[split] Bindings & covers

[ReneZ]

There's some blue painting that certainly occurred before the present binding of the MS.
This is the part of the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. flower that crosses the binding and appears on f40r.

But there may well have been earlier bindings.
The nr. of possible scenarios is quite large.

It is not unlikely that Rudolf replaced the cover. Remember that the present cover originates with the Roman Jesuits in the 18th or 19th century, replacing an earlier one with leather over wooden boards. I once interacted with the Austrian historian Manfred Staudinger who clearly stated that Rudolf's books would typically be adorned with his arms.

Replacing a cover is entirely possible without redoing the stitching, and when the MS was at the Folger library, there were at least two conservators who considered that the present stitching might go all the way back to the 15th century.