#folium

An amazing restoration of medieval knowledge by these scientists in Portugal. The study itself: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aaz7772

Scientists have resurrected a purple-blue hue that had been lost to time.

Called folium, this watercolor had been used to paint images on the pages of medieval manuscripts. But long ago, it fell out of use. Now scientists have tracked down folium’s source to a plant. They’ve also mapped out the molecule that produces its blue hue.

Such chemical information can be key to conserving art. “We want to mimic these ancient colors to know how to … preserve them,” explains Maria Melo. She works at Universidade Nova de Lisboa in Caparica, Portugal. There she studies ancient art and how to preserve or restore it. To unmask folium’s identity, her team had to first find out where it came from.

The pigment hadn’t been used for centuries. Everyone who knew how to prepare it had died long ago. So the researchers turned to books from the 1400’s and found one that described the plant that was its source. That led them on a scavenger hunt to find living specimens of this plant.

The Middle Ages lasted from roughly A.D. 500 to 1500. During that time, a blue watercolor was popular for illustrating texts such as this 15th century prayer book. At long last, researchers have tracked down the color’s source. PALÁCIO NACIONAL DE MAFRA COLLECTION

They enlisted the help of a botanist, a scientist who studies plants. The team landed on Chrozophora tinctoria (Croh-ZOFF-or-uh Tink-TOR-ee-uh). They found this tiny herb with silvery-green leaves in a village in south Portugal. It was growing along roadsides and in fields after harvest. The team gathered its pebble-sized fruit with care.

Back in the lab, the scientists extracted the pigment with the help of a medieval text on colors. “It’s very specific,” notes Paula Nabais. She’s a conservation scientist who was part of the research team. “So we were able to use that recipe [and] reproduce it.” Nabais also works at Universidade Nova de Lisboa.

Medieval blue dye's molecular structure identified

A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in Portugal has identified the molecular structure of folium, a blue watercolor dye used by medieval artists and book publishers. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes following recipes from ancient manuscripts to produce the dye and then applying modern techniques to identify its molecular structure.

Approximately 1000 years ago, during the European medieval period, artists, book publishers and others used a blue watercolor dye called folium to adorn paintings and other paper publications. During the 12th through the 15th centuries, unknown dye-makers described in detail how the dye was made. In this new effort, the researchers recreated the efforts of the ancient artisans by following the instructions they had left behind.

The old manuscripts reported that the dye was made from the berries of the Chrozophora tinctorial plant—a small, grayish-green wild herbal with silvery hairs on its leaves. Botanists on the team scoured the countryside and found the plant growing alongside roads and next to farmer's fields near a town called Monsaraz in Portugal. The team then followed the rest of the instructions on how best to collect the berries and when. They also learned how to carefully extract the pigment from the berries (and did so during the early fall in 2016 through 2018)—and how to treat and purify it. And then they learned how to store it by soaking a small piece of cloth in it and letting the cloth dry. When the dye was needed, a piece of the cloth would be snipped off and watered to release the pigments.

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I wanted to contribute to my HP fandom for the very first time so I tried making this Romione fanfic to celebrate Hermione’s 41st Birthday. This is my own version of Hermione’s Birthday in my second favorite book in the HP series, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.  Please bare with me since this is also my first time to write a fanfiction and sadly my invite in my preferred Fan fiction site is still on its way.

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The Grangers arrived to meet the Weasleys in Leaky Cauldron where they could leave all Hermione’s things since they gave her permission to stay for the night. After they had tea and some food, they bade their goodbyes to Hermione. Without any delays, Ron and Hermione immediately agreed to find Harry. They went to every store in Diagon Alley to see if Harry was there but there were no signs of him.

“Bloody hell, where is Harry? He said that he’ll be just in Diagon Alley.” Ron started to swear, and they were both tired as they went back and forth to the shops.

“Why don’t we eat Ice Cream first in Florean de Fortescue?” Hermione suggested. “We’re both sweating already.” She added.

It was not peak hours when they got there, there were tables available. “You can order Hermione, I’ll wait on that table.” Ron pointed on a table in front of the ice cream parlor.

“There is not much people, we’ll surely have a table. We can order together.” Hermione replied.

“I kind of spent all my savings in Egypt.” Ron told her. “ Don’t worry. It’s okay. I’m still full.” Ron added quickly and he gestured for Hermione to get inside and sat in one of the tables outside. He looked around for the signs of Harry until Hermione arrived. She had two ice cream cups in her hands. “Still no signs of Harry?” She asked and he shook his head.

“I reckoned we need sugars to find him.” She placed an ice cream cup in front of Ron. “Blimey, Hermione, you don’t have to.” Ron said. “Start digging in or it will melt.” She told him with her usual authoritative tone and they started eating while talking about what happened to them in the summer. In a short while, Harry found them.

In no time, it was already the 19th of September in 1993. Ron still keeps on insisting to Hermione that she is not telling them something as they were making their way to breakfast. This started when Ron was noticing that Hermione can attend all of her classes.

“How many times do I need to tell you Ron, that I fixed it with Professor McGonagall?” Ron has gotten the same answer multiple times since he raised that concern, and he never wanted to stop until he hears the answer that he wanted.

“Still, I cannot understand how you can attend all your classes. Blimey Hermione, taking all classes would make you mental.” Ron retorted, but Hermione shrugged it off as she continued to stride to the great hall ahead of Ron and Harry.

“See, Harry? She always shrugs it off whenever I speak to her about it.” Ron spoke to Harry, but Harry changed the topic into the coming of the Quidditch season which made Ron forget what he was talking about.

They sat down in front of Hermione in the Gryffindor table. They started to eat their breakfast beneath the enchanted ceiling of a clear sky when owls started fly in the great hall dropping parcels and letters to their respective owners. Hermione got letters and packages in their table compared to them, who did not get anything.

Hermione was looking delighted as she rummaged through her packages. “Oh Mom and Dad, you don’t have to.” She exclaimed as she saw a bunch of cat treats from muggle groceries, and a set of mittens and scarves. She also opened a package from Flourish and Blotts and saw different coloured quill inks when Harry spoke, “I was waiting for that to arrive before I could greet you Happy Birthday.”

“Thank you Harry!” Hermione smiled at Harry. “Well thanks for the broom supplies too!” Harry said casually as he continued eating. Ginny also passed by to greet Hermione and gave her a greeting card.

“Happy Birthday Hermione.” Ron remarked, and Hermione smiled at Ron for a while until her face changed from the brink of excitement to anxiousness. “My Arithmancy assignment is still undone and we also have an oral recitation tomorrow, I have so many things to do today.” She ate faster than they could imagine, Harry and Ron followed her pace.

Hermione worked in the library the whole day. Ron and Harry went with her in the afternoon after lunch but they roamed around the halls after they finished the requirements they need to pass for the next day.

“I don’t in Merlin’s Beard understand how Hermione can enjoy her birthday by just spending her day in the Library. How come she never gets tired of books being her everyday view?” Ron muttered out of the blue as they went through the doors of the library to pick up Hermione for dinner.

“Well, we also never get tired of Quidditch.” Harry shrugged.

“You got a point.” Ron replied and they saw Hermione still engrossed in her books. Hermione did not notice them until Ron spoke.

“It’s your birthday, Hermione, why don’t you give yourself a break?”

“A break is not worth my time instead of investing it into my studies.” Hermione said as she looked up to the two of them.

“Did you come here so you could get your essays checked for Divination?” Hermione added quickly.

“We came here to pick you up so we could head to the great hall together.” Ron instantly told Hermione, and when nobody spoke, he jerked at Harry for moral support, but he saw Hermione shoved all her books in her bag.

“Mind to help me?” Before Harry could get the bag of books, Ron already grabbed it from Hermione and placed the remaining books in her sack. After dining in the great hall, they spent some time in the common room. Ron bickered with Hermione again about Crookshanks and then Ron went again on Hermione’s time table.

“You’re not telling us something Hermione and you’re really becoming unfair.” Ron said with incredulity.

“For once Ron, can it be just your birthday gift to stop asking me that question?” Hermione uttered in annoyance and looked back into her work.

“Fine.” Ron answered and made his way up to the Boys’ Dormitory. Harry followed after a while. As usual he did not talk to Ron about Hermione but about their lessons about Defense Against The Dark Arts. “If it was not because of that git Malfoy, Hagrid’s class would never be so boring.” Ron talked. It came into a time that Harry and Ron went into their beds. It was getting late at night and Ron was fighting his urge to sleep, he sighed as he look at Scabbers peacefully sleeping beside him.

When the time was right, he peeked through his curtains to look if Harry is still awake, and quietly he stepped out of his bed and opened his trunk with hardly any sound. He dug his hand under it until he got a heavy piece wrapped into some Egyptian cloth. It was already almost midnight and he was sure that Hermione is still down in the common room doing some work. He was not wrong, Hermione was always left alone late at night.

Hermione noticed Ron immediately as he set foot in the common room. “Why are you up so late at night?” Ron was a bit relieved that Hermione was talking to him even after doing their constant dagger stares when they bicker.

“Uhmm, I might need to go to the loo.” Ron was finding words, and she was right he might need to go to the loo. “With that bulky object?” Ron stopped in his tracks and turned back to Hermione and went near the couch where she is sitting and dropped the package in the table in front of her. ‘It’s nothing, it seemed brilliant when I first saw it, it looks quite antique. I suppose you could have it.’, said Ron.

Hermione glanced at Ron and then to the package like she could not believe her eyes and spoke, “You did not have to.”

“Perhaps, I’m like your Mom and Dad now as you muttered earlier in the morning ‘Oh Mom and Dad, you did not have to’” Ron mocked Hermione and she chuckled as she opened the package.

“It’s an Egyptian book of magic, about their culture and their spells. Ron, this is rare and ancient.” Hermione turned the bulky book around in scrutiny.

“You said in your letters that you wished to see Egypt and I reckoned that books can give you some sort of experience, maybe it is also why you never get tired to read.” Ron reasoned out lightly but Hermione was not listening, she started skimming through the pages.

“I really wanted to see Egypt, if I would have a chance, would you come to see it again with me?” Hermione uttered out of the blue and her eyes were gleaming which leaves Ron with no choice to answer.

“Sure. Why not?” Ron remarked with uncertainty.

There was a sound in the portrait hole, and both Ron and Hermione jumped in their seats. Fred, George, and Lee Jordan was laughing as they entered. It was like they have done a mischief. “Filch and Peeves are on it again.” They laughed harder and they saw Ron and Hermione.

“I thought you left that book that costed all of your savings at home.” Fred teased Ron.

“Well, he said that it was brilliant, maybe as brilliant as the Chudley Cannons.” George added.

long story short, I’m a simp

WAHAHAHA UR CRUSHING ON MY OC!?? THATS SO SILLY

i tried doodling your silly plant fella folium :3