Reciepts

From Booke of Secrets

A.
Another

Take a quart of strong wine, put it into a new pot, and set it on a soft fire til it be hote, but let it not seeth, then put into it foure ounces of gauls, two ounces and a halfe of gum Arabike, and two ounces of victriall, al beaten into smal pouder, and sifted through a sive, stirre it with a wooden sticke, and it will be good inke.

B.
To make inke upon a suddaine, to serve in an extremitie

Take a wax candle , and light it, hold it under a cleane bason or a candelsticke, till the smoke of the candle hangeth thereon, then put a little warme gum water into it, which tempered together, will be good inke.

From De Arte Illuminandi

C.
31. How to lay gold with a mordant which holds the gold by itself.

Take some first class (gum) ammoniac, and break it up into bits, and put it into a glass dish, or a glazed one; and put in enough plain water so that it is completely covered and thoroughly softened; and let it stand until it is quite soft. The strain it through a linen cloth and disolve in it a little candy sugar, well worked up. When this is done, put in one or two drops of the solution of gum arabic, and mix it up thoroughly. Then write whatever you want to, with your pen or brush; and after it has dired out a little, lay the gold, and clean it up with cotton.

D.
17. The glair of eggs, and how it is prepared.

The glair of eggs--hens' (eggs) are the best--is prepared as follows. Take fresh eggs, one, two, or more according to what the work is; and break them carefully, and take out the whites, and separate the germ from them. And do not mix the yolk with it. And put it into a glazed porringer, and with a sea-sponge (a fresh one, if you have it, for that is better; if that is not possible, at least have it well washed) you work up with your hands until all the glair is taken up by it; and the sponge must be large enough to take up the amount which you started with. And then you keep squeezign it out into this porringer and soaking it up again with the sponge until it stops making froth and is as fluid as water; then work with it. And if you want to keep it for a long time without bad odor, and not to spoil, put into the glass bottle with the glair a little red realgar, the sixe of a bean, or two at most, or a little camphor, or two cloves, and it will keep. And, when you want to lay gold with it, beat it with the bristle brush or a split reed, as I have said before.

From Craftsman's Handbook

E.
How you make a green with white lead and terre-verte; or lime white

Chapter LVII

A sage color which is made by mixing white lead and terre-verte is green. It is good on panel, tempered with yolk of egg, or on the wall, in fresco, with the terre-verte mixed with lime white, made from white, prepared lime.

From Gottingen Model Book

F.
The smoke black is the best for illumination. You shall soak it for fourteen days and every day pour off the water and pour well water over it; and you shall grind it well with gum water and temper it therewith, not too strong, that it flows well from the pen, to outline the gold with.

From Staff of the Scribe (in Levey, Medieval Arabic Bookmaking)

G.
Preperation of water of gum with which the colors are mixed and also others. A ratl of clarified gum arabic is broken into pieces. On it is poured clear water. It is then boiled on a low fire until it is disolved and has the consistancy of honey. It is put in enough water to cover it. When it is cooled a little, it is used.

Specific bibliographic information for these quotations may be found here.

Use your browser's back function or

Top Index Bibliography Articles Gallery 1 Gallery 2 Gallery 3 Links Pater Noster Index

This page hosted by Geocities.