The Color Red in Ms. Fr. 640

Alexandra Coutavas

Fall 2021, Making and Knowing in Early Modern Europe: Hands-On History

Bibliothèque nationale de France Ms. Fr. 640 is a late sixteenth-century manuscript containing instructions, recipes, and practical notes on a variety of subjects pertaining to crafts. As a text dealing with art making and materials, the names of colors and pigments appear frequently throughout. Using Carl Garris’ “What is Azur in Ms. Fr. 640?” and other published essays of the digital critical edition as models, this paper investigates words related to ‘red’ in the manuscript, both as the color rouge and as red pigments and materials including lake, vermilion, cinnabar, and rosette.¹ Although some color and pigment words were used indiscriminately and interchangeably at the time, the aim here is to track usages across the manuscript to see if certain formulations appear in certain contexts. The first stage of this research analyzes the entries in the manuscript to record the author-practitioner’s language, and the second stage attempts to identify patterns or meaning in use of words.

The pigments mentioned in the manuscript that produce a red color are: a variety of lakes, including rosette, as well as minium, dragon’s blood, vermilion, and cinnabar.² For the purposes of this paper I have chosen to focus on lake and rosette (excluding minium and dragon’s blood), vermilion, and cinnabar. I present the findings on these words in the first section, ‘Red as Material,’ and findings related to the word rouge in the second section, ‘Red as Color.’

Red as Material

Table 1: Instances of cinnabar in Ms. Fr. 640

Inst.	Folio	Recipe	Normalized (FR)	Translation (EN)	Context, Translation (EN)
142v1	142v	Molding grasshoppers and things too thin	cinabre	cinnabar	Therefore write with cinnabar wetted with oil on oiled paper & press in.
163v1	163v	Crocum	cinabre	cinnabar	But the first one, finely ground, acquires a bright red color, like cinnabar

There are 2 instances of cinabre, or cinnabar, in the manuscript. Both instances are of the pigment mercury(II) sulfide (α-HgS), the naturally-occurring ore of oxidized mercury.³ On fol. 163v the author-practitioner writes: “a bright red color, like cinnabar,” referring to the mineral’s characteristic bright scarlet to brick-red color in a comparative sense.

Table 2: Instances of vermilion in Ms. Fr. 640

Inst.	Folio	Recipe	Normalized (FR)	Translation (EN)	Context, Translation (EN)
3r1	3r	Counterfeit coral	vermeillon	vermilion	put in one ounce of subtly ground vermilion with walnut oil
3r2	3r	Counterfeit coral	vermeillon	vermilion	Sulfur & vermilion makes the same effect.
3r3	3r	Counterfeit coral	vermeillon	vermilion	one mixes well pestled gules red enamel, which is red in body, with the vermilion.
13r1	13r	Flesh color from arsenic	vermeillon	vermilion	mixed with vermilion or lake or minium, makes a beautiful flesh color that is always shiny.
57r1	57r	Painter	vermillon	vermilion	Vermilion ground by itself is wan and pale
64r1	64r	Vermilion	vermeillon	vermilion	Title
64r2	64r	Vermilion	vermeillon	vermilion	it is better to choose whitish vermilion than dark & blackish
64r3	64r	Vermilion	vermeillon	vermilion	For vermilion is commonly mixed with a little lake… it would hardly be different from minium.
64r4	64r	Oil colors in water	vermeillon	vermilion	for lake dies there & loses its color, also azure, vermilion.
74r1	74r	For making vermilion	vernilhon	vermilion	Title
74r2	74r	For making vermilion	vernilhon	vermilion	You will have good vermilion.
74v1	74v	For making red varnish	vermilhon	vermilion	Take vermilion and make it soak in quite clear gum water, like the other
75r1	75r	Red gum	vernilhon	vermilion	Take red wax, vermilion, & a small amount of resin pitch, as above.
78r1	78r	For making red varnish	vermilhon	vermilion	Take vermilion & temper it with gum water as well as with other water
141r1	141r	Molding a crayfish	vermeillon	vermilion	Paint the back with vermilion mixed with lake
141r2	141r	Molding a crayfish	vermeillon	vermilion	the sides & underneath the belly & the legs with vermilion
141v1	141v	Molding a crayfish	vermeillon	vermilion	To paint it, one does the middle of the back mixed with vermilion
141v2	141v	Molding a crayfish	vermeillon	vermilion	the legs is with a flesh color made of vermilion
163v1	163v	Crocum	vermeillon	vermilion	dried out acquires a deeper tincture & approaches crushed æs ustum or vermilion.

There are 19 instances of vermilion, in 4 variations: vermeillon; vermilhon; vermillon; and vernilhon. Every case of the word refers to the material itself—the synthetic form of cinnabar—rather than to the shade of red, as the word ‘vermilion’ can be used in the present day. The author-practitioner uses the word for a comparison in one instance, again on fol. 163v when noting that a substance acquires a “deeper tincture” approaching vermilion.

Table 3: Instances of rosette in Ms. Fr. 640

Inst.	Folio	Recipe	Normalized (FR)	Translation (EN)	Context, Translation (EN)
5r1	5r	Steel mirrors	rosette	rosette	various kinds are made with cuivre franc, which is rosette & tin
5r2	5r	Steel mirrors	cuivre de rosette	rosette copper	So take half rosette copper & half soft tin, that is to say fine
17r1	17r	On the gunner	rosette	rosette	they redden, that is to say that they are composed of a sufficient quantity of rosette
17r2	17r	On the gunner	rosette	rosette	The good alloy for pieces is of three parts of rosette
17r3	17r	On the gunner	rosette	rosette	where there is more rosette than in the metal of small bells.
17r4	17r	On the gunner	rosette fine	fine rosette	The metal commonly costs xv lb & fine rosette xv or xvi.
17v1	17v	On the gunner	rosette	rosette	composition of cannons of France is of one quintal of metal for two of rosette
17v2	17v	On the gunner	rosette	rosette	Toulouse & Poncet puts iii of rosette & one of metal
17v3	17v	On the gunner	rosette	rosette	The rosette for re-melting is more profitable than cauldrons
17v4	17v	On the gunner	rosette	rosette	namely one part of rosette & one of metal
17v5	17v	On the gunner	rosette	rosette	The metal is composed at the beginning of eight lb of tin for one quintal of rosette
17v6	17v	On the gunner	rosette	rosette	only puts six lb of fine tin for one quintal of rosette, to give it a bigger voice
18r1	18r	On the gunner	rosette	rosette	And for two quintals of rosette, one adds six twenties lb of metal
24r1	24r	Grenades	rosette	rosette	metal of a large bell is made with 3 quintals of rosette & twenty or xxv lb of tin.
28v1	28v	Pewterers	rosette	rosette	six or eight lb of rosette on a quintal to render the plate sonorous.
28v2	28v	Pewterers	rosette	rosette	One puts eight lb of rosette.
28v3	28v	Pewterers	rosette	rosette	But if there is a lot of looking-glass tin… one only puts six of rosette.
32v1	32v	Founder	rosette	rosette	They buy rosette at xx lb a quintal, which is harder to melt than latten
32v2	32v	Founder	fine rosette de chauldronier	fine coppersmith’s rosette	A quintal of fine coppersmith’s rosette is sold for xxx or 40 lb.
33r1	33r	Knife for cutting the nose or a finger	rosette de bresil	Brazilwood rosette	and you will place the notch, colored with brazilwood rosette or black cherry juice
33v1	33v	For making blood or wine issue from someone’s forehead or from a wall	rosette liquide de bresil	liquid Brazilwood rosette	put in wine or liquid rosette of Brazilwood or black cherry juice
47v1	47v	Founding	rosette	rosette	And if you want to cast fire pieces, mix in more rosette than latten
56v1	56v	Painter	rosette de Gand	Ghent rosette	The lake & rosette of Ghent & others lose their color
63v1	63v	Rosette	rosette	rosette	Title
85v1	85v	Founder	rosette	rosette	Rosette, to come out neatly, wants the mold to be a little hot
85v2	85v	Founder	rosette	rosette	mixed with the rosette, especially for small pieces
85v3	85v	Mortars	rosette	rosette	copper for cauldrons, which is better than rosette, in order that it withstands the blow better.
118r1	118r	For grottos	rosette	rosette	Rosette is found sometimes mixed with certain brittle lumps which are pulverized
136v1	136v	For casting in latten	rosette	rosette	xii nails of rosette, like for chairs, which are of soft latten.
167r1	167r	Petards	fine rosette	fine rosette	Petards are made of the best alloy of metal & fine rosette
167r2	167r	Petards	rosette fine	fine rosette	one part of metal & two of fine rosette or old cauldron, which is even better

There are 31 instances of rosette, in 7 variations: cuivre de rosette (copper rosette); fine rosette de chauldronier (fine coppersmith’s rosette); rosette; rosette de bresil (Brazilwood rosette); rosette de gand (Ghent rosette), rosette fine (fine rosette); and rosette liquide de bresil (liquid Brazilwood rosette). The majority of instances appear in recipes that use the material rosette copper—a reddish copper that when combined with tin produced an alloy called metal—such as recipes on making steel mirrors, cannons, and grenades.⁴ This context suggests the material was chosen for its properties rather than its color. However, there are three instances in the manuscript where rosette is used as a colorant (fols. 33r, 33v, and 56v), and these correspond to it being specified as Brazilwood rosette or Ghent rosette, referring to the bright pink pigment usually prepared from brazilwood or sappanwood, alum and chalk.⁵

Table 4: Instances of lake in Ms. Fr. 640

Inst.	Folio	Recipe	Normalized (FR)	Translation (EN)	Context, Translation (EN)
3r1	3r	Counterfeit coral	laque platte de Venise	Venice laque platte	and if you add in a little Venice laque platte, the color will be more vivid
6r1	6r	For laying down and seating burnished gold and giving red or green or blue	laque platte de Venise	Venice laque platte	to lay in rouge clair & glaze with it, grind Venice laque platte on marble
6r2	6r	For laying down and seating burnished gold and giving red or green or blue	laque ronde	laque ronde	spike lavender varnish & apply on the gold with the paintbrush. Brazilwood & laque ronde die.
7r1	7r	For coloring stamped trunks	laque	lake	colored with the aforesaid colors of lake, verdet, azur d’esmail
10r1	10r	Purple color	laque	lake	next they glaze it with lake, which will be more appropriate for this if you mix in alum
13r1	13r	Flesh color from arsenic	laque	lake	mixed with vermilion or lake or minium
13r2	13r	Flesh color from arsenic	laque	lake	the white one is good in oil and agrees well with the lake
13r3	13r	For dyeing	laque	lake	Then mix in lake or verdet & azure or similar, & dye
31v1	31v	Painter	laque	lake	Scribes achieve darkening of lake & other colors for garments with egg yolk
39v1	39v	Tracing some history on glass	laque platte	laque platte	azur d’esmail or verdigris or fine laque platte … if you want that the colors are more even
40v1	40v	Cross of the commanders of Malta	laque platte dinde	Indian laque platte	eau-de-vie or else Indian laque platte, which in my opinion is made in Flanders
42v1	42v	For outlining a portrait	laque	lake	Follow the lines with lake ground with olive oil, which will not dry.
44r1	44r	Lake	laque	lake	Title
56r1	56r	Varnish for distemper	laque	lake	You can make marble with distemper of lake or rose of Ghent & chalk.
56r2	56r	Varnish for distemper	laque	lake	Once dry, glaze with lake tempered in wine, for the glue makes it die & blacken
56v1	56v	Painter	laque	lake	The lake & florey rosette of Ghent & others lose their color & die in the air.
57r1	57r	Painter	laque	lake	Lake takes long to dry in oil and for that reason one must grind some glass with it.
57r2	57r	Painter	lacque	lake	Good lake moistened with saliva is promptly rendered dark. That from Florence is too gummed.
57r3	57r	Painter	laque	lake	Vermilion ground by itself is wan and pale, but ground after lake, it is more beautiful.
58r1	58r	Painter	laque	lake	Florence lake is better than that from Flanders for in Florence the best dyes are made.
58r2	58r	Painter	laque	lake	To make a beautiful flesh color, the reddest & liveliest lake is the best
58r3	58r	Painter	laque	lake	ladies, wanting to color their cheeks, grind Florence lake very finely
58r4	58r	Painter	laque	lake	And thus they pounce the lake on their cheeks
58r5	58r	Painter	laque	lake	It is ground with lake & with asphaltum, which would not dry
58r6	58r	Painter	laque	lake	The said spike lavender oil would not be good for lake & colors that do not have body
59r1	59r	Paintbrushes	laque	lake	Lake & lead white & ceruse are easy to work in oil
61r1	61r	Flesh colors	laque de Florence	lake	beautiful Florence lake makes a beautiful vivid flesh color…the tint of rose alexandrine & incarnadine.
61v1	61v	Grinding colors	laque	lake	for grinding colors neatly, especially for lake & for whites.
62r1	62r	Distant people and animals	laque	lake	One first does them roughly in gray or in purple, which is made of azure ash & lake.
63v1	63v	Velvets and blacks	laque	lake	For lake, black of pit coal which makes a reddish black on lake for velvets
63v2	63v	Velvets and blacks	laque	lake	For lake, black of pit coal which makes a reddish black on lake for velvets
64r1	64r	Vermilion	laque	lake	vermilion is commonly mixed with a little lake, without which it would hardly be different from minium
64r2	64r	Oil colors in water	laque	lake	more appropriate for ceruse… than for the others, for lake dies there & loses its color
64r3	64r	Double layer	laque	lake	But lake & others, & principally flesh colors, require two layers.
65r1	65r	Fatty colors	laque	lake	But those which do not have it [body], such as pestled glass, lake, &c, become clear.
65v1	65v	Semi-lively colors	laque	lake	the colors, having more body, do not die & are all the more beautiful for it, especially azure, lake
65v2	65v	Glazing	laque	lake	One commonly glazes with colors that do not have body, such as lake & verdigris.
66r1	66r	Shadows	laque	lake	For women, asphaltum, umber, & a little lake.
76r1	76r	For making it violet	lacque	lake	Take one quart of urine & one ounce of alum & two drams of sal ammoniac & one of lake
93v1	93v	Violet and lake	laque	lake	Title
93v2	93v	Violet and lake	laque	lake	It is made of azure & lake, which is also assayed on the palette with white.
102v1	102v	Painting on crystal or glass	laque	lake	make it with azur d’Acre for more beauty, or with lake for a quickly-done red
141r1	141r	Molding a crayfish	laque	lake	Paint the back with vermilion mixed with lake
141v1	141v	Molding a crayfish	laque	lake	one does the middle of the back with vermilion mixed with a little lake
165r1	165r	Lake	laque	lake	Title
165r2	165r	Dragon’s blood	laque	lake	It can be imitated with lake, which surpasses the dragon’s blood in beauty

There are 46 instances of lake, in 7 variations: lacque; laque; laque de Florence (Florence lake); laque platte; laque platte de Venise (Venice laque platte); laque platte dinde (Indian laque platte); and laque ronde. When a qualifier is specified, it either refers to the place the pigment was supplied from, such as Florence or Venice, or to the physical form in which the dry pigment came, such as balls (ronde) or flat tablets (platte).⁶ These specific lakes make up 10.9% of the instances, while 89.1% are the non-specific laque or lacque, which illustrates the ambiguous use of the word by sixteenth-century artists and craftsmen as a red pigment. ‘Lake’ is a name given to a range of pigments based on dyestuffs obtained from organic sources. The word is derived from the Latin lacca and the earlier Sanskrit laksha, used for the lac insect and the resinous secretion it produces on its host tree, and by the sixteenth century referred to both the raw material and the dye, and subsequently to similar dark red pigments made from other dyes.⁷ In addition to lac, the cochineal and kermes insects, redwoods such as brazilwood and sappanwood, and the madder plant root were used to produce red lakes. Thus the author-practitioner could be referring to one type of lake in all the non-specific cases, or may have felt that any lake would suffice in those recipes. Almost all instances of the word lake in the manuscript seem to refer to a material, however there are three instances (7r1, 31r1, and 58r6) where it is called a color – further textual analysis of the word ‘color’ in the manuscript might illuminate this distinction more fully.

Red as Color

Table 5: Instances of red in Ms. Fr. 640

Inst.	Folio	Recipe	Normalized (FR)	Translation (EN)	Context, Translation (EN)
2v1	2v	Emeralds of Brissac	rouge	red	The mass was green, yellow & red.
3r1	3r	Counterfeit coral	rouge	red	Thus, here one mixes well pestled gules red enamel, which is red in body, with the vermilion.
6r1	6r	For laying down and seating burnished gold and giving red or green or blue	rouge	red	Title
6r2	6r	For laying down and seating burnished gold and giving red or green or blue	rouge cler	rouge clair	to lay in rouge clair & glaze with it, grind Venice laque platte on marble with walnut or linseed oil.
6v1	6v	For cages	rouge	red	And when the large cannule is red, they seize the hot end using small pincers
7r1	7r	For gilding with gold color and tinsel	rouge	red	And if you have gilded with tinsel, color it with smoke of partridge or of yellow or red cloth
9v1	9v	Painter	rougist	red	The orpiment thus turns red like red enamel & one needs to first grind it moist
9v2	9v	Painter	rouge	red	The orpiment thus turns red like red enamel & one needs to first grind it moist
11v1	11v	For getting rid of the redness of eyes or bruising	rougeur	redness	Title
12v1	12v	For whitening enilanroc	rougir	redden	And nonetheless the thing came to ~~redden &~~ ignition & turned completely white
13r1	13r	For whitening enilanroc	rougir	redden	Then I reddened two glassworkers’ solders
13r2	13r	For whitening enilanroc	rouges	red	& as they were red, I presented them one after the other onto the surface of the thing
13r3	13r	For whitening enilanroc	rouge	red	made such drawing as I wanted, uncovering up to the red base with a diamond point
16r1	16r	Founding of soft iron	rouge	red	then beat a soft iron piece cut to size, & when this piece is very red,
16v1	16v	Founding of soft iron	rouge	red	such that the bottom is red hot and then you will put there the aforesaid load of charcoals
17r1	17r	On the gunner	rougissent	redden	with the greenness which they expel on the surface, they redden… composed of a sufficient quantity of rosette.
29v1	29v	Dragon's blood	rouge	red	Take a well chosen tear of it which shows off its transparent red.
29v2	29v	Dragon's blood	rouge cler	rouge clair	once broken it shows on its edges scales, transparent as rouge clair enamel
31r1	31r	Colored waters	cuivre rouge	red copper	And this tincture is red copper in its residue if you distil
31v1	31v	Painter	rouges de mine	reds from minium	Others glaze reds from minium & others which are not beautiful in oil
32v1	32v	Mat maker	rouge	red	put it in dye and commonly make it in three colors, green, red, and sometimes violet.
32v2	32v	Mat maker	rouge	red	For the red, they use alum and brazilwood.
32v3	32v	Glassworker	rouge	red	They do not have the invention for making a perfect red in a work which one needs to reheat.
32v4	32v	Glassworker	rouge d’Allemaigne	German red	Nonetheless, try the red from Germany, which is rouge d’escaille.
32v5	32v	Glassworker	rouge d’escaille	rouge d’escaille	Nonetheless, try the red from Germany, which is rouge d’escaille.
32v6	32v	Glassworker	rouge commun	common red	They make their common red with sanguine, looking-glass tin, rocaille
32v7	32v	Glassworker	rouge	red	The said red is applied on one side & the other of the glass
32v8	32v	Founder	cuivre rouge	red copper	Latten made brittle by the calamine is melted more quickly than red copper.
37v1	37v	Glassworker	rouge de sanguine	red from sanguine	As for the yellow, they make it from silver, the red from sanguine,
38v1	38v	Against nosebleed and for dyeing	vené de rouge	red-veined	lapathum acutum of the sort that is red-veined, which is called dragon’s blood
39r1	39r	Goldsmith	esmail rouge	red enamel	a red enamel vitrifies at the bottom of the crucible
39v1	39v	Enamel	rouge	red	Azure in body & the red called gules
40r1	40r	Vinegar	rougir	heating red-hot	that heating red-hot the mineral salt, which resembles marble
40r2	40r	Vinegar	rouge	red	throwing it all red or quite hot into wine
40v1	40v	Cross of the commanders of Malta	rouge clair	rouge clair	This beautiful rouge clair which makes the field of the white enamel cross
42r1	42r	Founder	rouge	red	The mold of earth is reheated until, sometimes, it is as if red
44r1	44r	Dyes from flowers	pavot rouge	red poppy	The red poppy, which grows amongst grains, makes a very beautiful columbine
44v1	44v	Excellent water against the plague of Monsieur de Montorsin	quarreau rouge	red tile	pour some on a flaming red tile & receive the vapor
47v1	47v	Casting	rouge	red	it needs to be ablaze and red like the metal.
48v1	48v	Extraction of regulus	rouge	red	he said soap will be consumed and burn off and the rest will stay as if red
48v2	48v	Extraction of regulus	rougir	heated red-hot	having heated a pot or crucible red hot
48v3	48v	Lead, tin	cuivre rouge	red copper	per one quintal of fine tin & two lb & a half or three lb of red & soft cauldron copper
49r1	49r	Pewterers	roug (struck through)*	red	they cast in their very hot molds ~~& almost roug~~ & with very hot tin.
53r1	53r	Soldering a vise	rougie	red-hot	it can fit into the notch of the bolt when red hot
56r1	56r	Excellent tempering bath for cuirass bodies	terre grasse rouge	fatty red earth	take three or four double handfuls of fatty red earth
56r2	56r	Varnish for distemper	rouge	red	And all will appear red, but the varnish you will put here
57r1	57r	Painter	rougir	redden	one must redden it on the fire
57r2	57r	Painter	rouge	red	then when entirely red throw it into cold water
58r1	58r	Painter	rouge	reddest	To make a beautiful flesh color, the reddest & liveliest lake is the best
59v1	59v	Double layer	rouges	reds	Azures, flesh colors, & reds are layered twice.
61r1	61r	Flesh colors	rouge	red	You need to make two kinds of it, one more red to make the main layer
63v1	63v	Velvets and blacks	noir rougeastre	reddish black	For lake, black of pit coal which makes a reddish black
65r1	65r	Shadows	noir rougeastre	reddish black	Because blacks make different colors, some a reddish black,
65r2	65r	Mirror	rougeastre	reddish	But do not look at it with a candle, for firelight will make the shadows reddish
67r1	67r	Bellows furnace	rouge	red	it is necessary that it be red at the bottom, like a charcoal & well inflamed
68r1	68r	Casting	rouge	red	And when it is well red, throw it into water
68v1	68v	Casting	rougy	red-hot	And if you reheat it in a crucible, red hot due to the fire
72r1	72r	Casting in copper	rouge	red	which should be very red before you cast.
72r2	72r	Casting in copper	rouges	red-hot	When you want to cast, take your red-hot pincers & the crooked iron as well
74v1	74v	For making red varnish	rouge	red	Title
75r1	75r	Red gum	goume rouge	red gum	Title
75r2	75r	Red gum	rouge	red	Take red wax, vermillion, & a small amount of resin pitch,
76r1	76r	For making wood red	rouge	red	Title
77r1	77r	Against redness of the face	rougeurs	redness	Title
78r1	78r	For making red varnish	rouge	red	Title
80v1	80v	Founders of small works of tin	rougeastre	reddish	They are of three colors: reddish, which is not as perfect as the others
81v1	81v	Sand	rougie	reddened	clay earth with which one makes tiles, reheated & reddened
82v1	82v	Method of casting in bronze	cuivre rouge	red copper	like all fine latten molds neater than red copper
82v2	82v	Method of casting in bronze	rougira	redden	which will redden & will maintain the heat under your crucible.
82v3	82v	Method of casting in bronze	cuivre rouge	red copper	It is half fine latten & half red copper
86r1	86r	Experimented sands	rouge	red	putting lit charcoals on top of it, that it became as if red
87v1	87v	Sand of the mine of Thoulouse	rouge	red	burns & inflames & becomes all red & inflamed like iron.
92v1	92v	Congealing mercury	rougir	redden	And if you want to assay if it is tin or ☿, redden a shovel
93v1	93v	Violet and lake	rouge	red	gives a clear ~~red~~ color of red rose, tending a little toward violet.
93v2	93v	Violet and lake	rose rouge	red rose	gives a clear ~~red~~ color of red rose, tending a little toward violet.
93v3	93v	Violet and lake	rouge	red	The one that is dark red is not as pleasant
98r1	98r	Varnish for lutes	rougeastre	reddish	add in a little dragon’s blood to color it and make it reddish
99r1	99r	Founding	rougissant	redding	calcine it, reddening it several times in the fire
101v1	101v	Salt for melting	rouge	red	mix them together until the crucible will be red
101v2	101v	Jacinth	rouges	red	The ruby wants fire for a whole day, and if it does not have enough fire, it will only have red veins
102v1	102v	Painting on crystal or glass	rouge	red	And as for the ground, they make it with azur d’Acre for more beauty, or with lake for a quickly-done red
106v1	106v	Casting in gold	rouge	red	The mold needs to be red, & one needs to press it promptly with iron presses.
106v2	106v	Tiles	rouges	red	heat them until they have been quite red for one or two hours
106v3	106v	Tiles	rougisse	red	It must withstand the fire & turn red like a lit charcoal.
107r1	107r	Tiles	rouge	red	For when it becomes red & overheats, it loses its strength & spoils the sand.
107r2	107r	Catching lizards and snakes	rougie	reddened	reddened in a good fire after the first cooking & then finely pulverized
107v1	107v	Catching lizards and snakes	rouget	reddish	mold, having set, retains the color of brick and is reddish, it is firmer.
108v1	108v	Spalt	rouge	red	fusion fire, so that the sand remains long enough crucible for a quarter of an hour remains red.
108v2	108v	Spalt	roussastre (rougeastre)*	reddish	It becomes reddish on the surface & on the inside it remains white & better dried out.
110v1	110v	Wheat oil	rougie	reddened	Is made on a blade of iron reddened in the fire.
110v2	110v	Cast of lead and tin	rouge	red	I cast tin almost red, and lead the same, which, however, had not remained in the fire for too long
111r1	111r	Reheating molds	rougir	redden	For reheating is actually for the second time to redden & inflame the molds in the fire
111r2	111r	For red copper	cuivre rouge	red copper	Title
111v1	111v	Composition of sand	rouge	red	Mix with your hands until... neither white nor red, can be discerned among the other
115r1	115r	Reheating of Molds	rouge	red	reheated, so long as it remains red on the inside when you will cast.
115v1	115v	Cast of tin	rouge	red	it is necessary that it is very hot & almost red for casting,
115v2	115v	Reheating the noyau molds	rougis	red	invigorate the fire, without haste, until your molds are quite red on the outside & the inside.
115v3	115v	Reheating the noyau molds	rouges	red	very red & inflamed inside, this will be your signal that they are reheated enough.
115v4	115v	Reheating the noyau molds	rouge	red	They are reheated enough when the entire hole of the gate is red.
116r1	116r	Reheating the noyau molds	rouges	red	Second, reheat them & render them red for casting
116r2	116r	Casting for gold and silver	rouges	red	It is necessary that the molds be fiery red & ablaze when you cast in gold & silver
116v1	116v	Mixture of tin and lead	rouge	red	Heat the mostly tin mixture until it is almost red & very hot.
116v2	116v	Mixture of tin and lead	rouges	red	they ought to be red when you cast, but for lead and tin, let it cool
116v3	116v	Cast for copper and latten	cuivre rouge	red copper	For red copper, one needs to put sal ammoniac
116v4	116v	Cast for copper and latten	cuivre rouge	red copper	Red copper is more troublesome to melt than latten.
118v1	118v	Casting in frames	rougir	redden	Reheating is to redden the frame, which is done for gold and for silver.
119r1	119r	Casting in frames	rouge	red	I melted it in a crucible until it was, as it were, a little red.
119r2	119r	Casting in frames	rougeur	redness	I left it a little so that the redness at the bottom of the crucible could pass die down
119r3	119r	Advice about the above	rougir	reddened	If the sand shrinks in the frame, this means that it must be reheated & reddened on the fire.
119v1	119v	Fashion of preparing spat	rougir	redden	one needs to reheat it again on a good fire and redden it.
119v2	119v	Fashion of preparing spat	rougist	reddens	for it withstands the fire & reddens whenever need be, without corrupting.
119v3	119v	Fashion of preparing spat	rougist	reddens	It endures ten or twelve castings without corrupting, it withstands the fire & reddens,
121v1	121v	Silver for casting	rouges	red	the molds to have been reheated of very red to burn the animals
121v2	121v	Silver for casting	rouges	red	bind them with iron wire, & reheat them again until they will be quite red.
121v3	121v	Silver for casting	rouges	red	in order to surround your molds & fortify them, for they must be all red.
124v1	124v	Rouge clair enamel	rouge clair	rouge clair	Title
124v2	124v	Rouge clair enamel	rougeastre	reddish	one puts it back on the fire to give it a reddish color, to make the enamels beautiful.
124v3	124v	Rouge clair enamel	rouge clair	rouge clair	There is rouge clair which, once it is used with the arene, loses its beauty.
124v4	124v	Rouge clair enamel	rouges	red	Gold & silver do not sour, being entirely red and hot
124v5	124v	Casting in gold	rouges	red	Then, they reheat the mold, earth & pot together, and when everything is quite red, they cast the gold.
126v1	126v	Crocum ferri	rouge	red	& you have made it evaporate & heat up, & it is very red,
126v2	126v	Crocum ferri	rouge	redder	vinegar will have much more strength, & the crocum will only be finer for it, & redder.
128r1	128r	Casting in silver and gold	rougir	redden	When your mold starts to redden on the inside & when looking inside the cast
128r2	128r	Casting in silver and gold	rouge	red	letting your crucible reheat between the lit charcoals until it is red
128r3	128r	Casting in silver and gold	rouge	red	A lump of adulterated silver vitrifies in red because of the arsenic & orpiment.
128v1	128v	Casting in silver and gold	rouge	reddened	take your well-reddened mold & place it in this pit of sand.
128v2	128v	Whitening of cast silver	rouge	red	When the lizard was red, he took it out, let it cool, then reheated it in the bullitoyre.
130r1	130r	For reddening live crayfish, which will seem boiled	rougir	reddening	Title
131v1	131v	When the cast of tin or lead becomes porous	rouge	red	It is also necessary that your lead or tin be as if red.
131v2	131v	When the cast of tin or lead becomes porous	rouge	red	Lead wants not only to be red, but also lively & runny & liquid as water
132r1	132r	Mold made in two casts	rouge	red	it would be necessary that your mold be reheated twice & cast when it would be completely red.
132r2	132r	Mold made in two casts	rougir	redden	And as it will begin to redden, do not blow the charcoals with the little bellows
132r3	132r	Method for reheating the molds	rouge	red	And similarly, when it is red, keep it well covered with lit charcoals & do not uncover it
132v1	132v	Method for reheating the molds	rougir	redden	When it begins to redden, it is soon red everywhere.
132v2	132v	Crocum ferri	rougi	reddened	Having passed it through vinegar & reddened it in the fire
132v3	132v	Crocum ferri	rougir	reddened	Finally, I boiled it & reddened the pot & crocum all together in the four à vent.
132v4	132v	Crocum ferri	rouge	redder	The one of steel fillings & needles is redder & better.
135v1	135v	Casting in	rouge	red	Let the said crucible reheat until it is quite red.
135v2	135v	Casting in	rouge	red	a four à vent, where you can hold your mold in the completely red sand.
136r1	136r	Casting in	rouge	red	Finally, arrange your very red mold between the moulets* or in a crucible
136r2	136r	Casting in	rouge	red	put in a fourneau à vent, to become entirely red at the end of the fournaise.
136v1	136v	For casting in latten	rouge	red	as it does in all remelted latten, which, through melting again, would return to red.
136v2	136v	For casting in latten	rouge	red	Take heed to cast very hot & that your mold be red like for gold, silver, copper & metal.
136v3	136v	For casting in latten	cuivre rouge	red copper	But when wanting to cast red copper, they yellow it either with fresh calamine or with prepared
136v4	136v	For casting in latten	rouge	red	that the mold be red like for gold.
137r1	137r	For casting in red copper	cuivre rouge	red copper	Title
137r2	137r	For casting in red copper	cuivre rouge	red copper	Pure red copper from a cauldron or other thin works is appropriate for casting.
137r3	137r	For casting in red copper	rouge	red	which needs to also be inflamed & entirely red like for gold,
137r4	137r	For casting in red copper	cuivre rouge	red copper	Red copper comes out more neatly than latten, which has strong smoke
137r5	137r	For casting in red copper	cuivre rouge	red copper	Copper and latten are the longest to melt, longer than any other metal, especially red copper.
138r1	138r	Tempering sand for molds of flat medals	rouges	red	it is necessary that they be perfectly red & inflamed on the inside when you cast,
139r1	139r	Casting of lead and tin	rouge	red	in the fire, with bellows, until the crucible & the lead are red.
139r2	139r	Casting of lead and tin	rouge	red	This done, let it rest thus red, & reheat a little on its own
139r3	139r	Casting of lead and tin	rouge	red	should be red like melted metal when it enters in the mold.
139r4	139r	Casting of lead and tin	rouge	red	cast boldly, for, provided that your metal is red, it will set again
139r5	139r	Casting of lead and tin	roussist (rougist)*	red	If it turns the paper red, it is enough, it is good to cast, but if it blackens the paper, it is too hot.
140v1	140v	Casting of lead and tin in plaster	rougir	red	I dried the mold well on a slow fire &, at the end, heated it well without reddening it
140v2	140v	Casting of lead and tin in plaster	rougir	red	I made an alloy of 4 ℥ of tin & six deniers of lead. I cast red, and it came out well.
141r1	141r	Molding a crayfish	rouges	red	To paint it, boil it with wine & a little salt, in order that they become very red
142v1	142v	Molds	rougir	redden	However, it is always good to redden the mold once.
143v1	143v	Toad	rougir	redden	One needs to heat well & evenly redden the molds where there are gates of wax
143v2	143v	Iron filings	rougir	redden	Because usually filings are mixed with filth, it is good to redden them in the fire
145v1	145v	Flowers	rouge	red	Cast your tin very red in the mold, of such heat that you can hold your finger there
147v1	147v	Casting of copper alloyed with ☾, which is like very base solder / ard[illegible]* and old K* and some R[illegible]* out of xii	rouge	red	I have cast very hot in the very red mold, and have put in the melted substance
147v2	147v	Casting of latten	rouge	red	I cast it in its very red mold. It came out very neat & thin like paper
147v3	147v	Casting of latten	rougy	reddened	But because it had crusted, I reheated it, that is to say reddened,
147v4	147v	Casting of latten	rouge	red	Usually, the soft latten of skillets becomes red from casting
148r1	148r	Whitening	rouge	red	the silver would become red like copper & you would need to reheat it & put it again in whitening.
148r2	148r	Crocum ferri	rougis	redden	To make this quickly, redden the filings in an iron case, stirring it often
148r3	148r	Crocum ferri	rougir	redden	without removing it from atop the fire, let it redden & inflame.
149r1	149r	Softening iron and rendering it very soft	rouge	red	Then make it reheat until it is very red. Or leave overnight in a good fire until the morning.
149r2	149r	Various arts from Germany	rougissent	redden	And to draw iron wire, they redden large masses of iron,
149r3	149r	Various arts from Germany	rouge	red	having made it into a point, they hook it thus all red & thus promptly draw the wire.
150r1	150r	Molds	rouges	red	lead and tin become sour when frequently melted red, to soften
150r2	150r	Molds	rougir	reddening	melt it without reddening, and cast in a rod.
151r1	151r	Molding hollow	rougir	redden	One needs, however, to redden the mold nearly as much as if there were inside some animal
151v1	151v	Wheat oil	rouge	red	And then you will place the other, all red, on top, & you will press it until you see the black oil drip
154v1	154v	Latten	cuivre rouge	red copper	Alloy it as well with a little red copper and, when you want to cast
154v2	154v	Molding	rouge	red	outside & nevertheless be red on the inside, for when it comes out of the fire
157r1	157r	Rouge clair	rouge cler	rouge clair	Title
158r1	158r	Mercury in the molds for cleaning	rouge	red	Reheat the mold very red before casting in it
161r1	161r	Preparation of sand for frames	rouges	red	when it is well lit, in order that they become very red.
161r2	161r	Preparation of sand for frames	rouges	red	at great heat in a reverberatory furnace, where they should be be quite red,
161r3	161r	Preparation of sand for frames	rougir	redden	And reheat & redden the frame, & if your sand retracts, one needs to pulverize again
161r4	161r	Preparation of sand for frames	rougir	redden	reduce into little balls & reheat it & redden & continue so many times
161r5	161r	Preparation of sand for frames	rougiras	redden	that it does retract from the frame when you redden it.
161v1	161v	Crocum ferri	rougir	redden	& redden it thus in a reverberatory furnace
161v2	161v	Crocum ferri	rougeur	redness	will soon give it redness & bonding, wetting it with the strongest you can find & next setting it aflame.
161v3	161v	Crocum ferri	rouge	redder	This one is columbine color & is found firmer for casting than that which is redder & the color of bole
161v4	161v	Crocum ferri	rouge	reddened	Others burn the filings several times on a reddened iron shovel
162r1	162r	For the workshop	mer Rouge	Red Sea	he says that the Phoenicians would come from the Red Sea
163v1	163v	Crocum	rougy	reddened	showered with salt water or vinegar or urine and then very dried out and reddened* in the fire,
163v2	163v	Crocum	rouge	red	very red ground on porphyry and is of the color of Levant bole, & approaching minium.
163v3	163v	Crocum	rouge	red	But the first one, finely ground, acquires a bright red color, like cinnabar, in eau-de-vie
163v4	163v	Crocum	rouge	red	very hot, give off red fumes like a volatile spirit if, being thus hot and fine, one throws on top vinegar
164v1	164v	Molds	rougir	redden	and one needs to redden them on the outside & keep them in continuous heat
170r1	170r	Currency medals	rougies	reddened	one strikes on matrices, not reddened in fire, as some think, but on steeled iron
170r2	170r	Thick works of tin	estain rouge	red tin	They do not want to be cast in lead or red tin like thin & delicate things
170r3	170r	Thick works of tin	estain rouge	red tin	Thin things want to be quite hot & of red tin.

Rouge appears 199 times in the manuscript, in 36 variations: cuivre rouge (red copper); esmail rouge (red enamel); estain rouge (red tin); goume rouge (red gum); mer Rouge (Red Sea); noir rougeastre (reddish black); pavot rouge (red poppy); quarreau rouge (red tile); rose rouge (red rose); rouge; rouge commun (common red); rouge d’Allemaigne (German red); rouge clair; rouge cler; rouge d’escaille; rouge de sanguine; rougeastre; rouges; rouges de mine (reds from minium); rouget; rougeur; rougeurs; rougi; rougie; rougies; rougir; rougira; rougiras; rougis; rougissant; rougisse; rougissent; rougist; rougy; terre grasse rouge (fatty red earth); and vené de rouge (red-veined).⁸ Of these, 16 variations refer to a specific material or place (34 instances; 17.1%), while 20 are parts of speech for the noun rouge and verb rougir (165 instances; 82.9%).⁹ I observed that the latter category could then be separated based on use of the word in reference to or in the context of heat and heating, or not – for example, on fol. 16v: “such that the bottom is red hot and then you will put there the aforesaid load of charcoals,” as opposed to on fol. 32v: “put it in dye and commonly make it in three colors, green, red, and sometimes violet.”¹⁰ I identified 128 (77.6%) of these as related to heat, and 37 (22.4%) not. This reveals that the vast majority of usages of the word red are to describe redness as produced by heat, which accords with the high number of recipes in the manuscript on molding and casting that require heating materials to a high temperature.

Conclusion

Upon investigation of the color red in Ms. Fr. 640, it is difficult to reach a firm conclusion at this stage about the author-practitioner’s intentions in his choice of certain words. With the materials vermilion, cinnabar, and rosette, the usage is relatively straightforward, referring to the pigment and in some cases that from a specific source, however it becomes more complicated to discern usage patterns of red as a color with lake and rouge/rougir. Variations of rouge are used most frequently in a context of heating, as something is red or reddened by heat.

Further analysis of the color red and of these data sets could include looking at the instances of name-specificity (either place or form) and attempting to determine why the author-practitioner indicated that in certain recipes. A related avenue of textual analysis would be to quantify the instances of other colors such as blue, green, yellow, black, and white to see how the frequency compares to red (especially with the high usage of the word in the descriptive context of red-hot).

Bibliography

Kirby, Jo, Susie Nash, and Joanna Cannon, eds. Trade in Artists’ Materials: Markets and Commerce in Europe to 1700. London: Archetype Publications Ltd., 2010.

Kirby, Jo, Maarten Van Bommel, and André Verhecken. Natural Colorants for Dyeing and Lake Pigments: Practical Recipes and Their Historical Sources. London: Archetype Publications Ltd., 2014.

Pascal Brioist, “Artillery in 1590s France”; Carl Garris, “What is Azur in Ms. Fr. 640?”; Jo Kirby and Marika Spring, “Ms. Fr. 640 in the World of Pigments in Sixteenth-Century Europe”; Robin Reich, “Dragon’s Blood”; and Yuanxie Shi and Amy Chang “Rouge Clair: Glass or Paint?” in Secrets of Craft and Nature in Renaissance France. A Digital Critical Edition and English Translation of BnF Ms. Fr. 640. Making and Knowing Project, Pamela H. Smith, Naomi Rosenkranz, Tianna Helena Uchacz, Tillmann Taape, Clément Godbarge, Sophie Pitman, Jenny Boulboullé, Joel Klein, Donna Bilak, Marc Smith, and Terry Catapano, eds. New York: Making and Knowing Project, 2020.

Carl Garris, “What is Azur in Ms. Fr. 640,” in Secrets of Craft and Nature in Renaissance France. A Digital Critical Edition and English Translation of BnF Ms. Fr. 640, edited by Making and Knowing Project et al. (New York: Making and Knowing Project, 2020), https://edition640.makingandknowing.org/#/essays/ann_060_fa_17. ↩
See Jo Kirby and Marika Spring, “Ms. Fr. 640 in the World of Pigments in Sixteenth-Century Europe,” in Secrets of Craft and Nature in Renaissance France. A Digital Critical Edition and English Translation of BnF Ms. Fr. 640, edited by Making and Knowing Project et al. (New York: Making and Knowing Project, 2020), https://edition640.makingandknowing.org/#/essays/ann_321_ie_19. On Dragon’s Blood, see Robin Reich, “Dragon’s Blood,” in Secrets of Craft and Nature in Renaissance France. A Digital Critical Edition and English Translation of BnF Ms. Fr. 640, edited by Making and Knowing Project, Pamela H. Smith, Naomi Rosenkranz, Tianna Helena Uchacz, Tillmann Taape, Clément Godbarge, Sophie Pitman, Jenny Boulboullé, Joel Klein, Donna Bilak, Marc Smith, and Terry Catapano. New York: Making and Knowing Project, 2020. https://edition640.makingandknowing.org/#/essays/ann_037_sp_16. ↩
Trade in Artists’ Materials: Markets and Commerce in Europe to 1700, eds. Jo Kirby, Susie Nash, and Joanna Cannon (London: Archetype Publications, 2010), 449. Kirby et al. note that the word minium (used for red lead, q.v.) was occasionally referred to as cinnabar/vermilion. ↩
On metal, arms, and gunpowder weapons in BnF Ms. Fr. 640, see Pascal Brioist, “Artillery in 1590s France,” in Secrets of Craft and Nature in Renaissance France. A Digital Critical Edition and English Translation of BnF Ms. Fr. 640, edited by Making and Knowing Project, Pamela H. Smith, Naomi Rosenkranz, Tianna Helena Uchacz, Tillmann Taape, Clément Godbarge, Sophie Pitman, Jenny Boulboullé, Joel Klein, Donna Bilak, Marc Smith, and Terry Catapano. New York: Making and Knowing Project, 2020. https://edition640.makingandknowing.org/#/essays/ann_309_ie_19. ↩
Trade in Artists’ Materials: Markets and Commerce in Europe to 1700, 457. ↩
Kirby and Spring, “Ms. Fr. 640 in the World of Pigments in Sixteenth-Century Europe,” https://edition640.makingandknowing.org/#/essays/ann_321_ie_19. ↩
Jo Kirby, “Recipes and Making Lake Pigments from Natural Dyes,” in Natural Colorants for Dyeing and Lake Pigments: Practical Recipes and Their Historical Sources, Jo Kirby, Maarten van Bommel, and André Verhecken. (London: Archetype Publications Ltd, 2014), 69–105. See p. 69 for a table with names for red lake pigments. Lakes were manufactured by precipitating or adsorbing a dye onto a substrate; the most common reagent to form a substrate was potash alum, potassium aluminum sulfate, AlK(SO4)2·12H2O. The main characteristic of lakes is their translucency, which made them ideal pigments for use in oil paint to depict faint coloring in a face or depth and shadow in drapery when built up over opaque pigments. ↩
On rouge clair, see Yuanxie Shi and Amy Chang, “Rouge Clair: Glass or Paint?” in Secrets of Craft and Nature in Renaissance France. A Digital Critical Edition and English Translation of BnF Ms. Fr. 640, edited by Making and Knowing Project, Pamela H. Smith, Naomi Rosenkranz, Tianna Helena Uchacz, Tillmann Taape, Clément Godbarge, Sophie Pitman, Jenny Boulboullé, Joel Klein, Donna Bilak, Marc Smith, and Terry Catapano. New York: Making and Knowing Project, 2020. https://edition640.makingandknowing.org/#/essays/ann_034_sp_16. ↩
I have separated these as follows: 1) material/place: cuivre rouge; esmail rouge; estain rouge; goume rouge; mer Rouge; pavot rouge; quarreau rouge; rouge commun; rouge d’Allemaigne; rouge clair; rouge cler; rouge d’escaille; rouges de mine; rouge de sanguine; terre grasse rouge; vené de rouge; 2) noir rougeastre; rose rouge; rouge; rougeastre; rouges; rouget; rougeur; rougeurs; rougi; rougie; rougies; rougir; rougira; rougiras; rougis; rougissant; rougisse; rougissent; rougist; rougy. ↩
I acknowledge that this is subjective, as the designation was sometimes difficult to determine and certain instances could be argued to fit into both categories. ↩