Palimpsests
Manuscripts that have been written upon more than once are known as palimpsests
(from the Greek palimpsestos, "scraped again"). The ink
of the original text has been scraped away to make room for the new text,
yet a dim after-image of the original remains. A careful look at the margins
will reveal a cursive script, apparently in a vernacular language rather
than in Latin, although the words are too faint to identify the text accurately.
Ultraviolet light can sometimes help to bring out an underlying text.
Purchased in 1885 for A. D. White.
Pliny the Elder. Natural History. Italy (?),
fifteenth century.
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Copyright
© 2002 Division of Rare & Manuscript
Collections
2B Carl A. Kroch Library, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853
Phone Number: (607) 255-3530. Fax Number: (607) 255-9524
For
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