1. Medieval Bookbinding and Chaucer Manuscripts Kai Fay April 8 th, 2015

2. Outline -Materials -Binding Techniques -Examples -Houghton MS Eng 920 Treatise on the Astrolabe -Hengwrt Chaucer -Ellesmere Chaucer -British Library Harley MS 7334

3. Materials: Wood -Quarter-sawn to resist warping -Type of wood varied by location -Oak in England

4. Materials: Leather -Soak skin and treat with lime -Scrape to remove hair -Treat to neutralize lime -Wash again -Tan or taw -Allow skin to dry -Soften and trim to desired thickness

5. Materials: Parchment and Vellum -Parchment: sheepskin -Vellum: calfskin -Process begins the same as making leather -Skins are dried on a frame, then pared and sanded to desired thickness

6. Anatomy of a Book Catch Plate Fore Edge Head Band (Sewing Support) Tail Spine Endband

7. Sewing Structures -Kettle-stitch at head and tail -Sewing over tapes or cords -Packed or single

8. Paper Repair

9. Treatise on the Astrolabe (Houghton MS Eng 920, c.1400, English)

10. Hengwrt Chaucer (National Library of Wales, c.1400, English)

11. Hengwrt Chaucer cont. (National Library of Wales, c.1400, English)

12. Hengwrt Chaucer (National Library of Wales, c.1400, English)

13. Harley MS 7334 (c.1410, British)

14. Ellesmere Chaucer (Huntington msELL, c.1410, English)

15. Further Reading Clemens, Raymond and Timothy Graham. Introduction to Manuscript Studies. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2007. Hébert, Henry. Work of the Hand. henryhebert.wordpress.com. Miller, Julia. Books Will Speak Plain. Ann Arbor: Legacy Press, 2010. Shailor, Barbara. The Medieval Book. Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 2002. Szirmai, J. A. The Archaeology of Medieval Bookbinding. Brookfield: Ashgate, 1999.