Bestandserhaltung

The Vienna Genesis

“…The identification of folium is also possible, since its maxima are close to those of orchil. Folium has been previously identified on a few purple codices such as the 6 th century Codex Brixianus 8 , the 8 th century Evangiles de Saint Riquier 9 , the 8 th century Évangéliaire de Godescalc 10 , and a 13 th century section inside the 8 th century Evangiles dits de Saint-Denis 11 . Thomas and Flieder 12 claimed to identify folium in the parchment of the Codex Sinopensis, but their result is questionable.…”

“…This acts as a way to enhance the importance and value of a text. The use of black colorants to colour parchment in the late Middle Ages seems to continue this tradition and creates an exclusivity comparable to purple manuscripts 41 .…”

“…Valuable objects of the library were shown to interested visitors from the 17 th century onward. In their travel reports Johann David Köhler 11 , Heinrich Sandner 12 and Franz Heinrich Böckh 13 mention that they saw a purple codex in the court library. The German art historian Gustav Friedrich Waagen had the rare opportunity to see and study the codex in 1839.…”

“…But purple parchment is stained with purple dye; on which is melted gold and silver so that the letters stand out. 11 The description of the yellowish colour of parchment that was first produced in Asia Minor is correct, as sheep parchment typically has a yellowish hair side and a white flesh side. However, complaints about the whiteness of parchment that was developed in Rome harming the eyesight raise an interesting hypothesis.…”

“…In addition to visual examination, biomolecular methods were used to try and identify the animal used to make the parchment of the Vienna Genesis 41 . Evolutionary biologists use DNA to document the history of evolution.…”