Plant ink
Francia
9th Century
Source: Zina Cohen, Till Hennings, Oliver Hahn, Philippe Depreux and Ira Rabin, "Black inks under examination. Part 2: a case study of Carolingian manuscripts", Technè, 56 | 2023, 105-113.
Recipe Details
Ingredients
plant extracts, organic binder
Preparation Steps
Plant ink is defined as an organic black writing material that lacks the high metal content (Fe) seen in iron-gall inks (p. 106). It is identified by its property of becoming transparent at wavelengths around 750 nm under near-infrared reflectography (p. 106).
Original Recipe Text
Plant ink is defined as an organic black writing material that lacks the high metal content (Fe) seen in iron-gall inks (p. 106). It is identified by its property of becoming transparent at wavelengths around 750 nm under near-infrared reflectography (p. 106).
Evidence
"Plant ink becomes transparent at wavelengths around 750 nm. ... plant inks are observed systematically only in St.Gall."
Remarks
In this corpus, plant inks were found to be used exclusively without other ink types within the same codicological unit (p. 110). They are strongly localized to the East Frankish monastery of St. Gall (p. 110).
Scientific Analysis
Analytical Techniques
X-ray fluorescence spectrometry
near-infrared imaging
Certainty Level
Confirmed
Instrumentally Verified
Verified
Metadata
Material Type
ink
Paper TypeParchment
ColorBlack
RegionFrancia
Approx. Year850
Source Information
AuthorZina Cohen, Till Hennings, Oliver Hahn, Philippe Depreux and Ira Rabin, "Black inks under examination. Part 2: a case study of Carolingian manuscripts", Technè, 56 | 2023, 105-113.
CollectionSt. Gall
Language
N/A
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