Steven’s Reviews > Paper: Paging Through History > Status Update

"It [the 15th century] was an auspicious moment in Europe for papermaking, occurring at a time when there was a marked rise in the cultivation of both flax and hemp, used to produce linen and ropes –- and of course paper. Europeans started wearing linen underwear instead of wool. There is no record indicating that this made Europeans less irritable, but it did make a lot more rags available."