In the previous video, we have been dealing with blockings which for sure where the most often utilized. But in practice, almost all manuscripts make use of at least one extra color even if just for the titles which were most often written in red. In this video, we should be dealing precisely with color inks. We shall see what sources we have to understand them. And in the following one, where the components were used to achieve the different colors and how income paint were made. We have included our simple demonstration that you can follow from home, but for that, you will have to wait for the next video. First, it is important to find the sources from which we can study the medieval colors. These come from two totally different other complimentary areas. And these are the laboratory analysis and the compilations of recipes of pigments and colorants. Lab analysis can eventually determine which substances have been utilized in a given manuscript but have to serious inconveniences. First, they require the taking of samples and this implies a certain degree of damage even if at the microscopic level. On the other hand, analysis can only give information at a molecular level but they cannot tell which is the origin of a certain substance. So this, they will not render the actual ingredient used by the medieval artisans. For that, we need to compare the analysis results with all products for which we already know the making processes. To reconstruct them, we fortunately have several compilations of recipes for pigments and colorants. These are of two different types. The first class is composed by recipe's contained in treatesis of general corrector such a Theophrastus on plants and on the stones, Dioscorides de Material Medica or Pliny's Natural History. But none of these polygraphers were professional painters and their explanations can at times be incorrect or at least incomplete. As a matter of fact, the best part of our information on medieval inks comes from a bunch of professional recipe collections that have been preserved in approximately 400 manuscripts from medieval times. They are texts of multifarious nature. Some of them are concise and concrete collections of a device conveyed by professional artists to their fellow artists. But others are just gatherings without apparent order, may be the work of our curious limen that put together as many materials as he could find. The transmission of these texts is usually very peculiar because opposite to texts of literary or religious nature were copies tried very hard to reproduce their exemplar as exactly as possible. In these recipe collections, it is possible that the copyist who probably knew something on the subject felt free to add text or paragraphs to his model, or change a few things depending on his knowledge on the subject or the ingredients that he could find or not in his homeland. It was also possible that the copyist found himself in front of words that were totally unknown to him, perhaps because they were in some other language, and then, he could opt for two solutions. Either, he tried to replace them by the local equivalent if the context provided him with enough information to figure out what they were, or just try to transcribe letter by letter what he saw or thought he saw. In which case, transcription error occurred frequently. Either way, the result of both procedures was the same. The corruption of the text at least from the textual critical point of view. Another copy out for the use of these collections say no we're reconstructions of medieval inks is that in many cases, they were just a sort of memory aid conceived for craftsmen that already know their trade. Therefore, many necessary steps or simply omitted since they work and see the opt use, or they hardly ever offer the exact amount, just like in modern cooking recipes transmitted through an oral tradition where we find expressions like a cup of rice, as a full cups had the same size, or a pinch of salt. Anyway, this compilation can be divided in two main classes. First, we find the high medieval collections compiled prior to the 14th century and their arts treatesis of the last centuries of the middle ages and the beginning of the renaissance expressly composed by artists for the use of fellow artists. The most relevant of the high medieval collections are the following, the Lieden and Stockholm papyri from the third century that actually are one and the same book that worst it's member in 1828. Compositiones ad tingenda musiva or Compositiones Lucenses, half a nucleus from around 600 compiled perhaps in Alexandria that was translated in Italy around 800 with additions of new materials. Closely related to Compositiones Lucenses is the text of the Codex matritensis which also shows some connections with the Lieden Stockholm Papyris. These manuscript dates from the 12th century but that takes place much older. Mappae clavicula et de coloribus et mixtionibus was compiled the ninth century from already existing materials. During the 11th and 12th centuries, new materials were added and they are present in the later copies of this work. De colorbus et artibus romanorum attributed to Heraclius has two parts, probably Italian from the 10th century to which the third part was added in the 13th century, probably in France. Schedula diversarium artium is the compilation made in the 12th century by a monk who identifies himself as Theophilus by some time influences is very obvious here. Late medieval treatises are by far more specialized. Been as the year they works made by artists for the use of their fellow artists. The most relevant ones are the following, from the 14th century, De arte illimunandi or manuscript of Naples, the three treatesis by Archerius' or Alcherius', the Liber de colorum illuminatorum sive pictorum of French origin, De colloribus faciendis by Peter of St. Omer or Pedro's de Santo Aldemaro, probably of French origin as well, and Cennino Cennini's IL libro dell'arte composed around 1390 which probably is the most informative among all our written sources. In the beginning of the 15th century, the Parisian Jean Le Begue and earlier treatesis added that some new materials. And during the central decades of the same century, Ambrosius of S. Pietro of Sienna brought his Recipte d'affare piu colori. Many of this collections have been edited and published on several occasions. I go with recompilation which also adds an English translation is Marry Merrifields, Meidival and Renaissance Treatises on the Arts. It is quite old and by now, we have better editions but it has a huge advantage of including almost all the important ones. Except the Compositiones Lucenses and Mappae clavicula, together with the English translation, and it is available online with no copyright.
