scholarly journals Mössbauer study of iron gall inks on historical documents

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Lerf ◽  
F. E. Wagner ◽  
M. Dreher ◽  
T. Espejo ◽  
J.-L. Pérez-Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Degradation Products ◽  
Gum Arabic ◽  
Experimental Methods ◽  
Western World ◽  
Historical Documents ◽  
Mössbauer Study ◽  
Mössbauer Data ◽  
Iron Gall ◽  
Forms Of Iron

AbstractIron gall ink was used in the Western world as a permanent writing material already in late Roman times and throughout the Middle Ages, until it became obsolete in the twentieth century. There is much interest in experimental methods to determine the state of the ink and its degradation products on historical documents. Mössbauer spectroscopy with 57Fe is such a method, and it has the particular advantage to be sensitive to the chemical bonding of iron, but this method has only rarely been applied to historical documents. In this paper we present Mössbauer data for two damaged documents from a Library in Granada and a handwritten German book from the eighteenth century. In addition to the inked parts of the manuscripts, ink-free parts were studied to determine the amount and chemical state of the iron in the papers. These new results are discussed in the context of previously published Mössbauer data. In one of the investigated documents Fe(II)-oxalate, FeC2O4·2H2O, was observed. The assignment of the various Fe3+ sites in the different documents is rather difficult and often there is a superposition of various species. Known forms of iron gallate are definitely not present on the inked papers. The observed ferric species can be remains of Fe3+ polyphenol complexes of the ink, complexes of Fe3+ with degradation products of the cellulose of the paper or gum arabic, or very small iron oxide or hydroxide nanoparticles.

scholarly journals Mössbauer Study of Iron Gall Inks on Historical Documents

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anton E. Lerf ◽  
Friedrich E. Wagner ◽  
Monika Dreher ◽  
Teresa Espejo ◽  
Jose-Luis Perez-Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Iron Oxide ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Degradation Products ◽  
Experimental Methods ◽  
Historical Documents ◽  
Mössbauer Study ◽  
Mössbauer Data ◽  
Iron Gall ◽  
Non Destructive

Abstract Iron gall ink was used as a permanent writing material already in late Roman times and throughout the Middle Ages, until it became obsolete in the 20th century. There is much interest in non-destructive experimental methods to determine the state of the ink and its degradation products on historical documents. Mössbauer spectroscopy is such a method, and it has the particular advantage to be sensitive to the chemical bonding of iron, but this method has only rarely been applied to historical documents. In this paper we present Mössbauer data for two damaged documents from a Library in Granada and a handwritten German book from the 18th century. These new results are discussed in the context of previously published Mössbauer data. In one of the investigated documents Fe-(II)-oxalate, FeC2O4·2H2O, was observed. The assignment of the various Fe3+ sites in the different documents is rather difficult and often there is a superposition of various species. These species can be remains of the Fe-tannin complexes of the ink, complexes of Fe3+ with the cellulose of the paper and different iron oxide or hydroxide nanoparticles.

Florence, 1492: The Reappearance of Plotinus*

1996 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 488-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henri D. Saffrey
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Thirteenth Century ◽  
Saint Augustine ◽  
Latin Translation ◽  
Western World ◽  
Marsilio Ficino ◽  
The Middle Ages

In the western world, Plotinus was only a name until 1492. None of his treatises had been translated during the Middle Ages, and the translations dating back to antiquity had been lost. He was not totally unknown, however, thanks to scholars like Firmicus Maternus, Saint Augustine, Macrobius, and to those parts of the works of Proclus translated in the thirteenth century by William of Moerbeke. But Plotinus's own writings remained completely unknown,and as Vespasiano da Bisticci observed in his Vite, “senza i libri non si poteva fare nulla” (“without the books, nothing can be done”). This fact was to change completely only with the publication by Marsilio Ficino of his Latin translation of the Enneads.

XXI Jewish Knowledge of the Samaritan Alphabet in the Middle Ages

1913 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 613-626 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Gaster
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Western World ◽  
Holy Land ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Middle Ages

The Jews have never practically lost sight of the Samaritans, unlike the Christians, who for at least a thousand years had entirely forgotten their existence, as no writer or pilgrim to the Holy Land speaks of them with the solitary exception of Mandeville. It was therefore a great surprise to the Western world when at the beginning of the seventeenth century the darkness began to be lifted, and through Scaliger, Huntingdon, and Della Valle for the first time authentic news about the Samaritans, their language, and their Bible began to reach Europe.

A Micro-IRRAS Study of Lubricant Degradation Under Thin Film Conditions

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. M. Cann ◽  
H. A. Spikes
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Ftir Spectroscopy ◽  
Degradation Products ◽  
Direct Method ◽  
Experimental Methods ◽  
Steel Ball ◽  
Lubricant Degradation ◽  
Test Device ◽  
Steel Disc ◽  
Disc Configuration

This paper studies lubricant degradation in a rubbing contact under thin film conditions. Friction tests have been carried out in an MTM test device using a steel ball/steel disc configuration. The tests were run with a small amount of lubricant present. At the end of the test the disc was retained for analysis. Micro-reflection FTIR spectroscopy was used to analyse the lubricant chemistry within and close to the rubbed track. The technique offers a more direct method for studying lubricant degradation products during rubbing. The results are compared to those from more conventional experimental methods.

The Conservation of Historical Documents Carrying Iron Gall Ink by Antioxidants

2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bohuslava Havlínová ◽  
Jarmila Mináriková ◽  
Jozef Hanus ◽  
Viera Jančovičová ◽  
Zuzana Szabóová
Keyword(s):  
Historical Documents ◽  
Iron Gall

History of the Portuguese Lexicon

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernhard Pöll
Keyword(s):  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Western World ◽  
Romance Language ◽  
European Languages ◽  
Colonial Expansion ◽  
Lower Extent ◽  
History Of ◽  
Basic Vocabulary

The basic vocabulary of Portuguese—the second largest Romance language in terms of speakers (about 210 million as of 2017)—comes from (vulgar) Latin, which itself incorporated a certain amount of so-called substratum and superstratum words. Whereas the former were adopted in a situation of language contact between Latin and the languages of the conquered peoples inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula, the latter are Germanic loans brought mainly by the Visigoths. From 711 onward, until the end of the Middle Ages, Arabic played a major role in the Peninsula, contributing about 1,000 words that are common in Modern Portuguese. (Classical) Latin and Greek were other sources for lexical enrichment especially in the 15th and 16th centuries as well as in the 18th and 19th centuries. Contact with other European languages—Romance and Germanic (especially English, and to a lower extent German)—led to borrowings in several thematic fields reflecting the economic, cultural, and scientific radiance that emanated from the respective language communities. In the course of colonial expansion, Portuguese came into contact with several African, Asian, and Amerindian languages from which it borrowed words for concepts and realia unknown to the Western world.

scholarly journals Peripheral facial palsy in the past: contributions from Avicenna, Nicolaus Friedreich and Charles Bell

2008 ◽  
Vol 66 (3b) ◽  
pp. 765-769 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luiz Antonio de Lima Resende ◽  
Silke Weber
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Facial Palsy ◽  
Historical Documents ◽  
Human Race ◽  
The Past ◽  
Peripheral Facial Palsy ◽  
History Of ◽  
Clinical Description ◽  
The Middle Ages

This study provides historical documents of peripheral facial palsy from Egypt, Greece and Rome, through the middle ages, and the renaissance, and into the last four centuries. We believe that the history of peripheral facial palsy parallels history of the human race itself. Emphasis is made on contributions by Avicenna and Nicolaus Friedreich. Controversies about the original clinical description by Charles Bell are also discussed.

scholarly journals In-depth phenolic characterization of iron gall inks by deconstructing representative Iberian recipes

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natércia Teixeira ◽  
Paula Nabais ◽  
Victor de Freitas ◽  
João A. Lopes ◽  
Maria J. Melo
Keyword(s):  
Phenolic Compounds ◽  
Gum Arabic ◽  
White Wine ◽  
Molecular Structures ◽  
Phenolic Profile ◽  
Essential Information ◽  
History Of ◽  
Iron Gall ◽  
History Of Western Civilization

AbstractIron-gall ink is one of the most important inks in the history of western civilization. The deep black colour results from Fe3+ complexes with phenolic compounds available in gall extracts. Unfortunately, it induces the degradation of both ink and support over time. Furthermore, our knowledge of these complex molecular structures is limited. This work aims to overcome this gap, revealing essential information about the complex structures of these pigments and dyes that will create a breakthrough in the next generation of conservation treatments. It presents the first in-depth phenolic identification and quantification of extracts and inks, prepared with and without gum arabic (an essential additive in medieval recipes). Five representative Iberian recipes were selected and prepared. Their phenolic profile was analysed by HPLC–DAD and HPLC–ESI–MS, which revealed that the phenolic compounds present in higher concentration, in the gall extracts, are pentagalloylglucose and hexagalloylglucose (0.15 ± 0.01–32 ± 3 mg/mL), except for one recipe, in which gallic acid is the main phenolic. The influence of the ingredients is also discussed by deconstructing the recipes: extracts of additives as pomegranate peel and solvents used in the extraction of the galls (vinegar and white wine) were characterized.

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