Sarah Fiddyment, University of York, Jiří Vnouček, Royal Library of Denmark, Matthew Teasdale, Trinity College Dublin and Matthew Collins, University of York

Biomolecular codicology: Exploring the York Gospels

The potential information to be obtained from the large corpus of codices and documents written on parchment is immense. Aside from the obvious textual information there is a wealth of biomolecular information trapped in the fibres of the parchment itself. By analysing the collagen molecules that form the basic structure of skin we can determine what animal was used to make the parchment and even assess its quality.

In collaboration with conservation staff at the Borthwick Institute for Archives at the University of York, we have developed a non-invasive method for sampling parchment. Using conventional conservation erasers we are now able to ‘dry sample’ parchment in libraries and archives using a non-invasive procedure that requires no specialist training. From the eraser waste collected we are able to extract minute amounts of collagen that are sufficient to be analysed by mass spectrometry. We are not only able to determine the species of animal used but also the level of deamidation present in collagen molecules. This allows us to estimate the level of ‘damage’ present in the parchment, likely due to the liming process, which could prove useful when deciding what conservation treatments to implement.

In addition to the animal species, there is still another unwritten biography we can try to read, and that is the microbial palimpsest that lies on the surface of these documents. The history of the object’s use and storage have left an invisible print on these documents which until now has not been read. What can this microbial fingerprint tell us about the journey of a particular document? Can we help preserve and maintain the conditions of the document by using this additional information?

The implications of such advances spans humanities, science and conservation. Until now the identification of the animal origin of many manuscripts has often been contentious or uncertain, depending mainly of the skill of those trained in follicle pattern analysis. However this technique is by no means infallible and those who practice it recognise that is not always possible to find follicle patterns on all pieces of parchment and even then an identification is by no means guaranteed. For students of manuscripts our new technique can offer new, objective, unbiased evidence for species identification of parchment. For scientists the parchment record of the past represents a largely untapped reservoir of genetic and biological information on the management and improvement of stock. For conservators the possibility of assessing quality and potential microbial degradation may inform their decisions or the necessity of interventions. The importance of this technique can be shared both by national repositories as well as local archives, whose boxes of parchments were most likely written on skins from local herds and flocks and could hold significant biological value.

Here we present as a case study the analysis of all the bifolia of one particular manuscript, the York Gospels. Produced in the early 11th century in Canterbury the York Gospels were brought to York by bishop Wulfstan. Over the centuries several additions have been made so we have used our new technique to to see what additional information biomolecular techniques can give us.

A wealth of untapped information remains locked in libraries and archives and we believe that with our non-invasive sampling method we are a step closer to unlocking all that information. Benefitting the humanities, the scientific community and the conservators all in one stroke, never has such a wealth of information been obtainable from such a small amount of waste.