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.

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​