Formato I

Girdle book (about 1553)

The fashion for women at court to wear “girdle books” began during the reign of Henry VIII. They were tiny prayer-books, usually set between enamelled gold covers and closed by clasps. They had a ring on each cover to hang them by chains from the waist so they could be at hand for prayer or meditation.

Medieval book transport

You are looking at two ‘wraps’ (top), the outside and inside of a box (middle), and a leather satchel (bottom). What they share is not just their old age (they are all medieval), but also the purpose for which they were made: to transport a book from A to B. The actual reason for transporting books in these objects varied considerably. The wraps are late-medieval girdle books, which were hanged from the owner’s belt by the knot. The text inside - which was often of legal or religious nature - could be consulted quickly and easily: just unwrap it and read. The box (and the ninth-century book inside) had a more exotic use: the package functioned as a charm for good luck on the battlefield, where it was carried in front of the troops by a monk. The satchel, which also dates from the ninth century, was just a bag to transport a book while on the go - it was popular among monks. Read more about these fascinating devices in my blog post “Medieval Books on the Go” (here).  

“How I Spent My Summer Vacation”

or 

A Conservator Makes A Really Cool Book 

I just got back from a week of bookbinding summer camp, where I learned how to make a medieval style of book called a  girdle book! It has laced-on wooden boards that are beveled to fit into the shoulders of the textblock. It has both  primary and a secondary endbands, and the whole thing is covered in beautiful teal suede. The knot at the end of the “tail” (which is the part you’d tuck into your belt, if you were a medieval monk) is called a Turk’s Head Knot, and was made with a strip of leather off the book, then slipped onto the tail and tightened. The clasp was made by me, out of 1/16″ brass rod, and the bosses (the round metal things on the covers) are upholstery tacks.

Quipus.

Museum of Pachacamac. Lima, Peru.

Quipus were recording devices historically used in the region of Andean South America. A quipu usually consisted of colored, spun, and plied thread or strings from llama or alpaca hair. It could also be made of cotton cords. The cords contained numeric and other values encoded by knots in a base ten positional system. Quipus might have just a few or up to 2,000 cords.