The York Gospels: a 1000-year biological palimpsest

Medieval manuscripts, carefully curated and conserved, represent not only an irreplaceable documentary record but also a remarkable reservoir of biological information. Palaeographic and codicological investigation can often locate and date these documents with remarkable precision. The York Gospels (York Minster Ms. Add. 1) is one such codex, one of only a small collection of pre-conquest Gospel books to have survived the Reformation. By extending the non-invasive triboelectric (eraser-based) sampling technique eZooMS, to include the analysis of DNA, we report a cost-effective and simple-to-use biomolecular sampling technique for parchment. We apply this combined methodology to document for the first time a rich palimpsest of biological information contained within the York Gospels, which has accumulated over the 1000-year lifespan of this cherished object that remains an active participant in the life of York Minster. These biological data provide insights into the decisions made in t...经过精心甄选与妥善保护的中世纪手稿，不仅是不可替代的文献实录，更是一座极具价值的生物信息宝库。古文书学（Palaeography）与装帧学（codicology）研究通常可实现此类文献的高精度定位与断代。《约克福音书》（York Gospels，馆藏编号York Minster Ms. Add. 1）便是此类抄本之一，也是宗教改革时期得以留存的为数不多的诺曼征服前福音书抄本。本研究将非侵入式摩擦电（基于橡皮擦）采样技术eZooMS拓展至DNA分析范畴，据此提出了一种适用于羊皮纸的低成本、易操作的生物分子采样方法。我们将该组合方法应用于《约克福音书》，首次揭示了其中蕴含的丰富生物信息擦重写本（palimpsest）——这一传世千年的珍贵文物至今仍是约克大教堂日常活动的积极参与者，其内部历经千年累积了此类生物信息。这些生物数据可为探析其制作过程中的相关决策提供参考……