calf skin) for writing manuscripts, letters or accounts.

To produce leather for making belts and other items, either tawing or tanning was used, but these were generally the work of professional tanners, not monks.

For tawing hides a different process was used: the leather was soaked in a mixture of salt and alum for a long period, which gave it a white appearance and preserved the leather which could then be used for belts, shoes and other items. Tawed leather is prone to decay if kept in wet conditions.

Tanning involved a large pit (or two) and a truly revolting smell. The tanners would first scrape the hides to remove blood, dirt and fat, then soak them in urine or lime water to begin the rotting process. This again loosened the hair which could be easily scraped away with a curved blade. Skins were then "bated" - pounded with dung (from dogs or chickens) or animal brains for several hours before oak tannin was applied, giving the finished leather a red/brown colour and preventing any further rotting of the leather.

The bating process softened the leather by introducing enzymes which help to make the leather supple.