ModernChivalry.org
Miscellaneous => The Sallyport => Topic started by: Sir Edward on 2011-03-29, 17:43:15
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Obviously during the Medieval period, books weren't cheap and abundant like today. Prior to the Gutenberg press, they had to be painstakingly copied or written by hand. They were expensive, and rarely did any given book (other than the bible) have more than a handful of copies made, and usually at great expense. Books were sometimes rented out, for the purposes of copying.
Many books as such had to have durable covers, and often would be given ornate ones in the process (with tooled leather, inlaid stones, metal appliances, etc). Frequently they'd have latches or straps to keep them closed. Here are some examples I found with some basic googling:
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And more:
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And a blog article about why medieval books were so big (or not):
http://www.gotmedieval.com/2010/08/why-are-books-so-big-google-penance.html (http://www.gotmedieval.com/2010/08/why-are-books-so-big-google-penance.html)
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I've seen some leatherworking sites that offer custom covers for books...can't recall where I'd seen that, I was searching out a kostrel maker at the time. lol
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Don't forget about the Codex Gigas! ;)
(http://www.viacassa.eu/wp/wp-content/gallery/kniha-roman/codex-gigas-1.png)
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Don't forget about the Codex Gigas! ;)
Man, roughly 20x36" in size? That's nuts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Gigas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Gigas)
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And 165 lbs too! That's more than most squires I've seen. :D
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And 165 lbs too! That's more than most squires I've seen. :D
Knight: Squire number one, you get to carry my armor and weapons.
Squire 1: Aw man!
Knight: Squire number two, you get to carry my books.
Squire 2: Alright! That's easy... oh wait...
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lol @ Sir James
Indeed!
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man i was expecting some Boris pictures!
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It kinda reminds me of the scene in The Frisco Kid where the Rabbi would rather be burnt than let the Torah get burnt.
As to the covers... I guess once you've spent so much time making the inside nice, whats a little more for the outside too.
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Don't forget about the Codex Gigas! ;)
Man, roughly 20x36" in size? That's nuts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Gigas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Gigas)
See attached picture for scale (taken from here (http://templars.wordpress.com/2007/09/27/devil%E2%80%99s-bible-unique-as-only-few-ever-explored-it/))
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I wonder if it is good reading.
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"Soo... it's a book on fighting yes?" "No its a book FOR fighting. See you fight with it. Using it to club your enemies to death."
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"Soo... it's a book on fighting yes?" "No its a book FOR fighting. See you fight with it. Using it to club your enemies to death."
No I think it would be far to unbalanced and difficult to wield properly, so it must be either ammunition for a catapult or to be dropped onto the enemy by the defenders of a castle! ;)
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Either that or it's punishment for misbehaving altar-boys... "You! Carry this bible!"
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Here's a business that will take any book or loose pages and make a custom leather cover/binding. Nice!
http://www.oldleather.com/home.html (http://www.oldleather.com/home.html)
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Nice...would be cool to have my wedding album done up like that.