Felix Albrecht: Between Boon and Bane: The Use of Chemical Reagents in Palimpsest Research of the 19th Century [Zwischen Fluch und Segen: Der Einsatz chemischer Reagenzien der Palimpsestforschung des 19. Jh.s.] 

The paper will be read in German.

English Summary: Scholars in the 19th century frequently resorted to the use of chemical reagents in attempting to decipher palimpsests. In particular, the so-called Giobert tincture was used alongside "oak apple tincture", "potassium cyanide" and "potassium sulfide". This is a slightly acidic potassium hexacyanidoferrate(II) solution, developed by the Italian chemist and mineralogist Giovanni Antonio Giobert (1761 - 1834) at the request of the philologist Amedeo Peyron (1785 - 1870). At the start, the harmfulness of these reagents was not understood. While notable successes were achieved in the decipherment of palimpsests treated this way, harmful effects appeared later. In my paper I will shed light on the history of the discovery and application of the chemicals on the one hand, while explaining on the other hand patterns of corresponding damage in manuscripts thus treated."