Medieval women’s early involvement in manuscript production suggested by lapis lazuli identification in dental calculus

Anita Radini; Monica Tromp; Alison Beach; Emma Tong; Camilla Filomena Speller; Michael McCormick; John Dudgeon; Matthew James Collins; Frank Rühli; Roland Kröger; Christina Warinner

doi:10.1126/sciadv.aau7126

Medieval women’s early involvement in manuscript production suggested by lapis lazuli identification in dental calculus

Anita Radini, Monica Tromp, Alison Beach, Emma Tong, Camilla Filomena Speller, Michael McCormick, John Dudgeon, Matthew James Collins, Frank Rühli, Roland Kröger, Christina Warinner

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

During the European Middle Ages, the opening of long-distance Asian trade routes introduced exotic goods, including ultramarine, a brilliant blue pigment produced from lapis lazuli stone mined only in Afghanistan. Rare and as expensive as gold, this pigment transformed the European color palette, but little is known about its early trade or use. Here, we report the discovery of lapis lazuli pigment preserved in the dental calculus of a religious woman in Germany radiocarbon-dated to the 11th or early 12th century. The early use of this pigment by a religious woman challenges widespread assumptions about its limited availability in medieval Europe and the gendered production of illuminated texts.

Original language	English
Article number	eaau7126
Number of pages	8
Journal	Science Advances
Volume	5
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aau7126
Publication status	Published - 9 Jan 2019

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10.1126/sciadv.aau7126Licence: CC BY-NC

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© 2019 The Authors.
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Cite this

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abstract = "During the European Middle Ages, the opening of long-distance Asian trade routes introduced exotic goods, including ultramarine, a brilliant blue pigment produced from lapis lazuli stone mined only in Afghanistan. Rare and as expensive as gold, this pigment transformed the European color palette, but little is known about its early trade or use. Here, we report the discovery of lapis lazuli pigment preserved in the dental calculus of a religious woman in Germany radiocarbon-dated to the 11th or early 12th century. The early use of this pigment by a religious woman challenges widespread assumptions about its limited availability in medieval Europe and the gendered production of illuminated texts.",

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AU - Radini, Anita

AU - Tromp, Monica

AU - Beach, Alison

AU - Tong, Emma

AU - Speller, Camilla Filomena

AU - McCormick, Michael

AU - Dudgeon, John

AU - Collins, Matthew James

AU - Rühli, Frank

AU - Kröger, Roland

AU - Warinner, Christina

PY - 2019/1/9

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N2 - During the European Middle Ages, the opening of long-distance Asian trade routes introduced exotic goods, including ultramarine, a brilliant blue pigment produced from lapis lazuli stone mined only in Afghanistan. Rare and as expensive as gold, this pigment transformed the European color palette, but little is known about its early trade or use. Here, we report the discovery of lapis lazuli pigment preserved in the dental calculus of a religious woman in Germany radiocarbon-dated to the 11th or early 12th century. The early use of this pigment by a religious woman challenges widespread assumptions about its limited availability in medieval Europe and the gendered production of illuminated texts.

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Medieval women’s early involvement in manuscript production suggested by lapis lazuli identification in dental calculus

Abstract

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Roland Kroger, FRMS

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Medieval women’s early involvement in manuscript production suggested by lapis lazuli identification in dental calculus

Abstract

Bibliographical note

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Roland Kroger, FRMS

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