Short Glossary

This post compiles some of the more general terms that will be frequently used during this project and defines them; it is in no way a comprehensive list but will hopefully act as a starting point or reminder about some exact definitions. More exact and precise glossaries will be compiled as the project and my own research progress- for example, as I begin working on pigments I will provide definitions for terms such as cracking or powdering. Next week's post about mounts will provide a glossary of mounting terms.

A small list of sources for further reading is provided at the end of the page.

About the manuscripts:

Grotesque: A hybrid and comic figure, often combining elements from various human and animal forms. Grotesques often bear no obvious relationship to the texts they embellish. (1)

Detail from MS 2-2005.6 © The Fitzwilliam Museum

Illumination: from the Latin illuminare 'to enlighten or illuminate,' is the embellishment of a manuscript with gold or silver. In later times illumination was expanded to mean any form of illustration. (1)
Initial: An enlarged and decorated letter introducing an important section of a text.Initials can have different levels of significance (1)

'S' initial MS Marlay It. 62 © The Fitzwilliam Museum

Manuscript: The word manuscript, literally 'handwritten', used to describe a book written by hand.(1)
Marginalia: Writing and decoration in margins. Such features can form part of the original program of work, but they also can be of a secondary or even extraneous nature.

MS Marlay Fr. 4© The Fitzwilliam Museum

Medieval: A period in European history between the 5th and 15th century CE. The term originated in the 19th century.

About conservation(4):
(directly taken from Icon professional guidelines)

Conservation: direct action carried out on cultural heritage with the aim of stabilising condition and retarding further deterioration
Preventative conservation:  indirect action to retard deterioration and prevent damage by creating conditions optimal for the preservation of cultural heritage as far as is compatible with its social use. Preventive conservation also encompasses correct handling, transport, use, storage and display. It may also involve issues of the production of facsimiles for the purpose of preserving the original.
Restoration: direct action carried out on damaged or deteriorated cultural heritage with the aim of facilitating its perception, appreciation and understanding, while respecting as far as possible its aesthetic, historic and physical properties.
Documentation: accurate pictorial and written record of all procedures carried out, and the rationale behind them. A copy of the report must be submitted to the owner or custodian of the cultural heritage and must remain accessible. Any further requirements for the storage, maintenance, display or access to the cultural property should be specified in this document.

Conservation materials:

Blotter: Completely unsized sheet of paper, used in conservation to absorb moisture from a substrate. (6)
Bondina: Non-woven polyester sheet. Used as a barrier to prevent adhesion between materials during treatments.
Felt: Wool felt used to absorb moisture from a substrate.
Japanese paper: Type of paper from Japan, commonly made from mitsumata, gampi, or mulberry. The production of the paper and nature of the plants mean it is made up of long fibres, so very thin papers can be extremely strong. Japanese paper is used for paper and sometimes parchment repair. Other materials used for parchment repair will be in a future post.

About parchment and related materials:

Cockling: Wrinkling. Parchment cockles with changes in temperature and relative humidity. (3)

Cockling MS 197 © The Fitzwilliam Museum

Gelation: Process of forming a gel. Occurs when parchment is introduced to liquid for an interval of time.
Grain:  Term used to indicate the top or outer hair side of the skin. (6)
Leather: The outer covering of an animal, usually a mammal skin, tanned to render it usable and resistant to putrefaction. (2)(5)
Parchment: Animal skins that have been dried under tension to produce a sheet material with a flat, even surface. Additional liming treatments are common from late in the first millennium of the common era. Examples of parchment exist dating from 8th century BCE, though records of skin being used as a writing surface date to 2700 BCE. (5)
Tawed skin: A type of untanned skin, commonly made by soaking with alum and salt (2)(5)
Vellum: Specific term for parchment made from calf skin.

About adhesives:

Animal glue: Adhesive made from hides or bones (2)(3)
Binding agent: Generic term to refer to adhesive used to attach pigment to substrate.
Gelatin: Complex protein that occurs in bones and collagen, that is converted into gelatin on boiling with dilute acids. Differs from Animal Glue in purity and care observed in manufacture. (2)(6)
Gum Arabic: Water soluble gum obtained from the acacia tree. Used as a binding agent for pigments and inks. (2)(6)
Isinglass: Very pure form of gelatin, produced from the sounds (swimming bladders) of the sturgeon. (2)(6)
Starch paste: Adhesive or size made from water and starch. Starch is a carbohydrate: a polymer of glucose. Wheat, rice or potato starches most commonly used.  (2)(6)
Methyl cellulose: Produced from treating cellulose with an alkali. Resulting white granular solid is soluble, and can be used as thickening agent, adhesive, or poultice. (2)

About media:

Consolidation: To unite or make whole - specifically reuniting pigments with the substrate or similar pigments to prevent further damage.
Gold leaf: Sheet of gold 31/4 inches square of even thickness of 1/200,000 to 1/250,000 inch.
Ink: from the Latin encaustum 'burnt in', since the gallic and tannic acids in ink and the oxidation of its ingredients cause it to eat into the writing surface. Medieval ink was commonly made from gallnuts, iron salts, and gum arabic. Referred to as ferrous ink or iron-gall ink. (1)

Iron-gall ink detail MS Marlay Fl.2 verso © The Fitzwilliam Museum

Pigment: A natural or synthetic, organic or inorganic substance insoluble in its liquid medium that imparts color, as well as black and white.(6)

Note: Wikipedia articles about bookbinding and book conservation terms and materials are often misleading or partially incorrect - they have not been written by people in the profession and have not been edited by people in the profession. While Wikipedia can be a good source to begin research in other fields, I highly recommend that it is not used exclusively and without fact-checking from many different sources.

The next post about the mounts found in the collection and a mount glossary will post on Friday the 8th of November.


1. Brown, M. P. (1994) Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts: A guide to Technical Terms. The J. Paul Getty Trust in assoc. with The British Museum
http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/glossary.asp

2. Gettens. R.J and G.L. Stout (1966) Painting Materials: A Short Encyclopaedia. Dover Publications NY

3. Greenfield, J. (1998) ABC of Bookbinding. Oak Knoll Press

4. Icon 'Professional Guidelines'  http://www.icon.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=121&Itemid=

5. Kite, M. and R. Thomson (2006) Conservation of Leather and Related Materials. Butterworth-Heinemann

6. Roberts, M.T and D. Etherington (1982) Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books.  Library of Congress Washington D.C.