Data from: The York Gospels: a one thousand 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 1,000 year lifespan of this cherished object that remains an active participant in the life of York Minster. This biological data provides insights into the decisions made in the selection of materials, the construction of the codex and the use history of the object.

经精心遴选管护与修复保存的中世纪手稿，不仅是无可替代的文献实证记录，更是一座蕴藏丰富生物信息的珍贵宝库。古文书学与抄本学研究通常可极为精准地确定这类文献的出土地点与创作年代。约克福音书（约克大教堂馆藏Add.1号抄本）便是这类抄本之一，它属于仅存的少量在宗教改革中幸存的诺曼征服前福音书抄本。我们将非侵入式摩擦电（基于橡皮擦原理）取样技术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、易操作的生物分子取样方案。我们将这一联合分析方法应用于约克福音书的研究，首次完整记录了该抄本中蕴藏的丰富多层生物信息——这些信息在这一珍贵文物长达千年的存续历程中不断积累，而它至今仍是约克大教堂日常宗教活动的积极参与者。这些生物分子数据可为我们解析该抄本的原料遴选、抄本制作工艺以及其使用历史提供关键参考与全新视角。