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+--- Thread: [split] Bindings & covers (/thread-2451.html)
RE: [split] Bindings & covers - ReneZ - 03-08-2018
There are many high-level descriptive internet pages that discuss book binding in the middle ages.
The link I provided in my previous post clearly outlines the advantages of leather.
Other similar pages clarify that wooden boards would typically be oak in England and France, and beech in Italy.
This is exactly what Abigail Quandt stated too, and she also said that beech was more prone to insect attacks than oak.
Another thing that was pointed out by her, and which is consistent with other independent evidence, is that the description of the present binding in the original MS description by Barabara Shailor is incorrect. It is called a limp vellum cover, but it was originally a stiff vellum cover, stuffed (probably) with pressed paper or cardboard.
This is still the case with other manuscripts from the same collection. It is known that Voynich would open and empty the covers, hoping to find some hidden treasures (which he occasionally did).
RE: Erased lines? - Helmut Winkler - 03-08-2018
It would be helpful if any reputable source could be found for the statement that smaller books were rarely bound in wooden boards (covered with leather).
The Voynich was very likely the property of a medical man and these guys moved around a lot
[font=Open Sans, sans-serif]Pergament- und Papierumschläge[/font]
Da Holzdeckeleinbände den Transport erschwerten, verwendete man schon im Mittelalter leichtere Materialien für Bücher, die von mobilen Bevölkerungskreisen wie Studenten und Predigern benutzt wurden. Sie erhielten nur flexible Umschläge, die sogenannten Koperte. Dafür wurde ein Pergamentbogen um den Buchblock gelegt und die Heftfäden durch den Umschlagrücken gestochen, der oft mit Hornplatten verstärkt war. Eine Umschlagklappe, die mit einer Schnur an einem Knopf befestigt war, schützte den Inhalt vor Schmutz (Msc.Phil.3, JH.Msc.Phil.2, Inc.typ.Ic.II.58, JH.Msc.Hist.98, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., Msc.Med.13).
Schon im 15. Jahrhundert stellten auch Buchdrucker einfache Umschläge her, die aus Papier bestanden und mit Holzschnitten bedruckt waren. Die Staatsbibliothek bewahrt das älteste erhaltene Beispiel dieses Einbandtyps, von dem nur etwa 20 Exemplare erhalten sind (Inc.typ.Ic.II.2).
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RE: [split] Bindings & covers - ReneZ - 03-08-2018
Dear Helmut,
many thanks for this, it is quite good to have these references.
While we cannot really be certain that the MS was meant to be taken along travels a lot, there is at least an argument that, initially, it would not have been bound in wood. I think that this is strengthened by the quite worn state of the first folio, suggesting that it was not always well protected.
It would also be interesting to know if such books for traveling had any preference for paper vs. parchment folios. The fact that the Voynich MS is on parchment is a very important fact, which is not much discussed.
However, there is also compelling evidence of a wooden cover, so it would seem to be reasonable to assume that this wooden cover was added later. This may still have been before, during or after Rudolf's time.
RE: [split] Bindings & covers - -JKP- - 03-08-2018
I have noticed that some of the major centers were using paper by the late 1300s (a few even had it by the mid-1300s) while many of the smaller scriptoria used parchment up until the mid-1400s.
Some of the important paper producers were in areas where printing presses were initially established. This may have occurred for practical reasons. If you are going to set up a successful press, it is less costly to procure materials if you locate the press near a paper producer (this is a guess as to why many of them seem to be geographically adjacent). Some of the paper mills were bought out by the presses themselves or, those who owned the mills started the presses. It was difficult to "truck" things in those days and paper is heavy, so it makes sense that paper and early presses would be strongly associated.
I've kept track of which materials were used for manuscripts I've sampled or bookmarked for other reasons. I'll gather the information this evening and post it. I don't know if it will be helpful information (I haven't studied it myself), but I can pull it out the data without too much trouble.
RE: [split] Bindings & covers - Helmut Winkler - 04-08-2018
It would also be interesting to know if such books for traveling had any preference for paper vs. parchment folios. The fact that the Voynich MS is on parchment is a very important fact, which is not much discussed.
I could not agree more
I don't think the reason for the Voynich to be written on parchment has anything to do with travelling, it seems, like some other facts, to indicate a provenience from Italy. Italy seems to have used more parchment than paper in the 15th c., there seems to have been an intensive trade in parchment sold from Germany to Italy, it could have something to do with the paper production in the German Southwest (Ravensburg).
In addition to the quotation I gave yesteday: I think that the use of wood for binding books has something to do with the necessity to stabilise big volumes, I don‘t know if you have ever lifted a big parchment bible or missale or Kopialbuch, just try it. It was not necessary to do this for a small book
RE: [split] Bindings & covers - -JKP- - 04-08-2018
This list is Voynich-centric, and far from complete (and these are personal files, so they are not double-checked), so it may not provide much general information about parchment/paper, but it does give a sense of when paper became more common, and includes the dimensions when the information was available (when I remembered to record it).
Paper starts showing up with more frequency c. 1330s. By the mid-1400s, paper was much more common, by the late 1400s, parchment was becoming less common:
![[Image: ManuscriptMaterials.png]](https://voynichportal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/ManuscriptMaterials.png)
RE: [split] Bindings & covers - -JKP- - 14-11-2018
The Victoria and Albert Museum has some good photos of the process of rebinding a Tuscan manuscript (possibly from Florence) from about 1380.
It shows the thongs, page signatures, and punch holes before rebinding. Unfortunately, it doesn't show a closeup of the winding underneath the thongs, but it's still informative and worth a look:
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