“The study of the biographical trajectory of a Portuguese 12th c. illuminated manuscript: the Leccionarium Alc. 433 from Alcobaça collection held by the Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal”

Abstract

Medieval illuminated manuscripts are among the best testimonies of the life of medieval scriptoria. This work traces the biographical trajectory of a Lectionary according to the Cistercian rite – the Alc. 433 - through the liturgical studies and the material characterisation of its painted illuminations, with the aim of obtaining the chronological timeline of the use of colour materials in the Portuguese scriptorium of Alcobaça. For this, liturgical analysis of the manuscript combined with the material characterisation of a selection of representative folia of Alc. 433 with non-invasive in- situ analysis (h-EDXRF, UV-Vis-NIR-FORS, and hyperspectral imaging analysis) was used. The result indicates that it was produced in the last quarter of the 12th century, followed by the addition of some folia in the 13th, 14th, and the beginning of the 17th century. Materials identification revealed the use of the most common inorganic pigments for this period. As for organic colour materials, turmeric was identified as a yellow lake pigment.