Hyperspectral analysis Gruuthuse manuscript

Recently, the hyperspectral analysis of several folios of the medieval “Gruuthuse” manuscript (ca. 1400) was published in a book together with other articles on the latest research results on this manuscript. The hyperspectral measurements were carried out with the SEPIA Quantitative Hyperspectral Imager of the Nationaal Archief (National Archives of the Netherlands, The Hague). The measurement data was analyzed and interpreted in a cooperation of the Nationaal Archief, the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (Royal Library of the Netherlands, The Hague), the Huygens Institute (The Hague, Netherlands) and Art Innovation.

The Gruuthuse manuscript, which has been acquired from a private owner several years ago by the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, belongs to the most prominent pieces of historic literature of the Netherlands, as it contains a collection of more than 150 medieval songs, most of which accompanied with musical notations.

For each measured document section, 70 high-resolution calibrated spectral reflectance images were recorded by the SEPIA instrument in the wavelength range 365 to 1100 nm. The use of advanced spectral analysis and enhancement algorithms resulted in the discovery of a hitherto unknown deleted text section and deleted music notations. In addition, the comparison of the spectral signatures in a coat of arms drawing and between different text sections inspired new theories on the dating of certain text parts and the history of the manuscript.

For more information on the hyperspectral analysis of the Gruuthuse manuscript, please follow this link.

Reference: Fr. Willaert (ed.), Het gruuthuse-handschrift in woord en klank. Nieuwe inzichten, nieuwe vragen, Gent, Koninklijke Academie voor Nederlandse Taal- en Letterkunde, 2010, 228 pages - ISBN 9789072474834 (Dutch language)

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