Purple

Purple Parchment Legacy represents an ambitious research project that aims to carry out an in-depth investigation and a comprehensive cataloguing of the so-called codices purpurei — manuscripts written on purple-dyed parchment. The variety of meanings and purposes historically attributed to purple codices calls for a renewed critical examination, to be undertaken through a multidisciplinary approach carried out in close collaboration between art-historical and scientific research.

Through a complete multidisciplinary approach applied to a large number of codices dated from Late Antiquity to the Early Modern period — also encompassing manuscripts containing individual purple-dyed folios — the project aims to contribute to a deeper and more refined understanding of their meaning and uses, as well as of their technical and technological features, and will offer new insights into the social, cultural, and economic demands associated with their production.

Through an in-depth characterization of materials, the Purple Parchment Legacy Database catalogues purple codices with the aim of disseminating the results obtained from the identification of pigments, colorants, and inks, as well as from the study of the parchment support — ultimately developing conservation strategies that will ensure the long-term preservation of these extraordinary artifacts for future generations.

Keywords: Purple, purple codices, purple parchment, codices purpurei, non-invasive analysis, illuminated manuscripts