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The York Gospels: a 1000-year biological palimpsest.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Teasdale, Matthew D  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7376-9975
Fiddyment, Sarah 
Vnouček, Jiří 
Mattiangeli, Valeria 
Speller, Camilla 

Abstract

Medieval manuscripts, carefully curated and conserved, represent not only an irreplaceable documentary record but also a remarkable reservoir of biological information. Palaeographic and codicological investigation can often locate and date these documents with remarkable precision. The York Gospels (York Minster Ms. Add. 1) is one such codex, one of only a small collection of pre-conquest Gospel books to have survived the Reformation. By extending the non-invasive triboelectric (eraser-based) sampling technique eZooMS, to include the analysis of DNA, we report a cost-effective and simple-to-use biomolecular sampling technique for parchment. We apply this combined methodology to document for the first time a rich palimpsest of biological information contained within the York Gospels, which has accumulated over the 1000-year lifespan of this cherished object that remains an active participant in the life of York Minster. These biological data provide insights into the decisions made in the selection of materials, the construction of the codex and the use history of the object.

Description

Keywords

ancient DNA, eZooMS, microbiome, molecular codicology, parchment

Journal Title

R Soc Open Sci

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2054-5703
2054-5703

Volume Title

4

Publisher

The Royal Society