Page - 72 - in The Vienna Genesis - Material analysis and conservation of a Late Antique illuminated manuscript on purple parchment
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72 Purple dyeing of parchment
researched9 as it was an important colour in the Persian Empire, in Hellenism as well as in
the Roman Empire10. Purple was worn by emperors and dignitaries and later by cardinals
in the Roman Catholic Church11. In the Roman Republic, senators and victorious generals
had the privilege to wear purple garments, while in the Imperial era, only the emperor
wore purple. Following Commodus (161–192), several emperors had the title Porphyro-
gennetos (born in the purple), which continued during the Byzantine Empire12. The em-
perors and selected dignitaries of the Byzantine Empire had the privilege to wear purple
garments, or certain purple ornamentation on their clothes13. Purple played an important
role in Judaism14 and in Christianity15. In Judaism, two types of purple, blue and red, were
used for the curtains of the Temple and the high priest’s vestments16. In the Hebrew and
Greek bible the colour is mentioned as a sign of human and divine sovereignty17. It was a
symbol for the suffering of Christ on the cross and his resurrection, as its hues were asso-
ciated with the blood of Christ18. In the early Christian Church, all hierarchical levels of
clergy wore dalmatics decorated with two purple stripes. The use of purple on liturgical
garments continued in both the East and the West of the Roman Empire. After Constan-
tine recognised Christianity as the state religion, purple signified the empire, in continuity
with pagan Rome, as well as the Christian Church, being a symbol for the blood of Christ
and the martyrs. Furthermore, Constantine used purple ink in imperial documents19 and
biblical manuscripts were often written on purple coloured parchment in the Byzantine
Empire. With the fall of the empire in the 15th century, the demand for purple eventually
decreased20.
Parchment was coloured purple to enhance the worthiness and value of a codex. Only
biblical texts were written on purple parchment21. These manuscripts, objects of huge pres-
9 Denoël et al., 2018, p. 1.
10 Bogensperger, 2015, p. 160.
11 Zimmermann, 2003, p. 66.
12 Denoël et al., 2018, p. 2.
13 Thiel, 2010, pp. 58–59. An example for this ornamentation is the tablion, a square piece of cloth
attached to the cloak. The emperor had a golden one, while the high officials had a purple one.
Tablions are visible on some miniatures of the Vienna Genesis as well.
14 Bogensperger, 2015, p. 166.
15 Quandt, 2018, p. 122.
16 Bogensperger, 2015, p. 166.
17 Denoël et al., 2018, p. 2.
18 Quandt, 2018, p. 122.
19 Denoël et al., 2018, p. 2.
20 Boesken Kanold, 2017, p. 67.
21 Trost, 1991, p. 13.
Open-Access-Publikation im Sinne der CC-Lizenz BY 4.0
The Vienna Genesis
Material analysis and conservation of a Late Antique illuminated manuscript on purple parchment
- Title
- The Vienna Genesis
- Subtitle
- Material analysis and conservation of a Late Antique illuminated manuscript on purple parchment
- Editor
- Christa Hofmann
- Publisher
- Böhlau Verlag
- Location
- Wien
- Date
- 2020
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY 4.0
- ISBN
- 978-3-205-21058-0
- Size
- 17.3 x 24.5 cm
- Pages
- 348