A student, Ana Galo Luís, has discussed her master thesis from the NOVA University of Lisbon, on iron-gall inks identified on manuscripts from al-Andalus, entitled: "A arte de fazer tintas de escrita medievais no Al-Andalus: O que nos dizem as fontes escritas e o que nos traz a evidência experimental".

Using ingredients and methods appropriate to the thirteenth century, we have prepared two medieval iron-gall inks described in the technical treatise "The staff of the scribe" written by the Andalusian poet and civil servant Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn Idrīs ibn Quḍāʽī al-Qalalūsī, in the thirteenth century.

The inks obtained were very dark and were fully characterized, at the molecular level, through a multi-analytical approach that combines high-performance liquid chromatography-DAD with Raman and Infrared spectroscopy. The data obtained was also compared with the results of a previous publication on Iberian iron-gall inks. Overall, this study opens new perspectives for a systematic reproduction of the chemical processes to produce inks described in this unique technical source, "The staff of the scribe"; which will contribute to advance our knowledge on the science and technology in al-Andalus.