WEEK 5 BOOK MAKING Compiled by Amy

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA Clay Tablets  Cuneiform  Written with a stylus in wet clay  Baked to harden Heavy to Move Heavy to Store Breakable Many people could read and write in Cuneiform. Merchants, leaders, military, men and women.

ANCIENT EGYPT Papyrus  Made by weaving plant fibers, soaking and softening.  Lightweight  Be rolled into a scroll Hieroglyphs  Many People could read this form of writing. The pictures conveyed entire concepts not just sounds.  Monuments were also marked with the hieroglyphs.

ANCIENT GERMANIC PEOPLES Runes and Ogham Used by Vikings, Celts, and other Germanic Peoples Carved into wood, stone, leatherwork, weaving work and more.

ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME Used the Ancient Greek Alphabet. Wealthy learned to read and write. The wooden books with was inside and a stylus became important. More permanent things were written on stone, animal skins, and on papyrus.

DARK AGES The fall of Western Rome (Italy) began the dark ages. The necessity to survive crated a great void in the arts and sciences during this time. People seem to have forgotten about the wonders of art and literature. Eastern Rome of the Byzantine Empire was still going strong. In the Middle Ages we see a renewed interest in art and science. There were few that could read and write. Truly only the elite had the opportunity to learn.

MIDDLE AGES During the Middle ages the art of bookmaking became important. Books were made for only the extremely wealthy. Books often cost more than an entire high rise does today. Books were commissioned and could take a year of more to finish. Only the extremely wealthy could read and write so a book was a status symbol as well. One Middle Ages Book just sold at Christies for £16 Million

SAINT BENEDICT OF NURSIA Patron Saint of Europe and Students  Why?  Encouraged his monks to gain an education  Even had them read the Pagan works  Created the Benedictine Scriptoria  Scriptorium actually means a “place of writing”  Where the monks copied texts  Created a library at Monte Cassino  Made sure the scriptorium was heated so the monks could work diligently

PARCHMENT Parchment  Made from sheepskin or goatskin  Put the skins in water for one day and one night  Take them out and wash them until the water runs clear  Put them in a new bath with lime and water that is a thick cloudy mix.  Place the skins with the flesh side folded  Move with a pole two or three times  Leave them for 8 days  Wash until the water runs clear  2 days in a clean bath  Attach cords to them and tie them to a frame  Dry, then shave with a sharp knife  Leave for 2 days in the sun  Moisten with water and rub the flesh side with pumice  After 2 days wet it again by sprinkling with water and clean the flesh side with pumices  Tighten the cords  When dry remove from the frame.

VELLUM Vellum is made from calfskin. It is processed similar to parchments but often offered a finer end product. It comes from the Latin word vitulus meaning a calf.

MANUSCRIPT Manuscripts get their name from the Latin word manu scriptus or “written by hand”. Minium or red paint was used to line the pages for the script and borders. 3 Parts of a Manuscript  Miniature  Words  Border Decoration

PAINTING PROCESS Paint was often made using stone, egg, and plant matter. Blue paint was made from lapis lazuli stone. It was the most expensive color. Brushes and quills were used to create these masterpieces.

ILLUMINATED Illuminated means to “fill with light” Let’s test this theory…shall wee  Close all roladins/curtains etc.  Light candle for reading  Use the image of a basic black and white page  Use an illuminated page  Illumination was the use of gold or silver leafing to create reflective surfaces.

HOW WERE THE BOOKS MADE

TYPES OF BOOKS Books were so costly that many were created for the churches and were copies of the prayers, coronation services and more. The Psalters became very popular and were the book of Psalms. The Devotions of Mary was a very popular middle ages book for women. It was a daily devotional. By 1200 books became more accessible. They were used at Cambridge University and Oxford for Theology, Law, Medicine, and the arts. Before too long Chaucer had written out great narrative poems. Saint George and the Dragon for example is from this time frame.

GATHERINGS OR SECTIONS OR SIGNATURES Each of the gatherings are the folded sheets of parchment. Each sheet is folded separately using a bone folder. The sheet is a folio, when folded it is now a bifolio. We will stack 6 (full pages) bifolios inside each unit to create one gathering, section, or signature.

A MIDDLE AGES BOOK COVER Made of Wood Left uncovered or covered with leather or fabric Finished with great detail, jewels, gems and gold leafing! Often with clasps made of finely worked metal

BINDING OF MIDDLE AGES MANUSCRIPTS This is a Coptic binding This binding leaves a beautiful dimensional finish on the binding of a book. Each signature (white grouping of pages) is bound one on top of the other to the covers of the book. The kettle stich is shown here to secure the book.