Giles Lodges lute book miscellany, V.a.159

Below is a basic semi-diplomatic transcription of instructions for making black ink taken from Giles Lodge's Lute Book. These transcriptions were originally created as part of the Practical Paleography Series, sponsored by EMMO.

Transcription [1]

60v
To make black incke
Take a gallon of raine water or worte, &
put in hit a pounde of gaull a pound of gumm​​
halfe a pound of grene coperas, & stear them​
Blacke incke ​to gether everye day, yower gaull most be
brocke in great peces, & yower gumm​​es most
be put in ij or iij dayes after yower stuffe
& lett hit be storyd everye daye for the
space of an wecke, & whan it hathe stande a moneth it will be good.
To make gumm​​e for incke​
Take the whittes of egges & put them​ in a
Gumm​​e​ bladder & hange it in a smocke vntill it be
drye, & it will be gumm​​e for incke.

61r​
To make read incke ​f..i
ffirst make oyle wi​t​h​ the whitt of a nege, as
this, Take th​e ​whyet of a nege & with a locke
of fine whitt woll wringe hit thorow vj or
vij times vntill ye se th​a​t​ all th​e​ whit is turned
to water & will drope from the wooll, then is
Readd ​incke​ hit fine oyle. Or els ye may take vpe the
whitt wi​t​h​ a sponge & wringe hit thorow as
befor. Now take vermelon & grind hit apon
a marble stone drye wi​t​h​ a moller halfe a qu​^artr
of an hower, then put to a litle of you​^r ​oyle
& grind hit as mutch longer wi​t​h ​the oyle, &
yf ye take paine to grind you^r​ vermelon an
hower ye shalbe most surest to haue you^​r​
incke myche the fyner, for all th​e​ masterye
of​

61v
of ​this inke do lye in th​e​ longe & fine grin​​dinge
as I haue often proved. yf hit benot well grou​​nd
th​e l​esse you^​r​ labor for it will flyter a way.
Nowe put hit into a cleare horne & store hit
alway wi​t​h​ a stycke when ye wyll occupye eny
of hit & let th​e​ sticke drape into the pene, & so
writ wi​t​h ​hit. Keape hit in no nother vessell
but in a horne or glasse, for if ye do I know
th​a​t ​all kinde of mettell as ledd, tine, brasse, cop​er​
wi​t​h ​such lyke will corrupt you​r ​yncke in shorte
space. And yf ye haue kept you^​r​ incke longe
that th​e​ oyle do smell put to hit halfe a dosen
drapps of pysse and store hit, & that will make hit
sweat againe. or els ye most put out th​e​ oile old
& put in new. & then ye be shure of good.