• Ripley Alchemical Scroll, ca. 1590

Curatorial Notes:
  • The papyrus scroll (or roll) was the most common physical configuration for ancient books. In the late Roman Empire, the codex became the predominant book format, but parchment rolls continued to play a role in medieval written culture, usually configured to be read from top to bottom. Scrolls were useful for illustrated texts emphasizing continuity and sequential display, such as universal or genealogical chronicles, pedagogical wall charts, and biblical histories. They were also used for illustrated step-by-step manuals, including recipes for cooking, medicinal preparations, and ritual magic. The designer of the Ripley Scroll would have been familiar with illustrated rolls of varying dimensions and descriptions, which were a visible part of written culture in England and Continental Europe.
Format:
  • Manuscript
  • Book
Type:
Language:
  • English, Middle (1100-1500)
  • Latin
Text language:
  • Texts in Middle English and Latin.
Publisher:
  • [England?], approximately 1590.
Date:
  • 1590
Extent:
  • 1 roll (14 membranes) : parchment, illustrations ; 5370 x 525 mm
Abstract:
  • Illustrated alchemical roll incorporating Middle English verses attributed to Sir George Ripley.
View in catalog:
Subject:
Attributed name:
  • Ripley, George, -1490?
Description:
  • Ms. roll.
  • Illustrations: Four panels containing emblematic diagrams serving as instructions on the process of transmuting base metals into precious metals. A fifth panel by a different artist appears to depict Ripley.
References:
  • Medieval & Renaissance manuscripts in the Princeton University Library, p. 309.
Provenance:
  • Early and intermediate provenance unknown. Bought in London by H.P. Kraus, 1957, and sold to Lawrence Witten, who sold it to Robert H. Taylor.
Identifier:
  • ark:/88435/vd66w366g