Digital Imagine project 1
Manuscript analysis
Part One --- General info of the parchment
Page Two --- support material/ text/ shimmering bg
Page Three ---ruling/ human mark
Page Four --- human highlight in different color
Page Five --- red ink in text
Page Six --- correction and overwrite
Page Seven ---text with decoration
Page Eight --- more fancy text decoration
Page Nine --- flora decoration
Page Ten --- another red ink in text
Page Eleven ---the gold decoration
Page Twelve ---the mode
Page Thirthen --- thrimmer
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Page One
General Material Analysis: Book of Hours (15th Century, Low Countries)
1. Codicological Identity
• Title: Book of Hours
• Date & Region: 15th century, Low Countries (modern-day Belgium, Netherlands, northern France)
• Function: A personal devotional manuscript used for private prayer, often richly illuminated and decorated
• Size: Pocket-sized
2. Binding Materials & Decoration
• Material: Appears to be leather-bound, likely calfskin, which was commonly used in late medieval bindings (Texture & Quality: The grain and sheen suggest high-quality calfskin or goatskin)
• Original Binding Color: Deep purple with gold-tooled, hand-painted floral decorations.
• Decoration: Gold-tooled, hand-painted floral motifs, including gold vine and rose motif patterns
• Gilded Page Edges: The gold edges on the paper (also called gilded edges) serve both decorative and functional purposes and are a hallmark of luxury manuscripts and books — especially in Books of Hours.
!! ✒️ Pricking Analysis
• Observation: Upon close inspection of the page margins—particularly along the outer vertical and top edges—there are no clearly visible holes or indentations that would indicate obvious pricking marks.
• Lighting & Contrast: The parchment surface is evenly illuminated but does not show the sharp punctures or repeated tiny dots typical of pricking used to guide ruling in manuscript preparation.
• Folio Characteristics: The manuscript folio appears to be carefully trimmed, and any pricking that may have originally existed could have been cut off or smoothed out during rebinding or trimming.
since there are both the gilded page edge, thus it is not trimmed later.
• Bookmark: No bookmark is visible in the current binding, unlike some medieval books that included textile markers.
• Sewing & Binding Structure: The current white binding appears to be a modern conservation rebinding.
There are no visible traditional sewing supports (such as raised thongs or cords). Instead, it is likely that quires are sewn onto thin tapes or recessed cords, then glued into a case binding — a technique designed to preserve the structure while minimizing strain on the original materials.
3. Binding History
• Original Binding: Dark purple leather cover with decorative gold tooling
• Current Binding: Replaced with a white modern clamshell box for preservation
• Condition of New Binding: Excellent — clean edges and firm structure indicate modern conservation treatment
4. Analysis:
Possible Reasons Why the Edges Are More Faded:
• Light Exposure: Edges are more exposed when shelved or handled; UV light fades purple and red dyes
• Photodegradation: UV radiation degrades organic pigments, causing fading and desaturation at the periphery
• Handling & Friction: Frequent contact causes abrasion at the edges
• Drying & Oxidation: Edges may dry out faster, as the protective cover (case) only shields front/back, not edges
• Visual Contrast: The center panels retain a fresher, nobler purple due to reduced exposure
general history/ binding / identity
Page Two
Black ink:
Likely Composition:
→ Iron-gall ink, based on the following:
• Fades under IR (carbon black would not).
• Appears dark in UV.
• Commonly used in 14th–16th century manuscripts.
Support Material:
• The parchment reveals fine vein pattern under UV, consistent with vellum (calfskin).
• The presence of visible pink ruling lines suggests leadpoint or red iron oxide as ruling pigment.
Shimmering text background:
The shimmering background likely consists of a gold-size or organic preparatory layer, exhibiting:
• ✦ Neutral tone in visible light
• ✦ Complete disappearance in IR
• ✦ Strong fluorescence under UV
These findings strongly align with the manuscript’s luxury status as a 15th-century Book of Hours, in which surface refinement and visual richness were essential components of devotional value.
text/ shimmring/ support material
Page Three
Ruling Line Analysis (Red Lines)
The red ruling lines, used to structure the layout of the manuscript text, exhibit distinctive behavior under multispectral imaging:
• Visible Light (VL): The ruling lines are clearly visible, appearing in a soft red tone. This confirms their role in guiding line and column placement during manuscript production.
• Ultraviolet Light (UV): The red lines remain clearly visible and even more distinct, likely due to the presence of organic pigments or dyes that fluoresce under UV. This suggests the use of an organic red pigment, possibly vermilion or red lake.
• Infrared Light (IR): The ruling lines become invisible or extremely faint, indicating that the pigment does not contain carbon or iron, both of which typically absorb IR light. This further supports the conclusion that a non-IR-absorbing, organic-based red pigment was used.
The parenthesis “(” is not original to the main Gothic text. It’s likely:
• A later addition by a reader or scribe.
• Written with a different ink, possibly carbon-based or organic.
• Possibly intended as a reader’s mark, correction, or guiding symbol.ruling/ human mark/ text
Page Four
📍 Highlighted Vertical Marks
• To the right of the letter “a”, there are two parallel brownish-red curved strokes and a third bright red stroke extending downward.
• The brownish/reddish vertical strokes to the right of the letter “a” exhibit bright fluorescence under UV light, which is atypical for iron gall or carbon-based inks, both of which usually appear matte or absorb UV.
• This distinctive fluorescence, combined with the reddish hue observed under visible light, suggests the possible use of organic red lake pigments such as madder or brazilwood—both known for their UV reactivity.
• Alternatively, this may indicate degraded red lead (minium), which can sometimes shift in spectral behavior due to oxidation or environmental exposure.
• The marks’ marginal position and differing material imply they were added later, likely serving a guiding, annotative, or rubrication function within the manuscript.human mark
Page Five
The red pigment used here is not visible under IR and does not fluoresce under UV, pointing to a mineral-based pigment, most likely red lead (minium). This was a common rubrication pigment in 15th-century manuscripts for headings, section markers, or liturgical emphasis.red text
Page Six
Text Correction / Undertext:
Visible Light:
• The area surrounding the letters a o i appears visibly smudged or heavily overworked, with a darkened, clouded background inconsistent with surrounding text.
• The vertical alignment is also slightly off, suggesting reapplication of text.
UV Light:
• Under UV, the background behind a o i shows a haze with faint shapes, possibly indicating earlier erased letters or scraping. The fluorescence differs slightly from adjacent parchment, which may suggest past abrasion or use of different materials.
• The pigment of a and o is more intense, implying reapplication or correction with fresh ink.
IR Imaging:
• The IR image reveals faint ghosting or shadow-like residues beneath the current letters—these could be remnants of erased or overwritten text, likely a shape or miswritten paint.
• The rest of the IR field remains relatively even, strengthening the case that only this section was modified.
unertext/ text correction
Page Seven
Visible Light Observation:
• The letter is a decorated initial “O” (common in Books of Hours).
• The interior is filled with brown outlines, and it features beige and red/rose-colored diagonal bands, possibly stylistic or symbolic.
• The decoration is precisely placed within the letter, indicating it was planned as part of the original layout.
UV Light Analysis:
• The interior diagonal band fluoresces blue, suggesting the presence of organic pigments, likely:
• Azurite degradation, or
• Indigo/lake pigments such as folio blue or litmus-derived materials.
• The parchment also fluoresces purple, but the area around the decoration is strongly contrasting, highlighting the pigment.
• No fluorescence in the brown outline, implying that the outline ink is likely carbon-based or iron gall, which does not fluoresce.
IR Reflectography:
• The decorated area appears dull and faint, nearly disappearing under infrared light.
• This suggests the pigments used are not IR-reflective, supporting the idea that organic or lake-based pigments (such as indigo or madder) were used.
• The letter outline and decoration have low IR contrast, confirming they are not carbon-black (which reflects IR strongly), and not metallic pigments like gold or silver.
letter interior/ brown shimmering
Page Eight
Decorated Initial with Organic Red and Blue Pigments:
The elaborately bordered initial exhibits black ink likely made of carbon or iron gall, surrounded by organic red and blue pigments. Under UV, the red flourishes fluoresce strongly, while IR imaging reveals their organic composition due to the lack of reflectivity. The lower decorated panel displays a hint of metallic reflectance in IR, UV and visible, suggesting gold decoration. This use of complex mixed-media pigment decoration is typical of high-quality 15th-century Flemish Books of Hours.
Black red pigmet decoration
Page Nine
Leaf and Floral Border Decoration (Green Leaves, Black Dots, Brown Branch):
1. Visible Light Analysis
• The green pigment appears saturated and deep, applied within leaf shapes.
• Brown branches are clearly defined and naturalistic.
• The red and black floral details surrounding the leaves are intact and richly pigmented.
• The high contrast and tight brushwork suggest deliberate, decorative illumination.
2. UV Light (Ultraviolet) Observations
• Green Pigment Fluorescence: Under UV, the green leaves fluoresce a bright purplish-pink tone. This is a strong indicator of the presence of verdigris or an organic green lake pigment, both of which are known to fluoresce under UV.
• Brown Stems: Show weak fluorescence, possibly due to the use of iron-oxide-based brown pigments, which are generally UV-inert.
• Black Dots: Appear matte and heavily absorb UV light. This suggests carbon-based black or possibly lampblack.
3. IR Light (Infrared) Observations
• Green Pigment: Shows darkening under IR, meaning it absorbs infrared well. This again supports verdigris or copper-based green pigment identification.
• Black Dots: Become semi-transparent under IR, also characteristic of carbon-based inks.
• Brown Stems: Retain some visibility but appear faded, consistent with iron-oxide or organic browns.
decoration / paint
Page Ten
The red rubricated word “glā” exhibits a strong red tone in visible light, faint absorption in infrared, and pronounced fluorescence under UV. These properties suggest the use of vermilion possibly combined with organic binding agents or lake pigments, consistent with 15th-century scribal practices for rubrication. The abbreviation mark is stylistically standard for Latin manuscripts, indicating a contraction of “gloria”.red organic pigment / latin