The Alexandrian Version or Codex Alexandrinus, is a manuscript in the British Museum, of great importance in Biblical criticism, written on parchment with uncial letters, and belonging probably to the latter half of the sixth century. It contains the whole Greek Bible (the Old Testament being according to the Septuagint), together with the letters of Bishop Clement of Rome, but it wants parts of Matthew, John, and Second Corinthians. The Patriarch of Constantinople, who in 1628 sent this manuscript as a present to Charles I, said he had received it from Egypt - hence its name. Research Alexandrian Version
In law a deed is a writing containing some contract or agreement, and the evidence of its execution, made between parties legally capable of entering into a contract or agreement; particularly an instrument on paper or parchment, conveying real estate to a purchaser or donee. It is either an indenture or a deed poll; the former made between two or more persons in different interests, the latter made by a single person, or by two or more persons having similar interests. Research Deed
Epigraphy is the study of ancient inscriptions incised on some hard material, such as wood, stone or metal, as distinct from palaeography which is the study of ancient manuscripts written on papyrus, parchment or a similar material. Research Epigraphy
Gilding is the art of applying gold-leaf or gold in a finely-divided state to surfaces of wood, stone, or metals. It is a very ancient art, being practised among the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Ancient Persians. The processes employed through more modern times have been very varied. Metals are gilded either by what is called chemical gilding, mercurial gilding, by electro-gilding (electro-plating), or by the application of gold-leaf. Copper and brass, for instance, may be gilded by the process called wash or water gilding, with an amalgam of gold and mercury. The surface of the copper, freed from oxide, is covered with the amalgam, and afterwards exposed to heat until the mercury is driven off, leaving a thin coat of gold.
Gilding is also performed by dipping a linen rag in a saturated solution of gold, and burning it to tinder, the black powder thus obtained being rubbed on the metal to be gilded, with a cork dipped in salt water, until the gilding appears. Iron or steel is often gilded by applying gold-leaf, after the surface has been well cleaned, and heated until it has acquired the blue colour which at a certain temperature it assumes. Several leaves of gold are thus applied in succession, and the last is burnished down cold.
One process of chemical gilding was by dipping the article into a solution of gold, what is termed Elkington's solution being composed as follows: 5 oz. (troy) of fine gold; nitro-muriatic acid, 52 oz. (avoirdupois); dissolve by heat, and continue the heat until the cessation of red or yellow vapours; decant the clear liquid; add 4 gallons of distilled water, 20 lbs of pure bicarbonate of potassa and boiling for two hours.
Gilding on wood, plaster, leather, parchment, or paper, is performed by different processes of mechanical gilding. The first of these is oil-gilding, in which gold-leaf is cemented to the work by means of oil-size. In the case of paper or vellum the parts to be gilt receive a coat of gum-water or fine size, and the gold-leaf is applied before the parts are dry. They are afterwards burnished with agate. Lettering and other gilding on bound books are applied without size. The gold-leaf is laid on the leather and imprinted with hot brass types. Brass rollers with thin edges are employed in the same way for lines, and similar tools for other ornaments. When the edges of the leaves of books are to be gilt they are first cut smooth in the press, after which a solution of isinglass in spirits is laid on, and the gold-leaf is applied when the edges are in a proper state of dryness.
Japanner's gilding is another kind of mechanical gilding, which is performed in the same way as oil-gilding, except that instead of gold-leaf a gold dust or powder is employed. Frames of pictures and mirrors, mouldings, etc, are gilt by the application of gold-leaf, or by the cheaper process of 'German gilding,' that is, by tin-foil or silver-leaf, with a yellow varnish above.
Porcelain and other kinds of earthenware, as well as glass, may be gilt by fixing a layer of gold in a powdered state by the action of fire. The gold-dust or powder required in this operation may be obtained by precipitating it from a solution in aqua regia, either by means of iron sulphate or proto-nitrate of mercury. In order that the gold powder may be applied to the surface of the article to be gilt it must be well mixed with some viscous vehicle, such as strongly-gummed water. It is then laid on with a fine camel's-hair brush. Research Gilding
The Ragman Roll is the name of the collection of those instruments by which the nobility and gentry of Scotland were constrained to subscribe allegiance to Edward I of England in 1296, and which were more particularly recorded in four large rolls of parchment consisting of thirty-five pieces sewed together. It is kept in the Tower of London. Research Ragman Roll
In printing, a tympan is a frame covered with parchment or cloth, on which the blank sheets are put, so as to be laid on the form to be impressed. Research Tympan
Vellum (named from the old French Velin whih derives from the Latin vitulinus meaning of a calf) is a type of superior parchment made from the skin of a calf, kid or lamb, and given a smooth finish. The once celebrated Strasbourg vellum was prepared with remarkably fine pumice stones. Vellum, known since earliest times as a material for manuscripts and books, is now rarely used, though it was used for bookbinding during the late 19th century. Research Vellum
The ass or donkey (Equus asinus) is a species of the horsegenus, supposed by Darwin to have sprung from the wild variety {Asinus toeniopus) found in Abyssinia; by some writers to be a descendant of the onager or wild ass, inhabiting the mountainous deserts of Tartary, etc; and by others to have descended from the kiang or djiggetai (Asinus hemionus) of southwestern Asia. Both in colour and size the ass is exceedingly variable, ranging from dark grey and reddish brown to white, and from the size of a Newfoundlanddog in North India to that of a good-sized horse. In the south-western countries of Asia and in Egypt, in some districts of Southern Europe, as in Spain, and in Kentucky and Peru, great attention has been paid to selection and interbreeding, with a result no less remarkable than in the case of the horse. Thus in Syria there appear to be four distinct breeds: a light and graceful animal used by ladies, an Arab breed reserved for the saddle, an ass of heavier build in use for ploughing and draft purposes, and the large Damascus breed. The efforts made to raise the deteriorated British breed during the 19th century were only partially successful.
The male ass is mature at two years of age, the female still earlier. The she-ass carries her young for eleven months. The teeth of the young ass follow the same order of appearance and renewal as those of the horse. The life of the ass does not usually exceed thirty years. It is in general much healthier than the horse, and is maintained in this condition by a smaller quantity and coarser quality of food; it is superior to the horse in its ability to carry heavy burdens over the most precipitous roads, and is in no respect its inferior in intelligence, despite the reputation for stupidity which it has borne from very ancient times. The ass has a keen sense of humour and mischief, and domestic ass delight in throwing riders into rivers and thorn bushes, and also tripping over the unwary.
The skin is used as parchment to cover drums, etc, and in the East is made into shagreen. The hybrid offspring of the horse and the female ass is the hinny, that of the ass and the mare is the mule; but the latter is by far the larger and more useful animal. Asses' milk, long celebrated for its sanative qualities, more closely resembles that of a woman than any other. It is very similar in taste, and throws up an equally fluid cream, which is not convertible into butter. Research Ass
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Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Alexandrian Version
