This is an ingenious application of technology -
Thousands of painstakingly handwritten books produced in medieval Europe still exist today, but scholars have long struggled with questions about when and where the majority of these works originated...
"Dating and localizing manuscripts have historically presented persistent problems because they have largely been based on the handwriting and dialect of the scribes who created the manuscripts..."
...genetic testing could resolve these issues by creating a baseline using the DNA of parchment found in the relatively small number of manuscripts that can be reliably dated and localized. Each manuscript can provide a wealth of genetic data because a typical medieval parchment book includes the skins of more than 100 animals
....this research "will also allow us to trace the trade route of parchments" throughout the medieval world – a scholarly achievement that would provide a wealth of data on the evolution of the book industry during the Middle Ages.
I never would have thought of it. Of course sheep skin has DNA. It should be fascinating to follow the peregrinations of the parchments.
ReplyDelete