These are not technically bound like medieval girdle books. The girdle book is a medieval binding structure featuring a long extension of leather, which could be attached to a travelers belt. This luxurious leather case, bound as a medieval girdle book, protects and disguises your. Your name, date, period, book project number number listed on project page are included. A girdle book is a special type of book which was in vogue about 400600 years ago. Smith is an exploration of a rare type of book construction. The 10 best girdle buying guide medieval books, medieval life, book crafts. 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. 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 ones girdle or belt. Theyre incredibly rare today, but portable girdle books were once very handy. 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.
This type of binding provides portability, protection against unruly weather and some defense against theft. This extension may end in a knot, or hook by which it could be fastened to the belt where it hung upside down. A single object that inspires most creativity is the book. Montefiascone italy to learn how to construct a girdle book. The white book is lambskin, also a thin suede split. It gives directions and a rubric for how to create a graphic novel on the main ideas of the chapter. Renate mesmers handout that accompanied her presentation at the guild of book workers seminar in las vegas, october 2014.
See below for the grading rubric the castle is acceptably attractive though it may be a bit messy. The most valuable resources i used for this projects are the following. The book is sewn on double cords and has leathercovered book boards with silver clasps. The roman catholic church graphic novel directions and rubric is a hard quest in the video game classroom for ch. Personalized, custom smartphone case bound as a leather medieval girdle book smartphones are handy to have, even at historical reenactment events. This undertaking was generously supported by amigos and others and is described in the amigos library services fellowship final report the medieval girdle book and advanced paper conservation workshop, 2004. A girdle book held by the beinecke library at yale university. Containers and protective enclosures for books have been in use since long before the middle ages. Regular books have the cover material wrapped and glued around the cover on the top, on the bottom and on the front. Of course, my first source of information would be the archaeology of medieval bookbinding by j. German girdle book dating from girdle books were small portable books with a loose binding allowing them to be tied to ones girdle for convenience and show. Back cover the back cover tells a great deal more about the story. Books are the essential material for creative book art, but this post is not about it. After that time this book type vanished, except for a handful of still functioning books.
With 26 remaining known examples, the girdle book is an item worthy of a comprehensive look. Use this rubric to assess the individual portion of the story each student completed and the overall finished product completed as a group. Potential recipients include selfemployed artists and artrelated small businesses, organizations, media enterprises including newspaper publishers. The new antiquarian go medieval by attaching a book to your belt. This article is part of the series how to make a medieval girdle book. How to make a medieval girdle book lovable history. Castle looks as if it were brought to class directly from medieval times. My handmade girdle book was made of my own moldmade paper. Build a medieval times castle interdisciplinary project, canadian spelling if you like this product, you may also like. Having worked as hand bookbinder for nearly thirty years and being especially intrigued by early and medieval book structures, the girdle book was a topic eminently suited to my interest as librarian and hand bookbinder. Project muse the medieval girdle book by margit smith. Workshop in montefiascone, italy, where the class in the construction of girdle. In the medieval girdle book, the author provides a comprehensive look at these extremely rare books. Girdle books were small portable books worn by medieval european monks, clergymen and aristocratic nobles as a popular accessory to medieval costume, between the th and 16th centuries.
From the bottom edges of their bindings extended an length of leather, usually gathered into a knot at the end. The medieval girdle book and advanced paper conservation. Go medieval by attaching a book to your belt atlas obscura. Medieval girdle book, air pressure electrical book, sensory book, and many more. The girdle book, though not a miniature object, could be worn tucked under the belt, thus putting it always at the wearers disposal. Girdle books were in the possession of monks and aristocrats in medieval europe. Build a medieval times castle interdisciplinary project.
Medieval books, medieval manuscript, illuminated manuscript, old books, antique books, medicine images, homemade books, book of hours, paper book royal observatory edinburgh, crawford library, germany, c. This leather extends from the tail of the book, so the text can be read while the book is still attached to the readers belt. 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. These lovely visuals show how to make 7 famous literary dishes. There also is an instruction sheet on her website is there something else available on the web. The end of this cover extentions is often gathered by a turkish knot which could be tucked under ones belt to carry the book around and still have ones hands free. During my ma studies, i had the pleasure of reading multiple times margit smiths the medieval girdle book to assist in creating my own girdle book model. From sheep to shelf digital editing of medieval manuscripts. You will have learned how to select a topic, locate and use primary and secondary resources, summarize and organize your information, and publish a research project that you can be proud of. In the archaeology of medieval bookbinding, szirmai dedicates a few pages to the girdle book. A study of this scope, which contributes significantly to the information available has been lacking until now and makes this the first thorough treatment of all so far known girdle books. In this drawing a man is seen carrying a girdle book. Girdle books are a special type of medieval binding where part of the leather cover extends over the wooden boards and hangs down freely from the lower part of the book when reading.
Pictures are colored with pens, pencils, or crayons. Independent reading project rubric 4 a strong project your project exceeds expectations. I just tried to make books that look like medieval girdle books. Cinematic video of me and my recent work, the whispers collection a set of 15 leather bound pieces of stationary, inscribed with whispers in gold and in blind. Upon completion of your research project you will have become an expert on your specific middle ages topic. Girdle books were manageable portable books worn by medieval european priests and aristocratic nobles. The parsons handbook describes the girdle as being made generally of white linen rope, and may have a tassel at each end. The medieval girdle book renate mesmers handout that accompanied her presentation at the guild of book workers seminar in las vegas, october 2014 theyre incredibly rare today, but portable girdle books were once very handy. Girdle books had to be small, and they had to be light. Girdle books are not hard to find in late medieval art, in numbers far out of proportion to the tiny number that is known to have survived. Design a medieval times coat of arms project also available in french. Book repair, bookbinding tutorial, cool books, paper book, book projects. What a hot mobile device from the 16th century tells us. The term girdle book refers to a book that was bound in such a way that it had a tail that could be tucked into ones girdle or belt.
Doc the medieval girdle book project margit j smith. Papermaking for a medieval girdle book lovable history. It is obvious that you thought deeply about the book and your answers are insightful. The medieval girdle book margit smith oak knoll books. Medieval books medieval manuscript forms of literature book presentation cool books paper book book projects book binding book art girdle book, kunstpalast, dusseldorf date 7 july 2011 source own work author johnbod via wikipedia commons this file is licensed under the creative commons attributionshare alike 3. 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. 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. Doc the medieval girdle book project margit j smith academia. Book cover rubric 5 4 3 2 1 front cover the cover is creative and vividly depicts the story. What a hot mobile device from the 16th century tells us about 2014. Project exceeds expectations in one or more ways castle is well designed and appropriate for the time period, special care was taken in the creation of more than seven parts of this project, visuals of excellent quality are included, project sets the precedent for future offerings of this assignment. For this little book, i wanted to achieve the particular medieval character but play with the construction a bit.
The girdle book differs from other books by the extension of the leather covering from the lower edges of the boards, an extension sometimes measuring more than the height of the book. As a christian liturgical vestment, the girdle is a long, ropelike cord tied around the waist over the alb or cassock. Despite their scarcity, they have attracted a great deal of interest since they were first written about in the late nineteenth century, but there has never been a comprehensive survey of all the twentysix surviving examples. 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. 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 girdle book project, a collaboration between margit smith of the university of san diego and jim bloxam of cambridge university library and smiths monograph. Here you can see the two possible methods in wearing a girdle book in your hand or tucked through your belt.
Powells world history class and are working on or have already completed her medieval castle assignment, i will accept that assignment for this project. Go medieval by attaching a book to your belt theyre incredibly rare today, but portable girdle books were once very handy. Wikipedia as you can see on the illustrations, girdle books had a special book cover. Each month is headed with a reference to the year 1451 in the past tense, e. Your way of making a girdle book is not really strictly medieval, but a very nice idea to hide a modern notebook and it looks great worn with your beautifull clothes. The headband is stitched by hand and the book end papers are handmarbled. Binding models book binding, medieval books, bookbinding tutorial. 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. Handbound books and book jewelry, take two on kickstarter.