The Utrecht Psalter taken out of the safe for special research

Masterpiece of Utrecht University Library under self-built scanner

Durham University researchers Prof. Andrew Beeby and Prof. Richard Gameson have built two scanners that allow them to scan manuscripts under different light frequencies. They paid a visit to Special Collections to scan medieval manuscripts from the collection. Especially for them the Utrecht Psalter was taken out of the safe.

Our eyes don't see everything. When you look at the manuscripts in our collection, you cannot tell the difference between blue made of the expensive lapis lazuli mined in Afghanistan or the cheaper azurite. By means of a special technique, however, the two can be distinguished. This is called the FORS technique, which stands for Fiber Optic Realshape. This involves measuring the reflection of coloured surfaces, so that the composition can be determined.

Another self-built scanner by Prof. Andrew Beeby and Prof. Richard Gameson exposes the manuscript to different light frequencies, from infrared light via visible light to ultraviolet light. With the help of this multispectral scanner, underdrawings and older layers of ink can be made visible. The research by the British team follows from the 2023 publication The pigments of British medieval illuminators. A scientific and cultural study.

Prof. Andrew Beeby en prof. Richard Gameson scan the Utrecht Psalter

A three-day visit

Beeby and Gameson spent three days in the library, researching several manuscripts. Even the Utrecht Psalter, the famous ninth-century manuscript from Reims, was carefully taken out of the safe by curator Bart Jaski.

It is not the first time that such a research is done. In the summer of 2022 the Lazarus team of Colorado University scanned several leaves of Ms. 1661, a twelfth-century manuscript written on older leaves with text that was scraped away. By scanning the leaves under the multispectral scanner, the underlying text became better visible for the first time in over a thousand years.

The British team with Beeby and Gameson managed to scan even more leaves of Ms. 1661. Four Utrecht master’s students will further study the underlying texts at Special Collections as part of their course.