Touching Parchment
How medieval users rubbed, handled, and kissed their manuscripts
Kathryn M. Rudy
Book review
Medieval manuscripts are now carefully preserved and exhibited with great care. But that is actually quite remarkable, because manuscripts written on parchment were “ordinary” everyday objects, and that is still clearly visible. Attentive visitors to exhibitions of manuscripts will have noticed that all kinds of damage and signs of wear are visible. A good example of this are dark spots on the edges of quires caused by frequent handling of the pages. But there is much more, and in this book the author discusses this in detail. After all, there are many ways in which manuscripts can be damaged through use. The author has many years of experience in researching signs of wear and damage, which makes a big difference compared to interested non-researchers. They often get a distorted picture of manuscripts because they only see high-quality museum pieces.
In her research, she did not make use of technical equipment, but rather the most human form of research: looking, feeling and listening. The works she examined date from the period 1100-1500, and she asks the following questions:
- What types of damage or wearing do we see?
- When did it happen?
- Are the marks a result of ritual use or of a specific action?
- Is the damage to the manuscript a result of personal use or rather of use in a social context?
There were various ways in which manuscripts were used. In this section, Rudy discusses ritual use in detail, making it very clear that books had a completely different meaning in the Middle Ages. The Gospels in particular were the carriers of God’s word and were treated accordingly. For example, oaths were sworn on the books themselves, on a section of the text or on an illustration. The oath was sworn with the hand on the text and kissed out of devotion. It is clear that touching the text with the hand and kissing an illustration leaves traces. Moisture and grease dissolve the paint and stain it, resulting in dirty and bare spots on the parchment and in the image. What about drops of holy water and candle wax? In addition to the attention paid to gospel books, missals and choir books are also discussed.
In her research, the author has chosen to omit deliberate damage or mutilation. However, she does focus on a lesser-known phenomenon: “iconophilia”. This is a phenomenon whereby the user has an extreme adoration for the book itself or parts of it. This positive emotion leads to intense physical contact that certainly leaves its mark.
Rudy’s book draws attention to medieval manuscripts as “utility objects”. Not in the modern, narrow sense of the word, but in a more “three-dimensional” sense. It is a utility object with many meanings: material, social, religious and ritual – in short, broad and profound. And after reading this book, you will be more aware of the consequences of that use for the manuscripts themselves.
In general, it can be said that by studying these traces, one can gain more insight into how the user handled the book and subsequently gain more clarity about the feelings, habits and emotions of people in the Middle Ages.
The book is published by Open Book publishers. It can be downloaded free of charge from the website:
https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0337
The book I am reading is the first part of a series that focuses on rulers and their books. These leaders were mostly clergy and nobility.
There is also a second part, Social Encounters with the Book, which delves deeper into the physical interaction with books in various social contexts, including education, court meetings, and fraternal gatherings.
https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0379
The books are also available in paperback. The two books are part of a four-part series, with two more titles to be published. The two volumes are a fundamental resource for anyone interested in medieval history and the materiality of books in a broader sense.
