Thinking about the materials used in the production of a manuscript is important when studying its features. One of the most interesting material selections to consider is the type of paper used. In Science and Civilization in China, Joseph Needham says that the definition of paper “applies to what ‘paper’ is today and also to what it was yesterday.” He goes on to say, “Sheets of paper were made from disintegrated fibre upon a flat mould before the time of Christ and paper is still formed in this fashion, the only difference lying in the construction of the moulds and the treatment of the fibre” (35) Parchment was chosen for “The Carrara Herbal,” likely made from sheep’s skin because of the popularity during the time period. It is not surprising that this manuscript is written on parchment and not a more expensive writing surface due to its simplicity. Based solely on cost and simplicity, this manuscript probably would have been written on paper if it were created once paper was in widespread use. In his essay, “A New Type of Book for a New Type of Reader: The Emergence of Paper in Vernacular Book Production,” Erik Kwakkel says, “At the end of the fourteenth century paper was four to eight times cheaper than parchment” (243). This manuscript was also created for Francesco de Carrara’s personal use while travelling, which slightly takes the focus off of the appearance and puts it more on the durability. Parchment is a durable and strong writing surface, making it perfect for a manuscript like this one. Inks and dyes also take well to parchment, which is important because of the numerous illustrations of plants throughout. This manuscript is made of up 289 foliated pages with 4 unfoliated paper leaves at the beginning that have been added at a more recent time. The quires have been mounted on guards for durability over time. This manuscript was rebound in the British Museum/Library in 1965 and given gilt edges, raising the quality and security of the manuscript. Because the manuscript was rebound many years ago, there is little information about the original binding, but I can assume that it was of lesser quality because of other aspects of the manuscript that suggest this manuscript was less expensive to make than others that we have looked at. The new binding, pictured below, is made of brown leather with green and red accents. The physical appearance of this binding is more modern, which probably differs greatly from its original binding. This manuscripts binding is also very different from other manuscripts with treasure bindings, again highlighting the physical simplicity of this manuscript.

Source: Kwakkel, Erik. “A New Type of Book for a New Type of Reader: The Emergence of Paper in Vernacular Book Production.”

The use of colors in this manuscript stands out immediately. On f.4r, we see the use of colors such as red, blue, and green. These colors are commonly seen in medieval manuscripts because of the abundance of materials that could be used to make dyes in those basic colors. The common pigment used for making the color red during this time was minium or red lead and indogotin was used to make blue. Besides the few decoration pages like the one pictured below, most of the color in this manuscript, the color green, is used for the illustrations of plants and herbs. Green dye is made from the pigments orpiment and indigotin. There are also other natural colors, such as black and brown, used throughout the manuscript to depict the plant life, likely made from a pigment such as carbon black. For some of the illustrations, color is not used at all, almost as if it was meant to be added but was forgotten. Gilding also occurs on the page pictures below. There are few other places throughout the manuscript where illumination appears, usually on prologue pages and almost always being done in gold. The randomness of color and illumination in this manuscript is interesting and sets it apart from other manuscripts that we have looked at in class. I can see a clear distinction between the uses of color and illumination in this manuscript compared to a book of hours or another extravagant manuscript where decorations appear on almost every page. This brings into question the importance of decorations in a manuscript like “The Carrara Herbal.” Since it was created for personal use and was used to travel throughout Padua, I assume that functionality was more important than the intricacy of the decorations and colors on the pages.

 

There are numerous illustrations throughout this manuscript. Although some of the illustrations are page decorations and small patterns, most of the illustrations consist of depictions of a variety of plants and herbs. The illustrator for this manuscript is actually unknown but it is believed that the same person illustrated all of the pictures in this manuscript. While it is impossible to know because of the lack of information on this manuscript’s illustrator, some of the pictures appear to have been done by different people. In some manuscripts that we have looked at over the course of the semester, it has been clear that the same person illustrated the drawing because of their similarities. In “The Carrara Herbal,” on the other hand, there are some inconsistencies between the illustrations. For example, the illustrations on f.26v and f.28r look different in every aspect, which suggests the idea that more than one illustrator might have worked on this manuscript. Another aspect of the illustrations in this manuscript that was interesting was the inconsistency of the pictures’ sizes. Because this manuscript contains pictures of herbs and plants, it would make sense to draw them on a scale so that their sizes can be compared to each other. The differing sizes also speak to the idea of this manuscript having multiple illustrators.

 

The page layout in “The Carrara Herbal” is one that is rather interesting. First off, it is important to understand the significance of the page layout in a medieval manuscript such as this one. Whenever manuscripts were created, the scribe would copy the text onto the parchment, or other writing surface, before anything else was done. Because copying the text in its entirety was done first, the scribe would have to leave open spaces on the pages for illustrations and decorations to be added afterwards. Taking this into consideration when thinking about a manuscript’s page layout will help to answer questions of intent and notice possible mistakes that were made. This first half of this manuscript seems to be laid out thoughtfully and effectively on each page. The scribe’s text fills the pages and illustrations seem to be placed in their designated spaces on the page. As you move towards the later half of the manuscript, though, there seems to be some inconsistencies with the page layout. White space begins to appear on almost every page (picture below), suggesting that the illustrations and decoration might not have been completed. While this might not be the case, I cannot think of an intentional reason to leave abundant amounts of white space on multiple pages. The layout of this manuscript is definitely unique and different from other that we have looked at, simply because it does not make sense on every page or follow any sort of pattern.

 

“The Carrara Herbal” is written in a gothic script, which was commonly used during the time period that this manuscript was written. The letterforms are mostly miniscule with a few majuscule letterforms spread throughout. The gothic script used can be described as bold, which is a consistent trait among gothic scripts. With this script in particular, it is important to notice the absence of curvy lines, meaning that these letterforms were made up of numerous, tedious pen strokes. The text seen throughout this manuscript is very straight and organized, suggesting that the process of ruling for this manuscript was effective. Ruling is the process of lining the page before the scribe starts transcribing the text to serve has a guide for the scribe so that the lines of text are straight and the layout of the page is accurate. With many of the manuscript we have looked at throughout the semester, the process of pricking and ruling was used. In this manuscript, there are no pricking holes visible on the parchment, which suggests that another approach to ruling the pages was taken, such as ruling with lead. It is also likely that a process was used to rule multiple pages of the parchment at once because of the consistency of text placement between each page.

 

There are many interesting manuscript aspects that stand out in “The Carrara Herbal.” The use of rubric is something that we have seen in almost every manuscript that we have looked at throughout the semester. A rubric is a work or part of a text that is written or printed in red ink for emphasis. One of the most common examples of a rubric being used is in the Bible when Jesus’s direct words are written in red ink. This manuscripts is made up of many rubrics, sometimes multiple on each page. I am unsure which parts of this text are being emphasized, but I would assume that it is the most important information regarding the plants and natural remedies being described. This manuscript also contains many interesting symbols throughout. A red symbol appears throughout the manuscript, which appears to be a stamp that reads “British Museum,” where the manuscript is now housed. Because we can draw a connection between the stamp and the British Library, we know that it was added at a more recent date and was not an original part of the manuscript. This stamp is particularly interesting because it appears randomly throughout the manuscript on different parts of the pages. For example, on f.122v the symbol is placed slightly higher on the page and on f.265v the symbol is found in the middle of a blank page. There are also other symbols that appear only once throughout the manuscript, usually at the bottom of select pages. On f.103v, there is what appears to be a gold symbol located at the bottom of the page. On f.123v there is a red symbol made up of what seems to be two words and some decorative strokes around it. Also, on f.284v there is a black symbol at the bottom of the page. All of these symbols only appear once throughout the manuscript, suggesting that they are significant to the manuscript.

 

Glossing appears at many points throughout this manuscript. The most interesting example of glossing comes at the very beginning of the manuscript. On f.1-f.2r there are light blue modern leaves of paper that have been added, which are pictured below. The modern paper leaves contain a description of the manuscript in Italian. Because this manuscript was not originally written in Italian, it makes sense that these leaves of paper have been added at a more recent date. There is also glossing that occurs in the margins of this manuscript. On many of the pages there are notes written in the side margins and at the tops of the pages, likely describing the text in further detail and explaining important aspects of the text. The glossing in the margins of this manuscript is usually written in black but is also sometimes written in red. There also seems to be of variety of handwritings used in the glossing process, suggesting that the notes were added at numerous points sine the creation of this manuscript. Something else that I noticed that was interesting is that on many pages, especially towards the end of the manuscript, there are blue and gray markings in the top right corners of the pages. On some pages it is hard to read what they say but on others it seems to be changed page numbers that were added to the manuscript at a later time.

 

This text was originally written in Arabic by Serapion the Younger in the 12^th century. It was later translated to Latin and then eventually to Italian before reaching the hands of Francesco de Carrera. In her essay, “Translation, Mobility, and Mediation: The Case of the Codex Mendoza,” Daniela Bleichmar says that “translation could refer to physical or linguistic movement” throughout the text. As this text went through numerous translations editing was also taking place. In the essay “Middle English Text Production and Modern Textual Criticism,” Tim William Machan says, “The influence editors of medieval texts have in shaping readers’ perceptions of the unity, artistry and meaning of a text has often been noted” (1). This is important to consider when thinking about the many ways that translating and editing the text could change it. Machan also says that “there are historical factors that shape the literature of a given period” (2). The fact that this text was translated and edited over many centuries brings into question the historical factors that could have affected different editions of this manuscript. Thinking about this text and the unknown editing decisions highlights the idea that texts are constantly being shaped and changed to best fit their audience. (203)

Sources: Bleichmar, Daniela. “Translation, Mobility, and Mediation: The Case of the Codex Mendoza.”

Machan, Tim William. “Middle English Text Production and Modern Textual Criticism.”

la opestala emarntola aspera coe butage la qua olumo legra mete epucbo

Epo la strucba e secbala alfole. E fane treeth. Ciocisi ingregro a treehos et inlati

rota. Perchetese fa amodo te una rua iquale rotirot se fa eposepreme ta

quatio parte. Poven clama trocisi equeli che se fa convin epiu forte e te

ineiore opation. Lefole te questo arbore se rure con la fiore ebrusasee

la centere se mete inlugo telatuela E fasene inquest modo. El se tule

queste fore e fiore e merese inuna ola cruate tera e stropasse la bochate

la ola e metese uila fornase per finache basechute la olla e po se buta tel

uino soura per fin che la se fiedisse. E po se brusa anchora questa ola efase

como e dito. Eposelaua la cetusa e fasene atasi. Eciedese che quanto i

el se brusa e fase inlomodo soura dito che no amen uertu como a la tu

era un le passion te li ogy. Se lo ulio te le oliue fresche. Lapitolo nono.

Us ulio te le oluie fieche e stiptico. Clocoa meto e lavertu soa emen

te lo ulio foura dito. E coa aquele cose miseme como coa lo ulio te

rua e a aserencere el sutiore e mondificalo. E tevea el cadmento te

li caueli tel cano. E ale furfure e coa a la rogua e al prunto. Eteuea licain

li canu che no uegna oncantosene el cano spesse fie. E quando et se fa la

uanda ala bocha coa ale cenchue apostema e a li tente che sesquassa. E

fasene epithuna ale cenchue quando et ge fosse corso te bumore. E fasse

a questo partio. Et se tule lalana euolchua per finache la teueta biancha