A broken heritage: non-invasive analysis of 11th-century psalter fragments from C. Norwid Library, Elbląg, Poland

This paper presents the results of a non-invasive physical and chemical analysis of manuscript parchment fragments from the 11th-century N-Psalter originating in England. The fragments, located in the C. Norwid Library in Elbląg, Poland, match other membra disiecta from the same codex dispersed throughout Europe. By gathering detailed information on the material features of the fragments, in particular, the ruling method (optical coherence tomography) and the elemental composition of the inks (X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) and pigments (X-ray fluorescence, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy), the analysis seeks to provide further insight into the production process, the manuscript’s dating, and possibly the origin of the ink (multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry). The overarching goal was to contextualise the Elbląg fragments within the broader framework of manuscript production and use, and propose research scenarios for future studies in fragmentology.