Jolanta Czuczko, Dorota Jutrzenka-Supryn, Miroslav Wachowiak and Piotr Targowski, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń

The 14th century Pelplin Graduale de Tempore de Sanctis: Research and conservation issues

The 14th century Graduale de Tempore de Sanctis belonging originally to the Cistercian abbey library and at present being part of the collection of the Diocese Library in Pelplin in the region of Pomerania is an illuminated parchment manuscript written in Latin. The codex was created in one of the very few scriptoria active in medieval Poland. This local workshop, though known, little research has been made into the meaning of the written sources as well as of its techniques of illumination and bookbinding. The Graduale has extraordinary rich decoration including gouache, watercolour, ink drawing and gold leaf. It contains 13 figurative images including nine inscribed into the initials, three independent miniatures in the margins and one fit into the text. The decoration is broadened with large decorative initial made of tinting paints and six significant filigree initials of red and blue, executed with pen used with an astonishing precision. From the very beginning this object was most precious one in the Pelplin collection.

The reason of undertaking actions for the preservation of such a precious object was its increasing deterioration. The necessity of the conservation intervention was at the same time the opportunity to realise a broad, multidisciplinary research, financed mainly by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. In order to fully understand the manuscript, analyses and studies were made in the context of art history, palaeography, liturgy, musicology and bookbinding craft but also relating to the detailed recognition of the technique of the execution and of the real condition of the object and all its parts, to diagnose the reasons of deterioration and indicate threats which can appear in the future. During the examination of the material and its condition non-invasive optical techniques were used (VIS reflectography, UV fluorescence, close IR reflectography and the false colour IR), spectroscopic methods used in situ or using minimal sampling: FTIR – Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy, Raman Spectroscopy, XRF – X-Ray Fluorescence). The latter was executed using different instruments enabling point measurements in situ, stratigraphic recognition of the elements within individual layers (SEM/EDS) and large – format elemental mapping XRF analysis. Especially interesting results were gained in the case of the original ink, diagnosis of the discoloration of the blue pigment (azurite) in the page corners or to describe the source of the whitish-grey efflorescence onto inks and paints used for execution of the miniatures.

Based on the collected data the conservation project was prepared following this rule: The more we know the more effective our efforts will be and our decisions more fitting. Special attention was paid to keeping the integrity of all the elements of the object, also the later added ones, if only they were not a clear threat to the durability of the original substance, leaving patina underlining authenticity, witnesses of the history of the object (traces of use, functioning as the liturgy book ) and enhancing durability of the historical material, and in the case of the construction elements of codex of “strategically” meaning - also enhancing their mechanical durability, in order to make it possible to keep codex primary functions.

For technical reasons the conservation treatment was divided into two phases. The first carried out in 2014 included specialised research and conservation and restoration of the main elements of the binding of the codex, and of the block of pages to a small extent. The second phase realised in 2015 considered the main pages of manuscript and would obviously finish with the reintegration of all the elements of the object. At the end of each phase digitalisation was planned. These construction elements make unrepeatable change to the document, which after the mounting would not be visible, and which would provide a precious source for further research of history and meaning of the codex.

One very significant result of this multidisciplinary research is a multi-aspect holistic thinking restoring of one of the oldest and most precious Polish manuscripts. The results will be published in a monograph gathering all the multidisciplinary research data. The methodology of the research and the presentation of their results would definitely be supportive in the realisation of analyses of many other significant manuscripts.