Print Email Facebook Twitter Hidden library Title Hidden library: Visualizing fragments of medieval manuscripts in early-modern bookbindings with mobile macro-XRF scanner Author Duivenvoorden, Jorien R. Käyhkö, Anna (Universiteit Leiden) Kwakkel, Erik (Universiteit Leiden) Dik, J. (TU Delft (OLD) MSE-4) Date 2017 Abstract This experiment demonstrates the large potential of macro-XRF imaging for the visualization of fragments of medieval manuscripts hidden in early-modern bookbindings. The invention of the printing press in the fifteenth century made manuscripts obsolete and bookbinders started recycling their strong parchment leaves to reinforce bindings of printed books. One in roughly every five early-modern books contains a fragment of a medieval manuscript hidden underneath the bookbinding. Systematically investigating these fragments will provide scholars with valuable information about transmission and variant readings of medieval texts. Four case studies were scanned with a Bruker M6 Jetstream mobile XRF scanner. We were able to visualize hidden texts underneath black paint, paper and parchment at such a high resolution that they could be read and dated. One of the findings was an early twelfth-century excerpt of a text by the Venerable Bede in a sixteenth-century bookbinding. In addition, we were able to separately visualize the lower and upper text of a famous palimpsest. The main limitation of the current set-up is the scanning time, which took anywhere between 6 and 66 h. In order to systematically employ macro-XRF for researching medieval fragments, the scanning time needs to be decreased. Nonetheless, this experiment shows that the macro-XRF technique is extremely suitable for visualizing fragments of medieval manuscripts in a non-destructive way in order to read, date and localize them. Subject FragmentsMacro X-ray fluorescence scanningMedieval manuscripts To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:ad7d0fbe-629b-4bca-aabb-3a4483ef11b1 DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-017-0117-6 ISSN 2050-7445 Source Heritage Science, 5 Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2017 Jorien R. Duivenvoorden, Anna Käyhkö, Erik Kwakkel, J. Dik Files PDF 10.1007_s10901_017_9568_z.pdf 704.1 KB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:ad7d0fbe-629b-4bca-aabb-3a4483ef11b1/datastream/OBJ/view