Girdle books were small portable books worn by

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

European

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

s, clergymen and

aristocratic Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...

nobles as a popular accessory to

medieval costume The study of the history of clothing and textiles traces the development, use, and availability of clothing and textiles over human history. Clothing and textiles reflect the materials and technologies available in different civilizations at dif ...

, between the 13th and 16th centuries. 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 tucked into one's

girdle A belt without a buckle, especially if a cord or rope, is called a girdle in various contexts, especially historical ones, where girdles were a very common part of everyday clothing from antiquity until perhaps the 15th century, especially for w ...

or belt. The knot was usually strips of leather woven together for durability. The book hung upside down and backwards so that when swung upwards it was ready for reading. The books were normally religious: a cleric's daily Office, or for lay persons (especially women) a

Book of Hours A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

. One of the best known texts to become a girdle book is Boethius's ''

The Consolation of Philosophy ''On the Consolation of Philosophy'' (), often titled as ''The Consolation of Philosophy'' or simply the ''Consolation'', is a philosophical work by the Roman philosopher Boethius. Written in 523 while he was imprisoned and awaiting execution ...

'', although it is the only surviving philosophical/theological girdle book. Women especially wore the girdle book out of convenience since it was already fashionable, at least in the 15th century, to wear a girdle belt above the waistline. A book secured on the girdle belt served both the utilitarian function of enabling hands-free carrying and protecting valuable books from theft and the elements. It also made a visible statement of social position, wealth and learning (or at least literacy). Authoritative figures, saints or apostles like St. Jerome were often depicted holding girdle books. Girdle books also appeared to be a fashionable accessory for lay women. Artistic depictions of the girdle book confirm their popularity as an accessory. Girdle books first appeared in the late 13th century and gained popularity through the 15th, sometimes becoming ostentatious jewel-encrusted presentation books, and falling out of favour late in the 16th century, when printed books had become much more common. Another possible reason for their decline was the relatively small number of specialized girdle-protected texts becoming outdated with little need to replace them. In an environment of increasingly cheap printing it was simpler to replicate texts than spend time preserving individual

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

s. The intricately constructed girdle bindings were simply impractical after a certain point.

In art

There are hundreds of artistic representations of girdle books. The

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

is shown reading one in such famous paintings as the

Ghent Altarpiece The ''Ghent Altarpiece'', also called the ''Adoration of the Mystic Lamb'' (), is a very large and complex 15th-century polyptych altarpiece in St Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium. It was begun around the mid-1420s and completed by 1432, and it ...

and

Mérode Altarpiece The Mérode Altarpiece (or ''Annunciation Triptych'') is an Oil painting, oil on oak panel triptych, now in The Cloisters, in New York City. It is unsigned and undated, but attributed to Early Netherlandish painting, Early Netherlandish painter R ...

, and Saint Catherine reads one in the painting with

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...

Konrad Witz Konrad Witz (ca.1400/1410 – winter 1445/spring 1446) was a German and Swiss painter, active mainly in Basel. Life He was born probably in Rottweil, Germany. In 1434 he entered the painters’ guild in Basel, where he worked most of his life. ...

. The donor reads one in

Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck ( ; ; – 9 July 1441) was a Flemish people, Flemish painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Nort ...

's '' Madonna with Canon van der Paele''. Their popularity in art indicates a much wider distribution and adoption of the girdle book as a binding than surviving copies suggest. But in art, books not being read tend to be carried by the folds of the cover rather than secured to the belt, and many are too large to be carried around as an accessory. A list of 150 examples "shows the proportion of representation in painting and in sculpture salmost equal". However, only 23 medieval girdle books have survived in their original binding, the oldest datable example being from Kastl, Germany (ca. 1453). At least part of the reason for the small number of surviving examples stems from the fact that the use of the girdle book was largely confined to a narrow area from the Netherlands to the Upper Rhine Valley. File:Robert Campin 015.jpg,

Saint Barbara Saint Barbara (; ; ; ), known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an Early Christianity, early Christian Greek saint and martyr. There is no reference to her in the authentic early Christian writings nor in the origin ...

, wing of the '' Werl Triptych'',

Robert Campin Robert Campin (Valenciennes (France) c. 1375 - Tournai (Belgium) 26 April 1444) now usually identified with the Master of Flémalle (earlier the Master of the Merode Triptych, before the discovery of three other similar panels), was a master pai ...

File:Jan van Eyck - The Ghent Altarpiece - Virgin Mary (detail) - WGA07629.jpg,

, ''

'', Virgin Mary File:Katharinaundmagdalena.jpg, '' Saints Catherine and Mary Magdalene'',

, c. 1440 File:Martin Schongauer - The Holy Family - Google Art Project.jpg,

Martin Schongauer Martin Schongauer (c. 1450–53, Colmar – 2 February 1491, Breisach), also known as Martin Schön ("Martin beautiful") or Hübsch Martin ("pretty Martin") by his contemporaries, was an Alsatian engraver and painter. He was the most important ...

, ''The Holy Family'' File:Canon van der Paele (Book and Glasses) Van Eyck.jpg,

's '' Madonna with Canon van der Paele'' File:Malling Kirke Altertavle del.jpg, Apostles on a Danish

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

File:Helgen med posebind.jpg, Another Danish apostle File:Vergänglichkeitsbuch 210 100v Totentanz.jpg, ''

Totentanz The ''Danse Macabre'' (; ), also called the Dance of Death, is an artistic genre of allegory from the Late Middle Ages on the universality of death. The ''Danse Macabre'' consists of the dead, or a personification of death, summoning represent ...

'', Death comes for a monk, with a book in his belt.

Construction

Girdle books were a variant on other forms of medieval

book-binding Bookbinding is the process of building a book, usually in codex format, from an ordered stack of paper sheets with one's hands and tools, or in modern publishing, by a series of automated processes. Firstly, one binds the sheets of papers alon ...

in which the leather or cloth continued loose beyond the edges of the hard cover. Especially for small personal books like the Book of Hours, the leather often extended sideways, which gave extra protection for the book when not in use. The loose edges could be wrapped round, and often buckles or laces enabled the book to be securely closed. In addition, when reading, the book could be held from outside the cover, so that the clean inside surface of the leather, rather than the thumbs of the reader, touched the pages. This stopped the pages acquiring the dirty patches in the lower margins that many medieval books have. These too are often shown in art, although it is noticeable that readers are often not making full use of the protective way of holding the book. The knot used for the handle was a Turk's head knot, so named for similar appearance to the turbans worn by medieval Muslims of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. Sometimes the girdle book had a hook that fastened to the belt; "a hinge connected the hook to the flap of the binding, allowing maximal movement of the book while it was still attached." Many girdle books were unadorned; however, there are also many that have brass corner pieces, carvings, awl punctures, artisan clasps, and possibly a family crest or other mark on the front. Given the security afforded by carrying the book around, it was less risky to add decoration and gilding to a book less easily stolen than a shelved manuscript. Additionally, ornate metal clasps and hinges were more durable than woven leather or cloth bindings that wore out more quickly from heavy use.

Variations

Although not strictly girdle books, several other types of portable books were in use during the same time period. Some larger books had rings attached to the standard binding so a cord could be slipped through them and wrapped around the waist. Other books were small enough that they could be worn around the neck. A small chain looped through a ring or two at the top of the binding was all that was necessary to make it portable. Finally, a fourth type of portable book was the ''

vade mecum A handbook is a type of reference work, or other collection of instructions, that is intended to provide ready reference. The term originally applied to a small or portable book containing information useful for its owner, but the ''Oxford Eng ...

'' (go with me), consisting of a booklet or folded sheets that contained an

almanac An almanac (also spelled almanack and almanach) is a regularly published listing of a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasting, weather forecasts, farmers' sowing, planting dates ...

or medical information and could be suspended from a belt. The text on a vade mecum would be arranged in such a way as to be legible as someone unfolded the parchment, rather than having to constantly reorient the sheets. According to The Medieval Girdle Book Project:

Containers and protective enclosures for books have been in use since long before the Middle Ages; the clay pots housing the Dead Sea Scrolls come to mind as do the leather cylinders used to store scrolls and clay tablets in the library at Alexandria and others, and the cumdachs used by Irish monks to carry their precious manuscripts and prayer books from place to place, possibly even to Iceland, which they reached as early as 700 AD.

Lack of literature

Despite their significant representation in art depicting medieval clergy, there is a scarcity of literature outside of small communities seeking to recreate them. A wide variety of craft books cover the creation of modern girdle books. Many amateur historians have created more technical overviews of "historically accurate" girdle books. However, being such a specialized technique, the girdle book lacks the attention given to more popular medieval binding methods in the enthusiast community Notable exceptions are the collaboration between Margit Smith of the University of San Diego and Jim Bloxam of Cambridge University Library and Smith's monograph. Their project seeks to "

ring (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...

the girdle book to the attention of professionals working with books as librarians, curators, teachers, book dealers and collectors, and hand

bookbinders A bookbinder is someone who binds books. Bookbinder may also refer to: * Alan Bookbinder (born 1956), British journalist and Master of Downing College, Cambridge * Elaine Bookbinder (born 1945), singer better known as Elkie Brooks * Roy Bookbinder ...

, may increase appreciation of a book format, which, though small in size, has some importance, but is now almost forgotten." Also, many more books were bound not as girdle books but as similarly protected chemise covered books. Chemise covered books were often larger and designed for comfortable, stationary reading. Raymond Clemens & Timothy Graham. Introduction to Manuscript Studies. Cornell U Press. 2007. Pg 56-57.

Notes

External links

Pictures
from "The Book Art of Richard Minsky".
Pictures
Replica Girdle Books, by bookbinder Rhonda Miller

"Hand Bookbindings: Large Small, Fixed and Portable" Princeton University Library.
Detailed pictures
of a girdle book in the collections of the

National Library of Sweden The National Library of Sweden (, ''KB'', meaning "the Royal Library") is Sweden's national library. It collects and preserves all domestic printed and audio-visual materials in Swedish, as well as content with Swedish association published ab ...