‘Water mixed with the blood of Thomas’: contact relic manufacture pictured in Canterbury Cathedral’s stained glass

Four remarkable stained glass panels in the Trinity Chapel of Canterbury Cathedral (executed c.1185–1220) picture the mixing of Thomas Becket’s blood with water at Becket’s tomb. The ‘water of St Thomas’ was among the most widely renowned medieval water relics, reputed to have healed the sick throughout Latin Christendom. This article examines the glass images, comparing them with narratives in the glaziers’ source text, Benedict of Peterborough’s collection of Becket’s miracles. The glaziers presented an enhanced and carefully designed version of the early history of the water relic: the visual images draw strong parallels between the water of St Thomas and the Eucharist, and trumpet the role of the monks of Christ Church Cathedral Priory, Canterbury, the patrons of the glass, in the mixing process. The glass panels also provide suggestive evidence regarding the personnel, vessels and ceremonial involved in the actual mixing of the relic at Canterbury, including the likely participation of a lay sacrist and the possible use of mazers.     

Iron-57 Mössbauer spectral studies of medieval stained glass

⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectral data for six excavated and two simulated medieval stained glass samples are reported. Iron-containing precipitates are observed in the two simulated medieval glasses and are responsible for the amber colour of these samples. The ferrous/ferric ratio of the other samples is dependent on the glass composition and glass making conditions. The green glasses are associated with the presence of both ferrous and ferric iron, the ratio being very similar in three of the glasses studied, while in the purple and emerald green glasses the iron which is constitutionally incorporated in the glass is solely in the ferric oxidation state. The UVvisible spectra of some of the glasses are used to assist in interpretation of the colourant action of iron, and the role of Mössbauer spectroscopy in linking separate glass fragments with a common source is also indicated.     

基于ATP生物发光法的文物霉变检测与应用研究

为研究判定ATP(adenosine triphosphate,三磷酸腺苷)生物发光法在文物表面霉菌污染检测中应用可行性、科学性及适用性,利用ATP生物发光法对文物表面50种霉菌的生物发光值进行检测;构建了7种常见霉菌及其混合菌的菌落总数值与ATP生物发光值的线性关系函数,并在对应线性关系下分析了预测菌落总数值与实际值的差异;进一步利用ATP生物发光法评价模拟染霉试样在香茅醛熏蒸处理前后的霉菌数量变化。结果显示:50株待测霉菌中90%霉菌均检出了生物发光值(RLU)。在不同培养条件下,青霉、曲霉、木霉、毛壳菌、枝孢菌以及其混合菌的菌落总数对数值(lg^(CFU/mL))与生物发光对数值(lg^(RLU))之间均呈现了良好的线性关系,相关系数R^(2)>0.9817;在相应的线性关系下,预测的菌落总数值与实际平板计数的菌落总数值具有一致性(P<0.05),说明ATP生物发光法可以对文物表面霉菌进行准确相对定量。此外,香茅醛熏蒸处理组和对照组文物表面霉菌的生物发光值和菌落总数呈现了相同的差异变化趋势,说明ATP生物发光法可以直接用于熏蒸剂抑菌效力的评价。因此,ATP生物发光法在文物霉变检测中具有很高的适用性,同时在文物霉变程度分析及霉变文物消杀处理的效果评价等方面具有良好的应用价值,可为文物微生物病害的防控提供有效的技术支持。