Anglo Norman Colors

Early Anglo-Norman Receipts for ColoursAuthor(s): Tony HuntReviewed work(s):Source: Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, Vol. 58 (1995), pp. 203-209Published by: The Warburg InstituteStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/751511 .

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NOTES AND DOCUMENTS

EARLY ANGLO-NORMAN RECEIPTS FOR COLOURS

L ondon, British Library MS Cotton Titus

D.XXIV1 comprises 158 folios written by various hands at the end of the twelfth cen-

tury and represents a compilation made at the Cistercian abbey of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Rufford, Nottinghamshire. On folio 5r is written in a large late-twelfth-century hand 'Liber sancte Marie de Ruford' and on folio 6r a fifteenth-century hand has added 'Liber sancte Marie de fr. Rufforde'. There are four epitaphs on Gamel, the first abbot of Rufford:

folio 29v Ni cita Gamelle mors nobis subripuisset folios 81]v-2r (red) Epitaphium Gamelli abbatis Rufordie inc. Ni collata tibi sese Gamelle foveret (12 verses)

folio 88r (red) Epitaphium domini Gamelli abbatis Rufordie inc. Abbas Gamellus obiit flos religionis (30 verses)

folio 88v Mortuus hic abbas si vixit moribus abbas (4 verses) Rufford was founded from Rievaulx and on folio 81r-v there is an 'Epitaphium domini Willelmi abbatis Rievallensis'. The manu-

script is essentially a collection of Latin verse, which has been studied by J. H.

Mozley,2 and includes epitaphs, hagiogra- phical poems, didactic exercises, extracts from Henry of Huntingdon's chronicle (folios 6r-15v, 100v-6v), hymns, and various items attributed to Hildebert of Lavardin

and Marbod of Rennes. Some formulas for use at the visitation of the sick on folio 156r-v (in Latin, English and French) have been described by N. R. Ker3 and published by myself.4

What has not been recorded from this

manuscript is a series of receipts for the manufacture of colours which begins with a set of Latin instructions on folios 127r-30v, introduced by a red rubric:

De distemperandis coloribus ad scribendum vel illuminandum inter quos et super quos tam co- lore quam precio azorium primacum tenet. De azorio quomodo molatur ac distemperetur. This is followed by 'Azorium color est opti- mus, pulcherrimus aeris speciem imitatur ... '5 and further red rubrics including 'De

gummi quid sit', 'Quomodo azorium serves', 'Sequitur de distemperatione vermiculi', 'Sequitur de viridi'. There are alternating red and maroon initials with yellow splashes. The whole is written in a compact, late

twelfth-century hand. On folio 131r we find a new, larger, more spacious hand which has entered a number of receipts. Initials are in the brown ink of the text, there being no colour. The page measures about 160 x 100 millimetres, the writing block about 115 x 77 millimetres. A number of letters, includ-

ing two initials, are located in the left-hand frame, which measures approximately 5 millimetres. On the right-hand side the writing space is occasionally exceeded. There is dry- point ruling and prickings are clearly visible in the outer margin. At two lines from the bottom of folio 131v there is a change to a

larger hand in black ink which continues to the end (folio 132v). The real interest of these pages of the manuscript lies in the Anglo-Norman items, which, though

1 See A. G. Watson, 'Thomas Allen of Oxford and his Manuscripts', Medieval Scribes, Manuscripts and Libraries: Essays presented to N R. Ker, ed. M. B. Parkes and A. G. Watson, London 1978, p. 299.

2 J. H. Mozley, 'The Collection of Mediaeval Latin Verse in MS Cotton Titus D XXIV', Medium Aevum, xi, 1942, pp. 1-45. The manuscript was also consulted by A. G. Rigg, 'Medieval Latin Poetic Anthologies (1)', Mediaeval Studies, xxxiv, 1977, pp. 281-330.

3 N. R. Ker, Catalogue of Manuscripts Containing Anglo- Saxon, Oxford 1957, pp. 263-4.

4 T. Hunt, Teaching and Learning Latin in Thirteenth- Century England; Texts and Glosses, Cambridge 1991, i, pp. 48-9.

5 See L. Thorndike and P. Kibre, A Catalogue of Incipits of Mediaeval Scientific Writings in Latin, rev. and augm. edn, London 1963, p. 172.

203

journal of the llirburg and Courtauld Insltutes, Volume 58, 1995



204 NOTES AND DOCUMENTS

strikingly early examples of vernacular re-

ceipts, have never been edited or studied. Such texts, of course, belong to a vener-

able tradition. Treatises on the manufacture of pigments go back to the Nineveh clay tablets of the seventh century BC. These

Assyrian receipts were copied in Egyptian papyri of the third century AD, the celeb- rated Stockholm and Leiden papyri,6 and

many reappear in the ninth century in the

Mappae clavicula, an intriguing compilation, certainly in existence by 821-2, which seems to go back to a Greek alchemical treatise.7 Such compilations were hosts to receipts which migrated freely through an aston-

ishing number of manuscripts, making the

history of textual transmission and the task of editing particularly daunting.8 Similar re-

ceipts adhere to a rather unstable tradition attached to the name Heraclius which may have originated in tenth-century Italy.9 An- other compilatory text, the Compositiones lucenses,10 contains a large number of receipts which occur in the Mappae clavicula and which have been traced in at least seventy- eight manuscripts." Better known is the De

diversis artibus of 'Theophilus', probably the work of the Benedictine monk and metal- worker Roger of Helmarshausen, working in the 1120s.12 A thirteenth-century manu-

script (Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional MS A 16) yields yet another compilation, which was studied by J.

Burnam.1- Many of these

works are excerpted in a text found on folios 142v-9r of British Library MS Sloane 1754,14 and together they constitute a com-

plex corpus of compilations representing the basis of our knowledge of medieval colour terminology and technology, includ-

ing application to the dyeing of textiles.'5

6 See R. Halleux, Les alchimistes grecs: Papyrus de Leyde, Papyrus de Stockholm, fragments de recettes, Paris 1981.

7 See R. Halleux and P. Meyvaert, 'Les origines de la Mappae clavicula', Archives d'histoire doctrinale et littiraire du moyen age, liv, 1987, pp. 7-58, which completes the research announced in P. Meyvaert, 'The Original Map- pae clavicula and its Date', abstracted in Manuscripta, xix, 1975, p. 79.

8 C. J. Smith and J. G. Hawthorne, Mappae clavicula. A Little Key to the World of Medieval Techniques, Philadel-

phia 1974, print the S6lestat (9th-century) and Phill- ipps-Corning (12th-century) manuscripts in facsimile.

9 See H. Roosen-Runge, Farbgebung und Technik friih- mittelalterlicher Buchmalerei: Studien zu den Traktaten

'Mappae clavicula' und 'Heraclius' Munich 1967, 2 vols; and J. C. Richards, 'A New Manuscript of Heraclius', Speculum, xv, 1940, pp. 255-71. See also M. De Bofiard, 'Observations on the Treatise of Eraclius De coloribus et artibus romanorum', Medieval Pottery from Excavations. Studies presented to Gerald Clough Dunning, ed. V. I. Evison, H. Hodges and J. G. Hurst, London 1974, pp. 67-76. 10 See Compositiones ad tingenda musiva, ed. H. Hed-

fors, Uppsala 1932; A Classical Technology edited from Codex Lucensis 490, ed. J. M. Burnam, Boston 1920; Compositiones variae...An Introductory Study, ed. R. P.

Johnson (Illinois Studies in Language and Literature, xxiii.3), Urbana 1939; Compositiones Lucenses: Studien zum Inhalt, zur Textkritik und Sprache, ed. J. Svennung, Uppsala 1941. " See R. P. Johnson, 'The Compositiones ad tingenda',

Technical Studies in the Field of the Fine Arts, iii.4, 1935, pp. 220-36.

12 See E. Brepohl, Theophilus Presbyter und die mittel- alterliche Goldschmiedekunst, Vienna 1987; and A. Blanc, Theophile, pr&itre et moine: essai sur divers arts en trois livres, Paris 1980. See also the editions/translations of C. R. Dodwell (London 1961) and J. G. Hawthorne and C. S. Smith (New York 1979); and L. White, 'Theophilus Redivivus' in idem, Religion and Technology: Collected

Essays, Berkeley 1978, pp. 93-103. 13 j. Burnam, Recipes from Codex Matritensis A 16 (ahora

19) (University of Cincinnati Studies, ser. 2, viii.1), Cincinnati 1912. See also J. Pirson, 'Mittellateinische Sammlungen technischer Rezepte', Philologisch-Philoso- phische Studien. Festschrift fir Eduard Wechssler (Berliner Beitraige zur romanischen Philologie, i), Berlin 1929, pp. 365-74.

14 See D. V. Thompson, 'Liber de coloribus illuminatorum sive pictorum from Sloane MS No. 1754', Speculum, i, 1926, pp. 280-307. 15 See E. E. Ploss, Ein Buch von alten Farben. Technologie

der Textilfarben im Mittelalter mit einem Ausblick auf die

festen Farben, Heidelberg 1962. See also the surveys provided by H. Roosen-Runge, 'Farben- und Malrezepte in frfihmittelalterlichen technologischen Handschriften', Alchimia: Ideologie und Technologie, ed. E. E. Ploss et al., Munich 1970, pp. 47-66; and the summary notice in B. Gille, The History of Techniques, New York 1986, p. 497. Note also R. Fuchs, 'Gedanken zur Herstellung von Farben in der Antike am Beispiel der in Agypten ver- wendeten Blaupigmente', Diversarum artium studia: Beit-

rage zur Kunstwissenschaft, Kunsttechnologie und ihren

Randgebieten. Festschrift fiir H. Roosen-Runge zum 70.

Geburtstag am 5. Oktober 1982, ed. H. Engelhart and G.

Kempter, Wiesbaden 1982, pp. 195-208; V. Trost, 'Metalltintenrezepte aus der Handschrift Aa 20 der Hessischen Landesbibliothek, Fulda', ibid., pp. 185-93 (a manuscript from the second half of the 9th century); G. Bosshammer, Technologische und Farbrezepte aus dem Kasseler codex medicus 40 10, Untersuchungen zur Berufs- soziologie des mittelalterlichen Laienarztes (Wiurzburger medizinhistorische Forschungen, x), Wiirzburg 1977. Further bibliography for German sources will be found in C. Tenner, 'Uber einige Farberezepte der Darm- stiTdter Handschrift 1999 aus dem spaiten 15 Jahr- hundert', Gelirte der arzenie, ouch apotiker Beitrdge zur

Wissenschaftsgeschichte. Festschrift zum 70. Geburtstag von Willem E Daems (Wilrzburger medizinhistorische For- schungen, xxiv), ed. G. Keil, Pattensen 1982, pp. 79-90.



ANGLO-NORMAN RECEIPTS 205

The evidence, however, needs very careful

interpretation. Halleux and Meyvaert argue that it is no longer possible to view the

Mappae claviculae as a faithful record of medieval arts and methods. Rather, it should be approached as an alchemical treatise

containing a mixture of techniques bor- rowed from craftsmen, scientific research and a certain amount of pure intellectual

speculation.16 R. P. Johnson concluded of the Compositiones that 'The fragmentary character of the recipes, the numerous du-

plications, abbreviations, and the frequent omissions of apparently essential details, indicate that the items were intended mere-

ly as reminders for those who were already skilled in the practice of the various arts with which they deal'.17 Undoubtedly more work needs to be done in following up the indications provided by D. V. Thompson,18 whose treatment of painting materials is still invaluable,19 so that the existing literature

may be expanded.20 The receipts in British Library MS Cot-

ton Titus D.XXIV describe familiar features of medieval techniques involving pigments and dyes.21 First there are instructions for

tempering vermilion.22 Vermilion may be

obtained by heating a mixture of mercury and sulphur. The resulting red sulphide of

mercury, when ground, was capable of yielding an intense red pigment of high quality. This was then tempered for painting by the addition of egg yolk and glair (made from the white of the egg), these binding media

modifying the properties of the pigment. Glair required thorough beating and was a delicate medium: here it is recommended not to be (further) diluted with, or exposed to, water. The second receipt concerns the

preparation of azure, probably here the copper ore azurite, a basic copper carbonate which was ground to a powder and washed clean of impurities. This operation, together with the separation of the grains according to size, was extremely laborious; instead of

plain water recourse was often had, as here, to gum arabic solution and washing with weak lye. Gum and glue were then added as a binding agent or tempera (destemprure). The expression 'cola de parchamin' indicates size, which could be obtained by boil-

ing bits of parchment in water and was used

especially for tempering blues. The next

receipt deals with the making of a green colour, but it is difficult to identify the 'pudre de vert' (verdigris?). The word 'croho' indicates saffron, which was frequently used to enrich greens, although it is not recommended here.23

Having dealt with a number of mineral colourants, the receipts now prescribe natural, vegetable dyes. Brazilwood (Caesalpinia spp.) was a major source of red for dyeing, the dyestuff often being known as 'brazilin'. It is a white compound which on exposure to the air oxidizes to brazilein. Blocks of it were rasped, as here ('reis'), to produce the

required quantities. Aside from its frequent use in lakes, brazilwood was often soaked in glair and then mordanted with alum

(usually potash alum). E. E. Ploss, who notes that this red wood was known at an early date amongst the Arabs, states that after 1140

16 'Les origines' (as in n. 7), p. 25. 17 Compositiones variae (as in n. 10), p. 227. 18 D. V. Thompson, 'Trial Index to Some Unpub-

lished Sources for the History of Mediaeval Craftsman- ship', Speculum, x, 1935, pp. 410-31 (including a useful subject index). There is an interesting set of receipts in London, British Library MS Harley 273 (early 14th- century), fols 209r-12v, including one in Anglo-Norman which I hope to treat on another occasion.

19 D. V. Thompson, The Materials of Medieval Painting, London 1936. See also G. Loumyer, Les traditions techniques de la peinture mMdivale, Liege 1943. 20 See R. Halleux, Les textes alchimiques (Typologie des

sources du moyen age occidental, xxxii), Turnhout 1979; W. Ganzenmilller, Beitriige zur Geschichte der Tech-

nologie und der Alchemie, Weinheim 1956; P. Cezard, 'L'Alchimie et les recettes techniques', Mitaux et civili- sations, 1.i, 1945, pp. 5-10 and 1.ii, 1945, pp. 41-5; B. Bischoff, 'Die Uberlieferung der technischen Litera- tur', Settimane di studio, xviii, 1971, pp. 267-96. 21 Cf. W. Eamon, 'Botanical Empiricism in Late Medi-

eval Technical Writings', Res publica litterarum, iii, 1980, pp. 240-1.

22 They clearly reflect the Latin receipt on fol. 128r: ... molat cum ovi albugine ... cum illum diu molueris et

in ardore solis sepe posueris, de petra illum excipe et in albo cornu pone, quantumque vermiculi quantitas postulat, tantum inponas glaram...' Cf. D. V. Thomp- son, 'Artificial Vermilion in the Middle Ages', Technical Studies in the Field of the Fine Arts, II.ii, 1933, pp. 62-70.

23 See fol. 129r-v: 'Si placuerit tibi croceum viride facere, vinum optime bulliatur, pulvis separatim ali- quantulum molatur, deinde in vino mittatur, postea [fol. 129v] super focum ponatur et bulliat quousque scumet, et scuma auferatur, et tunc de foco tollatur, deinde parum safran inponatur. Postea per pannum colatur et ad solem mittatur'.




it turns up in records of Genoese weighing taxes as 'braxile' or 'brasile'. It makes its first appearance in the customs catalogue of Lodi in 1192, and in the markets of Flanders at the beginning of the thirteenth century.24

The next receipt employs a moss or li- chen,25 chopped into pieces and mixed with lime to produce an alkaline solution which was then strained through a cloth. A variety of lichens were in use.26 For making yellow one of the major sources was weld, or Dyer's Rocket (Reseda luteola L., containing luteolin and apigenin) which may be what is intended in the next receipt by 'wdeuuise', though this name is normally applied to Genista tinctoria L. or Dyer's Broom ('Dyer's Greenweed'), the yellow flowers, stalk and leaves yielding luteolin and genistein. The last of the natural dyes is obtained from 'hillereberies' in what appears to be a re-

ceipt for sap green, which is made from the

ripe berries of buckthorn (especially Rham- nus catharticus L.).27 No binding agent was used for painting and the juice, containing a polysaccharide material, thickened to a dense syrup. Here it is apparently used to lend a green colour to a cloth which has

already been dyed yellow. There is also a medical receipt for dissolv-

ing a 'stone', one for a canker and finally one more receipt for dyeing, which appears to use cream of tartar, madder and dwarf elder. In what follows I retain the spelling of the manuscript except that I have regu- larised the use of 'w' and 'uu'. Notes on

language, a glossary and a translation are

provided below.

British Library MS Cotton Titus DXXIV (folios 131r-2v)

...[fol. 131r] Ki vuldrat destempreir vermellun28 prenget un of, sil batet tut ensemble ot le muiol29 senz ewe, e mulle esspes e metet el corn. Pus i metet la glare faite senz ewe. E apres .iiii. jurz

purrat enluminer, e s'il fet bel, apres .i. jurn.30 Mais ward sei de pluius jurn, kar dunc decurrat.31 De azur: Prenge ewe de funtaine et de la gume arabica et cola de parchamin un petit, et quisez en un' escale de of. Puis lavez l'azur en un bacin. Apres meteiz del destemprure faite de gumme arabica et cola purrit. Purveit que ben seit mulut od ewa su32 espes marbre.

Prenge33 la bone pudre de vert e metet en un bacin. Si metet bon vin, nehent mellet ohoc ewe, si metet34 plain un petit bacin [fol. 131v'] 5 e seit el solel viii. jurz e suvent36 seit muut. Puis quant serrat ben asis, prenget del cleir desus e de cho destempret derechef la secche pudre ben tenve.37 Puis le mettet chascun jurn el solel e movet desque il seit maur, n'i metet neent (n'i metet neent) de croho, kar par icho38 solt murir.

De brasil:39 Seit reis en un' ecsale40 e mis de la glaire. Apres unjurn metez de l'alum bone puis le lest esteir iii. jurz pur maureir. E ben le ward de ewa.

De wreime, ki est apeleit mose: Seit mincet en un' escale, puis i meteiz41 de la chauz de muster. Issi seit mis pur maurer desque il le vei [t] bon. Puis seit prent parmi un drap. Pernez42 le alum, sil metez en ewe, sil caufez, si metez le quir enz primer, e puis le [fol. 132v] brasil en ewe, sil bullez, e tempre [z] lle de le lessive de fust, la gume de l'eire e la gume del pruner e glud de parchemin, de veelin, ulinement, sil metez en un escale, sil metez utre le fu pur caufer.

Al gaunne fere:43 Pernez lissive del fust e cuillez de wdewise e bullez en celle wdewise. E apres ostet le wdewise e tennez le drap, e ert ganne.

24 Ploss (as in n. 15), p. 55. 25 Cf. fol. 129r: '...mosam ita distempera...' 26 E.g. Ochrolechia tartarea (L.) Massal. 27 Thompson (as in n. 19), p. 170, writes 'The juice

of buckthorn berries was used quite early, without any preparation, to temper and enrich verdigris... Used by itself, without alum, the juice is somewhat yellow or green, according to the ripeness of the berries...'

28 MS = 'vermellum' with final minim erased. 29 MS = 'muel' with 'e' expuncted and 'io' as super-

script correction.

30 The 'r' is a superscript correction by the scribe indicated by an insertion mark. 31 MS = 'decurrat. dunc.' with the right order indi-

cated by correction marks. 32 After 'su' there is a hole in the parchment, but

nothing appears to be missing. 33 The final '-t' of 'prenget' has been erased. 34 MS = 'meteit' with 'i' erased. 35 The same scribe now continues in a different ink. 36 MS = 'suveint' with 'i' expuncted. 37 The third letter of 'tenve' is erased, whilst 'n' has

been supplied in the left-hand margin. 38 There is an erasure after 'icho'. 39 The heading is in the left-hand margin. 40 I.e. 'escale'. 41 The 'i' is a superscript addition, with insertion

mark, by the scribe. 42 A new hand now appears employing a much black-

er ink. 43 The heading is placed at the end of the first line of

the passage to which it refers.




Al vert:44 Pernez hillereberies maures e ostez le jus e puis le pullez,45 e metez enz le drap ganne, e bullez,46 e vert ert.

As pailes:47 Pernez le eble e faces cendre e de <o lissive e muliez enz la paile e tendez48 le paile. E ajustez un linceu49 e turnez entur un' hanste e puis rollez sur une table.

Ad petram frangendam: Petrosilium, apium, feniculum, absintium, saxifragium, luvesticum, salviam et sanguinem albi hirci, et herba que vocatur burneta; has omnes accipe equali men- sura et coques in cervisia [fol. 132v] et dabis bibere mane et vespere. Al cancre:50 Pernez le talpe tut vif e metez en un pot nuvel e faites en puldre e puis triblez le puldre. E puis pernet altretant de mel, e metez en un' teste al fu desque le meel e cele pudre seint ben melez, e puis sil metez en sauf. E zo ocist le ca[n]cre e le verm. En tele manere metez od un' pene sur la plaie, sil lasseiz jesir une nuut e, Deu aidant, warrat.

De taindre la sele: Pernez arguel e mader, sil triblez, e bullez en stala cervaise51 ben. E pernez le jus de l'eble e treis itant de l'ewe52 e bullez ben. E apres metez lissive itant cum del jus. E cum del fu l'avrez oste, dunc i metez le pel quan si chalt ert que ben puissez suffrir la main.

Notes on Language 1. Use of 'a' for fem. 'e' [#1207-8]:53 'ewa',

'cola'.

2. Reduction of 'ai' to 'a': 'glare', 'lasseiz'.

3. Reduction of 'au' to 'a': 'ganne'? (alterna- tively, scribal error of 'n' for 'u', i.e. 'gaune').

4. Retention of 'a' in internal hiatus: 'maur', maureir'.

5. Use of 'a' representing countertonic vowel in 'parchamin'.

6. Graphy 'ei' for 'e' (< Latin 'i', except 'eire') [#1223]: 'destempreir', 'esteir', 'meteiz', 'apeleit', 'purveit', 'reis' [p.p.], 'maureir', 'apeleit', 'eire', 'lasseiz'.

7. Raising of countertonic 'i' in 'lissive'.

8. 'u' for 'o' [#1220, #1225]: 'vermellun', 'funtaine', 'nuvel'.

9. Attraction of juxtaposed vowels in reduced diphthongs: 'nuut', 'meel', 'muut'.

10. Instability of '-e' in 'un teste', 'un pene'. 11. Effacement of 'e' in verb ending '-eient'

[#1292]: 'seint'.

12. Use of the graphy 'c' before 'a' [#1091]: caufet', 'caufez'.

13. Use of 'h' to indicate hiatus [#1237]: 'nehent'.

14. Absence of palatal in 'solel', 'bullez' and 'tennez' (= 'teinez') [#1182].

15. Retention of etymological form in 'jurn', 'corn' [#1245].

16. Voicing of final unsupported '-t' in 'glud'. 17. Retention of final '-t' in verbal flexions

[#1176]: 'vuldrat', 'prenget', 'batet', 'metet', purrat', 'decurrat', 'serrat', 'warrat', 'ostet',

'destempret'; [#1270] p.p. 'purrit', 'mulut', mellet', 'muut', 'apeleit', 'mincet'.

18. Interchangeability of '-t', '-z' and '-s' in im- peratives [#1231]: 'metet', 'pernez', 'faces'.

19. Unvoicing of '-d' in 'ot' (< 'apud'); loss of final '-t' in 'quan'.

20. Retention of fricative labio-velar 'w' [#1180] in 'warrat'.

21. Use of accents over double vowels in hiatus [#1211]: 'neent'.

22. 'le' as form of fem. def. art. [#1252]: 'le lessive', 'le paile', 'le talpe', 'le puldre', 'le

pel'. 23. Appearance of analogical fem. 'tele'.

24. Vocabulary: 'pluius', 'wreime', 'wdewise', 'hillereberies', 'mader'.

25. Other noteworthy spellings: 'les' (= 'laist'), cervaise', 'prent' (= 'preint'), 'fu', 'of ', 'zo', parchamin'.

Glossary

Ajustez, imp.5 of ajuster v.a. to apply, place next to

Altretant, pron. indef. the same quantity Alum, s. potash alum

Arguel, s. cream of tartar, argol Asis, p.p. settled Azur, s. azurite

Bacin, s. basin Bel, a. fair (of weather) Brasil, s. brazilwood (Caesalpinia spp.)

Cancre, s. tumour Caufer, v.n. to heat up

44 As for n. 43 above. 45 Corr. 'bullez'. 46 MS = 'luillez'. 47 As for n. 43 above. 48 MS = 'tendez'. 49 MS = 'aiustez lin cen. un' with the right order indi-

cated by correction marks. 50 MS = 'calcre'. 51 There is an erasure between 'cer' and 'vaise'. 52 MS = 'e treisi tant cum del jus e cum del fu [under-

lined] del euue'. 53 References in square brackets are to the paragraph

numbers in M. K. Pope, From Latin to Modern French, Manchester 1934.




Caufez, imp.5 of caufer v.a. to heat Celle, pron. dem.f. this Cendre, s. ash Cervaise, s. beer Chalt, a. hot Chauz de muster, s. 'church lime'? (Professor

Short suggests correction to 'murter', build- er's mortar)

Cleir, s. clear part of liquid (after precipitate has settled)

Cola (de parchamin), s. size Corn, s. horn Croho, s. saffron (Crocus sativus) Cuillez, imp.5 of cuillir v.a. to gather Decurrat, fut.3 of decurre v.n. to run (of colour),

to become diluted Derechef, adv. again, a second time Destempreir, v.a. to temper Destemprure, s. mixture

Eble, s. dwarf elder, danewort (Sambucus ebulus L.) Ecsale, see escale Enluminer, v.n. to illuminate (a manuscript) Entur, prep. around Enz, adv. therein Escale, s. shell (of egg) Espes, a. thick (marble slab); coarse (ground

substance) Esteir, v.n. to stand Ewa, s. water

Fu, s. fire Fust, s. wood

Ga(u)nne, a. yellow Gla(i)re, s. glair Glud (de parchemin), s. glue, size Gu(m)me arabica, s. gum arabic Gume de l'eire, s. gum ivy Gume del pruner, s. plum gum Hanste, s. pole, shaft Hillereberies (Middle English), s.pl. fruit of

buckthorn (Rhamnus catharticus L.)

Icho, pr. dem. 'par i.' thereby Itant, pr. indef. so much

Jesir, v.n. to lie Jurn, s. day Lessive, s. lye Linceu, s. linen sheet Lissive, s. lye Mader (Middle English), s. madder (Rubea tinc-

toria L.) Maur, a. mature, ripe Maure(i)r, v.n. to mature Me(e)l, s. honey Mellet /melez, p.p.

of meller v.a. to mix Mincet, p.p.

of mincer v.a. to chop finely Mose, s. moss Movet, sbj. pr.3 of mover v.a. to stir Muiol, s. yolk (of egg)

Muliez, imp.5 of muilier v.a. to wet, moisten Mulle, sbj. pr.3 of mudre v.a. to grind; error for

'mu[ve] lle'? Mulut, p.p. ground Murir, v.n. to mature Muster, s. church Muut, p.p. of muveir v.a. to stir

Neent, s. none Nehent, adv. not Nuut, s. night Ocist, ind. pr.3 of ocire v.a. to destroy Of, s. egg Ohoc, prep. with Ostez, imp.5 of oster v.a. to remove Ot, prep. with

Paile, s. silk cloth Pel, s. skin, hide Pene, s. pen, quill Pluius, a. rainy Prenge, sbj. pr.3 of prendre v.a. to take Prent, p.p. of priendre v.a. to press, squeeze Primer, adv. first Pullez, imp.5 of pullir = bullir v.a. to boil Purveit, sbj. pr.3 of purveeir que v.n. to see to it

that

Quan, adv. when Quir, s. leather

Reis, p.p. of rere v.a. to shave, scrape Rollez, imp. 5 of roller v.a. to roll out

Sauf, mettre en saufv.a. to reserve, store Seint, sbj. pr.6 of estre v.n. to be Solel, s. sunshine Solt, ind. pr.3 of soleir v.n. to be accustomed Stala, a. clear, settled (of beer) Su, prep. on (top of) Suffrir, v.a. to tolerate

Taindre, v.a. to dye Talpe, s. mole Temprez, imp.5 of temprer v.a. to mix Tendez, imp.5 of tendre v.a. to stretch Tennez, imp.5 of teindre v.a. to dye Tenve, a. tepid Teste, s. crock, pot Triblez, imp.5 of tribler v.a. to sieve

Ulinement, adv. in equal measure Utre, prep. above

Veelin, s. vellum, calfskin Verm, s. worm Vermellun, s. vermillion Vert, s. green Ward, sbj. pr.3 of warder vb. refl. to beware of Warrat, fut.3 of warir v.n. to recover, be cured Wdewise, s. Dyer's Broom (Genista tinctoria L.)?

or weld (Reseda luteola L.) Wreime, s.? a moss

Zo, pron. dem. this




Translation

If someone wishes to temper vermilion, let him take an egg, beat it together with the yolk, without water, and stir it54 to a thick consistency and put it in the horn; then add glair without water. At the end of four days it will be ready for the work of illuminating, and if the weather is fair, after one day. But let him beware of a rainy day, for then it will run.

For azure: Let him take spring water and gum arabic and a little size and heat in an eggshell. Then wash the azure in a basin. Next add some of the solution of gum arabic and rotten size, ensuring that it is well moistened with water on a thick slab of marble.

Let him take the good green powder [verdigris?] and place it in a basin, and then add good wine, unmixed with water, a small basinful, and place in the sun for eight days, making sure that it is frequently stirred. When it has properly settled, take the clear liquid above and use it to temper once more the dry powder, keeping it [the mixture] tepid. Then each day place it in the sun and stir it until it is ready, not adding saffron, for this is the way it matures.

For brasil: Let it be scraped in to an eggshell and glair added. After a day add good alum and leave it for three days to mature. And don't let it get wet.

For 'wreime' which is called moss: Let it be chopped up in an eggshell and then add build- er's lime.55 This is done until it is seen to be properly matured. Then strain it through a cloth. Take the alum, place it in water, heat it, put the leather in first, then [put] the brasil in water and boil it, and temper it with wood [-ash] lye, gum ivy and plum gum and parchment and vellum glue [= size] in equal measure, place it in an eggshell, and place over heat.

To make yellow: Take wood [-ash] lye and pick dyer's broom and boil it in the lye. Then remove the broom and dye the cloth and it will be yellow. For green: take ripe berries of buckthorn and extract the juice and boil it and place the yellow cloth in it, boil, and it will be green. For silk cloths [vestments/hangings]: Take danewort and reduce to ash and thence to lye and immerse the cloth in it and dye it. Arrange a sheet, turning it round a pole and then roll it out on a table.

For dissolving the stone: parsley, smallage, fennel, wormwood, saxifrage, lovage, sage and the blood of a white goat, and the plant called burnet: take equal quantities of all these and heat in beer and administer as a drink morning and night. For canker: take a live mole and place it in a new pot and pulverize and then sieve the powder. And then take the same quantity of honey and place in an eggshell over heat until the honey and powder are properly mixed, and then reserve. This destroys canker and the worm. Apply it on the wound with a quill, and leave [the patient] supine for a night, and, with God's assist- ance, he will be cured.

For dyeing saddle [-leather]: Take cream of tartar and madder, sieve, and boil well in stale beer. Take the juice of danewort and three times the quantity of water and boil well. Then add lye in the same measure as the juice. And when you have removed it from the heat, dip the hide in to it when the temperature is such that you can put your hand in it.

TONY HUNT ST PETER'S COLLEGE, OXFORD

54 The translation assumes the correction 'mu[ve] lie'. 55 The translation adopts Professor Short's suggestion that MS muster may be an error for murter.



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Anglo Norman Colors