One is in scotland, the psalter of neal mcbeath, the smallest of all the known girdle books. This miniature book was meant to be worn like a holstered blackberry. The medieval girdle book the town of montefiascone in august of 2003 i returned to the small tuscan hilltown of montefiascone, 80 miles north of rome, full of anticipation of a week filled with medieval history, and anxious to learn about the development and construction of a rare book format, namely the girdle book. With 26 remaining known examples, the girdle book is an item worthy of a comprehensive look. Doc the medieval girdle book project margit j smith academia. This article is part of the series how to make a medieval girdle book. Byzantine and islamic bindings nicholas hadgraft and jim bloxam. The girdle book is distinguished by a cover that extends beyond the limits of the book itself and may end in a knot, hook or ring, or may be left ungathered. A girdle book is a special type of book which was in vogue about 400600 years ago. This book is illustrated with more than 290 color photographs taken by the author or reproduced from contemporary works of art to show their use during the middle ages. There are hundreds of artistic representations of girdle books, but only 26 medieval girdle books have survived in their original binding, the oldest datable example being from kastl, germany ca. History and construction some history girdle books were in the possession of monks and aristocrats in medieval europe.
Project for the web provides simple, powerful work management capabilities and can be used by project managers and team members to. The most valuable resources i used for this projects are the following. Smith, margit, bloxam, jim, the medieval girdle book project, the international journal of the book. The medieval girdle book margit smith oak knoll books.
Margit smith, university of san diego, united states of america. The result of these experiences is the medieval girdle book. Medieval crafts medieval books medieval life medieval art elizabethan clothing medieval clothing. The medieval girdle book is a wellwritten book, for the interested binder that will further ones understanding of the structural and covering solutions employed in making girdle books. In her book, a catalogue of what she calls relics of an age long gone by, smith has measured, photographed, and investigated the history of each one.
Complete instructions to craft a girdle book, a medieval binding structure featuring a long extension of leather, which could be attached to a travelers belt. In addition to these purely utilitarian functions, in the. The girdle book, though not a miniature object, could be worn tucked under the belt, thus putting it always at the wearers disposal. There also is an instruction sheet on her website is there something else available on the web. Workshop in montefiascone, italy, where the class in the construction of girdle. Some years ago i decided to make a socalled girdle book.
And its a very unique and beautiful accessory to contemporary larp live action role play or historical reenactment events. Project gutenberg is a library of over 60,000 free ebooks. Later medieval libraries sometimes attached chains to the back covers of their books to keep them in place. This is an advanced level structure for those who already have experience with traditional binding. The medieval girdle book and advanced paper concervation workshops, amigo fellowship, 2004. Those two holes across the top were for the string that would attach to ones girdle or belt. Video, medieval chemise binding presented by frederick bearman, preservation librarian, ucl. Later, i found that barbara gordon has done some work on these and webbed it be sure to check out her article. Photos from the 2014 gridle book workshop with renate mesmer at the folger shakespeare library, washington dc. Girdle book portable books worn by medieval clergy and aristocrats girdle books were small portable books worn by medieval european monks, clergymen and aristocratic nobles as a popular accessory to medieval costume, between the and centuries. A girdle book held by the beinecke library at yale university. The study of girdle books in their historical context will add to our understanding of late medieval social history in some european countries. Recording the structure of the medieval book nicholas hadgraft and jim bloxam. We started the day off by sewing primary endbands on our textblocks.
Making a girdle book isnt as difficult as it looks if you have a little time and patience. I could use some for wynn books on the go there is nothing like reading outside. In the late middle ages a type of portable book evolved that we call a girdle. Papermaking for a medieval girdle book lovable history. Includes numerous illustrations, a tool list and an extensive bibliography. Girdle books were small portable books worn by medieval european monks. Here you can see the two possible methods in wearing a girdle book in your hand or tucked through your belt.
I made one of these, and its way cool, based on one that i saw at the british library. After that time this book type vanished, except for a handful of still functioning books. The book is looking good and im very happy with my progress. Paring alum tawed leather hinge using the scharfix. This type of binding provides portability, protection against unruly weather and some defense against theft. After 20 minutes, we unwrapped our books, placed blotters both inside and outside of our covers, and pressed the book under weight overnight. Description of the initial investigation into the locations, styles and production of twentythree girdle books in museums and libraries in the united states and europe. The ingenuity and beauty of creative parchment repair in. Choose among free epub and kindle ebooks, download them or read them online. I realized that i forgot to show you a picture of karens awesome resource booklet for the girdle book workshop. Once the book was covered, we wrapped our books tightly with an ace bandage to help ensure good adhesion. They consisted of a book whose leather binding continued loose below the cover of the book in a long tapered tail with a large knot at the end which could be.
Project for the web, formerly known as project service, is microsofts most recent offering for cloudbased work and project management. Pictures, replica girdle books, by bookbinder rhonda miller. Previous courses and tutors recreating the medieval palette cheryl porter. The medieval girdle book and advanced paper conservation. For this little book, i wanted to achieve the particular medieval character but play with the construction a bit.
Girdle books were small portable books worn by medieval european monks, clergyman and aristocratic nobles as a popular accessory to medieval attire between the th and 16th centuries. See more ideas about medieval books, book binding and books. Detailed pictures of a girdle book in the collections of the national library of sweden. Go medieval by attaching a book to your belt atlas obscura. Girdle books were in the possession of monks and aristocrats in medieval europe. Doc the medieval girdle book project margit j smith. Girdle books had to be small, and they had to be light.
You will find the worlds great literature here, with focus on older works for which u. In her introduction smith describes research and publication about girdle bookresearch,quotingjanosa. Girdle books were small portable books worn by medieval european monks, clergymen and. Jim bloxam, cambridge university library, united kingdom. A really nice details is the red colour of the cover the lady is wearing through her belt in comparison to the simple black cover of the other girdle book. See more ideas about medieval books, medieval and book binding.
Smith is an exploration of a rare type of book construction. How to make a medieval girdle book lovable history. While the specifics of all aspects of making a girdle book are hinted at, a conscientious practitioner can infer enough to make ones own girdle book. Contrary to previous assumptions that only clerics and the religious used girdle books, the medieval girdle book shows they also contain legal, medical, and philosophical contents. By this extension the book was hung from the belt with its head down, so when between the 14th and 16th centuries a littleknown book format, now called the girdle book, was used. Impetus for this project derived from the lack of easily available material about girdle books, as well as the fact that no single resource exists which pictures and. A girdle book is an unusual form with an extension which is tucked into a girdle the medieval word for belt and worn as an accessory. The lack of research could be due in part to the very few surviving extant girdle books, but given the large representation of girdle books in artistic areas it is a shame that there is not more research. As there is always some spare time while the book sits in the press and you have to wait for the glue to dry, i normally work on two or three books.
What a hot mobile device from the 16th century tells us. Girdle books were once common enough that they appear more than 800 times in paintings and other art of the period. Books, medieval manuscript, paper book, paper art, portfolio ideas, book projects. Reviewed by leah humenuck the medieval girdle book by margit j. In the course of her research, smith discovered the existence of two additional girdle books. Archaeology of the medieval book nicholas hadgraft and jim bloxam. But today there are just 26 girdle books known in the world. Of course, my first source of information would be the archaeology of medieval bookbinding by j.
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