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in the Celtic nature so far transcended the limits of

the island; and indeed of Great Britain; that Irish

missionaries and monks were soon found in the

chief religious centres of Gaul; Germany; Switzerland;

and North Italy; while foreigners found their

toilsome way to Ireland to learn Greek! But less

prominence has been given to the artistic side of

this great reflex movement from West to East than

to the other two。 The simple facts attest that in

the seventh century; when our earliest existing

Irish MSS。 were written; we find not only a style

of writing (or indeed two) distinctive; national;

and of a high type of excellence; but also a school

of illumination which; in the combined lines of

mechanical accuracy and intricacy; of fertile invention

of form and figure and of striking arrangements

of colour; has never been surpassed。 And

this is in the seventh centurythe nadir of the rest

of Europe!



〃It is certain that Alcuin was trained in Hiberno…

Saxon calligraphy; so that we may be surprised to

find that the writing which; under Charles the Great;

he developed at Tours; bears hardly a trace of the

style to which he was accustomed。 En revanche;

in the ornamentation and illumination of the great

Carolingian volumes which have come down to our

times; we find those constant; persistent traces of

English and Irish work which we seek for in vain

in the plainer writing。



〃This minuscule superseded all others almost

throughout the empire of Charles the Great; and

during the ninth; tenth; and eleventh centuries

underwent very little modification。 Even in the two

next centuries; though it is subject to general

modification; national differences are hardly observable;

and we can only distinguish two large divisions;

the group of Northern Europe (England; North

France; Italy; and Spain)。 The two exceptions

are; that Germany; both in writing and painting;

has always stood apart; and lags behind the other

nations of Western Europe in its development; and

that England retains her Hiberno…Saxon hand till

after the Conquest of 1066。 It may be noted that

the twelfth century produced the finest writing ever

knowna large; free and flowing form of the minuscule

of Tours。 In the next century comes in the angular

Gothic hand; the difference between which and

the twelfth century hand may be fairly understood

by a comparison of ordinary German and Roman

type。 In the thirteenth; fourteenth; and fifteenth

centuries the writing of each century may be

discerned; while the general tendency is towards

complication; use of abbreviations and contractions;

and development of unessential parasitic forms of

letters。



〃The Book of Kells; the chief treasure of Trinity

College; Dublin; is so…called from having been

long preserved at the Monastery of Kells; founded

by Columba himself。 Stolen from thence; it eventually

passed into Archbishop Ussher's hands; and;

with other parts of his library; to Dublin。 The

volume contains the Four Gospels in Latin; ornamented

with extraordinary freedom; elaboration; and

beauty。 Written apparently in the seventh century;

it exhibits; both in form and colour; all the

signs of the full development and maturity of the

Irish style; and must of necessity have been preceded

by several generations of artistic workers;

who founded and improved this particular school

of art。 The following words of Professor Westwood;

who first drew attention to the peculiar excellences

of this volume; will justify tile terms made

use of above: 'This copy of the Gospels; traditionally

asserted to have belonged to Columba; is

unquestionably the most elaborately executed MS。

of early art now in existence; far excelling; in the

gigantic size of the letters in the frontispieces of

the Gospel; the excessive minuteness of the ornamental

details; the number of its decorations; the

fineness of the writing; and the endless variety of

initial capital letters with which every page is

ornamented; the famous Gospels of Lindisfarne in the

Cottonian Library。 But this MS。 is still more valuable

on account of the various pictorial representations

of different scenes in the life of our Saviour;

delineated in a style totally unlike that of every

other school。' 〃







CHAPTER VII。



EARLY MEDIAEVAL INK。



CONTROVERSIES AMONG HEBREW SCHOLARS RELATING TO

RITUALISTIC INKSTHE CLASS OF INKS EMPLOYED BY

THE FRENCH AND GERMAN JEWSCONVENTION OF

REPRESENTATIVES FROM JEWISH CENTERSSUBMISSION

OF THEIR DIFFERENCES TO MAIMONIDESHE DEFINES

TALMUDIC INKSIXTH CENTURY REFERENCE TO

〃GALL〃 INKASSERTION OF HOTZ…OSTERWALD THAT

EXCLUSIVE OF THE INDIAN INK; THE WRITING PIGMENTS

OF ANTIQUITY HAVE NEVER BEEN INVESTIGATEDHIS

BELIEF THAT YEAST FORMED A PORTION

OF THEMSOME OTHER OBSERVATIONS ON THIS

SUBJECTANCIENT FORMULAS ABOUT THE LEES OF

WINE IN INK…MAKINGCOMMENTS ON INK…MAKING BY

PLINYANCIENT FORMULA OF POMEGRANATE INK

SECRETA BY THE MONK THEOPHILUSWHAT THE;

THORN TREE HE REFERS TO REALLY ISIDENTITY OF

THE MYROBOLAM INK OF THE MOST REMOTE ANTIQUITY

WITH THE POMEGRANATE INK OF THE MIDDLE AGES

THE USES OF THE ACACIA TREE。



MOST of the documents of early mediaeval times

which remain to us containing ink in fairly good condition;

like charters; protocols; bulls; wills; diplomas;

and the like; were written or engrossed with 〃Indian〃

ink; in which respect we of the present century continue

to follow such established precedent when preparing

important written instruments。 It is not

remarkable; therefore; that the black inks of the

seventh; eighth; ninth and tenth centuries preserve

their blackness so much better than many belonging

to succeeding ages; including a new class of inks which

could not stand the test of time。



During the twelfth and first years of the thirteenth

centuries there were bitter controversies among Talmudic

(Hebrew) scholars; relative to the character of

the ink to be employed in the preparation of ritualistic

writings。 Nice distinctions were drawn as to the

real meaning of the word deyo as understood by the

Jews of the western part of the world; and the Arabic

word alchiber; as then understood nearer Palestine

and the other eastern countries。



The French Jews were using 〃tusche〃 (typical of

the 〃Indian〃 ink); while the Germans were employing

〃pomegranate〃 and 〃gall〃 inks。 Representatives

from interested religious Jewish centers came

together and resolved to submit their differences for

final adjustment to Maimonides; born in Spain; A。 D。

1130 ; and died A。 D。 1204the then greatest living

Hebrew theologian and authority on biblical and

rabbinical laws。 Discarding all side issues; their differences

were seemingly incorporated into three questions

and thus propounded to him:



1。 Is the Talmudic deyo identical with alchiber?



2。 Of what ingredient should the Talmudic deyo

consist; if it is not the same as alchiber?



3。 Is alchiber to be understood as relating to the

gall…apple and chalkanthum (blue vitriol)?



To the first and third questions Maimonides declared

that deyo and alchiber were not identical;

and for the reasons that the Talmud declares deyo to

be a writing material which does not remain on the

surface on which it is placed and to be easily effaced。

On the other hand alchiber contains gum and other

things which causes it to adhere to the writing surface。



To the second question he affirmed that the Talmud

distinguishes a double kind of deyo; one containing

little or no gum and being a fluid; and the other referring

to 〃pulverized coal of the vine; soot from

burning olive oil; tar; rosin and honey; pressed into

plates to be dissolved in water when wanted for use。〃

Furthermore; while the Talmud excludes the use of

certain inks of which iron vitriol was one; it does not

exclude atramentum; (chalkanthum; copper vitriol);

because the Talmud never speaks of it。 He insisted

that the Talmud requires a dry ink (deyo)。



As one of the last entries made in the Talmud (a

great collection of legal decisions by the ancient

Rabbis; Hebrew traditions; etc。; and believed to have

been commenced in the second century of the Christian

era) is claimed to belong to the sixth century;

mentions gall…apples and iron (copper) vitriol; it must

have referred to 〃gall〃 ink。 Further investigation

discloses the fact that such galls were of Chinese origin

and as we know they do not contain the necessary

ferment which the aleppo and other galls possess for

inducing a transformation of the tannin into gallic

acid; no complete union could therefore obtain。

Hence the value of this composition was limited until

the time when yeast and other materials were introduced

to overcome its deficiencies。



Hotz…Osterwald of Zurich; antiquarian and scholar;

has asserted that with the exception of the carbon

inks employed on papyrus; the writing pigments of


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