Palimpsest

Palimpsest: Palimpsest, but for metaphors, should be a most obscure word only used by scholars of ancient literature. A palimpsest is a parchment (or other similar writing material) that has been erased and reused, perhaps several times. It implies that the older texts can be discerned to spite the erasures and over writings. Today, it is almost always used metaphorically to indicate something with (hidden) layers of meaning.

The Archimedes Palimpsest is the object of current research where rare mathematical and engineering texts by Archimedes had been fortuitously saved when a 13th century monk erased Archimedes' text and overwrote it with prayers. Had the parchment not been reused in this way, the original manuscripts would surely have been lost.

Alison had written the ceremony, making her own palimpsest out of the Book of Common Prayer and her poetic inclinations ... the whole thing as relentlessly conventional as the wedding dresses.

Typeset by Palimpsest Book Production Ltd. Grangemouth, Stirlingshire, Scotland.