The Medieval Girdle Book Project - Artes del Libro

1 The Medieval Girdle book ProjectMargit SmithJim BloxamVOLUME 3, NUMBER 4 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE book First published in 2005/2006 in Melbourne, Australia by Common Ground Publishing Pty Ltd 2005/2006 (this paper), the author(s) 2005/2006 (selection and editorial matter) Common Ground Authors are responsible for the accuracy of citations, quotations, diagrams, tables and maps. All rights reserved. Apart from fair use for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act (Australia), no part of this work may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. For permissions and other inquiries, please contact ISSN: 1447-9516 (print), 1447-9567 (online) Publisher Site: The INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE book is a peer refereed journal.

2 Full papers submitted for publication are refereed by Associate Editors through anonymous referee processes. Typeset in Common Ground Markup Language using CGCreator multichannel typesetting system The MedievalGirdleBook ProjectMargitSmith,Universityof San Diego, UnitedStatesof AmericaJim Bloxam,CambridgeUniversityLibrary, UnitedKingdomAbstract:The study of Girdle books in their historicalcontextwill add to our understandingof late medievalsocial historyin some little has been writtenon the subject,and no comprehensiveresource exists with textandillustrationsofallsurvivinggirdle books,theresultsofthisprojectwillfillaga pinthedocumentationofthedevelopmentof bookbindingstyles,their utility, and the varietyof materialsand techniquesused to produce these documentedgirdlebookswillbeindividuallya nalysedanddescribedinbookbindingterms,wi thphotographsanddrawingstosupplementthe text.

3 Althoughvery few Girdle books have survived,they are frequentlypictured in the visual arts of the times and arereferred to in the literature. The outcomeof this study, a monograph,will provide future studentsof the historyand Girdle books;three of these institutionsare in the UnitedStates,the rest are in Europe. Additionally, raisingawareness of the Girdle book may lead to discoveras yet unrecognizedand undocumentedexamplesof this book : Girdle books,MedievalbookbindingOverviewIN THE SUMMERof 2003 Mr. Jim Bloxam,whoisSeniorConservatoratCambridge Univer-sity Library, and I, Margit Smith,Librarianatthe Universityof San Diego,began to considercollaboratingon a projectto documentin text andillustrationthe still existingmedievalgirdle this projectderivedfrom the lack ofeasily availablematerialabout Girdle books, as wellas the fact that no single resourceexists which pic-tures and describesthe Girdle books knownso survivingvolumesare housedin libraries,mu-seums and privatecollectionsin the UnitedStatesand in desiredoutcomeof this presentthis projectat conferencessuch as this, as well as in severalforthcomingart-icles, will bring the topic to a wider audience.

4 Andadditionalgirdle books may come to light that havenot yet been identified,catalogedand developmentof the book for many years. Theintellectualcontentsofthebook,aswella sitsphys-ical form and formatcombineto providethe objectthat has withstoodinnovations,but has also adaptedto them over the main purposeofgirdle books was the protectionof the writtenword,and as such they developeda particularshape protectiveenclosuresfor bookshavebeeninusesincelongbeforetheMidd leAges;the clay pots housingthe Dead Sea Scrollscome tomindasdotheleathercylindersusedtostore scrollsand claytabletsin the libraryat Alexandriaand oth-ers,andthecumbdachsusedbyIrishmonkst ocarrytheir preciousmanuscriptsand prayerbooks fromplace to place, possiblyeven to Iceland,which theyreachedas early as 700 is estimatedthat for every five medievalbooksstillinexistenceintheirorig inalbinding,ninety-fivehave been lost, destroyed,or were worn out anddiscardedaftertheirfunctionwasfulfill ed.

5 (Szirmai,1999, p. ix.) This leaves a very small numberof ori-ginal structuresthat can be used for researchintotheir history. Most early book structuresprovideasense of intrigueas to their origin and provenance;their production,distributionand use are still beingstudiedand a projectiscurrentlyunderwayinGermanytodoc umentalllatemedievalbookbindings,through theArbeitskreisf rdie Erfassungund ErschliessunghistorischerBucheinb few medievalbooksavailableto us, the Girdle book stands out becauseso few of its kind are knowntoday, thoughthey areoften representedin the arts of the mid-15thto themid-17thcenturies;however, their productiondoesnot seem to have extendedbeyondthe are girdlebooksso little knownevenamongstpeoplewhoworkwithbooksan dareentrus-ted with their care?

6 Severalanswerscan be sugges-ted. They are little knownin part becauseof theiralreadymentionedscarcity, and in part becausetheliteratureabout them is often not easily accessibleand relativelylittle has been writtenabout them,thoughresearchintotheirhistoryandes peciallytheirINTERNATIONALJOURNALOF THE book ,VOLUME3, NUMBER4, 2005/2006 ,ISSN 1447-9516(print),1447-9567(online) CommonGround,Margit Smith, Jim Bloxam,All Rights the arts began early in the 20thcentury. Additionaldevelopments,to be touchedupon later in this essay, also contributedto the lownumberof earliestdate in a Girdle book is 1479 in a ma-nuscriptonpaper, aestivalis,which is preservedin its originalbindingin , girdlebooks appearin the visual arts long before the Paris with a date of 1312(Neum llers-Klauser, 1980, p.)

7 [298]),we see thatshe carriesa book over her arm with a long loop,letting the book hang almostto her knee - certainlyafore-runnerofthegirdlebookdeve lopedabout100years later. (See illus. 1)Illustration1: Tombstoneof JeanneBrichard,Paris, 1312 The distinguishingfeatureof the Girdle book is theextensionof the leatherbindingusuallyat the loweredge,endinginahook,looporknotbywhic hitwassecuredto the belt; it was also carriedby hand bygraspingthe extendedpouch.(See ills. 2 and 3)Illustration2: Examplesof Girdle books carriedon the belt (third figure from the left) and by hand (third figurefrom the right). (Alker, 1966, p. [89])INTERNATIONALJOURNALOF THE book ,VOLUME316 Illustration3: Paintingof St. Anthonyby MartinSch ngauer, cc.

8 1470, showingthe Girdle book being carriedby handTypes and Uses of girdlebooksTwotypesofgirdlebookscanbedis tinguishedwithseveralvariations,but all were developedand fash-ionedtokeepthebooksreadyathand,andt oprotectthem from deterioratinginfluences,and exposuretothe single cover Girdle book : This typeconsists of a primary binding only, providingon the bottom edge the long leather exten-sion by which it could be slipped under thebelt, or carried by single coverstyle may leave the fore-edge and the topopen, or may cover them when the book isclosed if another variation of the singlecover style is ,JIM BLOXAMI llustration4: Single cover Girdle book constructedby Margit J. doublecover Girdle book : This type consistsof a primary(inner)and secondary(outer)cover,andeitherenclosest hebook-blockcompletelywhenit hangs from the belt, or leaves the extensionto be slippedunder the two coversmay be attachedto each other bymeans of an adhesive,or the secondarycover mayhave pocketssewn on into which the book in itsprimarycover could be slipped.

9 (See ill. 5)Whensuspendedfrom the belt both types hang with thehead downward,and on being pickedup the textfaces the reader in the correctdirection.(See ill. 6)Illustration5: Doublecover Girdle book constructedby Margit J. Smith, using two different colors of leather:primarycover of light brown leather(flesh side out) and secondarycover of dark brown leather(flesh side in).INTERNATIONALJOURNALOF THE book ,VOLUME318 Illustration6: Closedgirdle book , showingprotectionagainstoutsidedamageall ,compact,andfiteasilyintothereader' mm to 160 mm high, and up to 50 includesthe weight,but it must be assumedthatbecauseoftheirsmallsize, would also assure that they could be carriedcomfortablyon the belt withoutundulydraggingitdown.

10 The largest, however, is 300 mm tall whichraises the question:could this really have been car-ried tucked into the belt? Includingthe extensionitslengthwouldhavemeasuredappro ximately600mm it could have been slung over the shoulderor overa researchto date has identifiedother types ofbooks that were 'worn' namelylong, folded sheetsof parchmentor paper, held togetherat one narrowendbyaringorclaspwhichcouldalsotob eattachedto a belt. These are referredto as folded almanacsand containmainlycalendars,(also referredto ascomputus),astronomicaland astrologicaltreatises,reckoners, ,Elizabethanladies and gentlemenwere fond of car-rying on their belts very small, almostminiature-sized books,often enamelledand decoratedwithpreciousstones on gold covers,containingportraitsoftheirlovers, lovepoetry, would be anotherstudy well worth undertak-ing, if none yet Project ,however, ad-dressesonly the kind of Girdle book that conformsto the more commondimensionsof the leathercoveredbook,andexcludesthefoldeda lmanacs, books were put to variouspracticaluses,and were used symbolicallyto denoteknowledge,wealth,intellectualcurio sityand thelate MiddleAges membersof the mendicantordersandotherclericsoftentrave ledbetweenmonasteriesandchurches.