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How does the binding of medieval books differ from modern books?

Even if the codices of the Middle Ages at first glance look very similar to modern books, there are some special features that make them different from today's book format. Codexes are comparable in their structure to modern books in that they are usually written in portrait format and the pages of the codex are bound on the front and back like a book cover. But these bindings are very different from modern book covers in terms of material and design: medieval codices were usually bound in heavy, leather-covered wooden covers; the resulting binding was additionally provided with fasteners made of metal or also leather.

The solid wooden covers held the codex block in shape and kept the pages safe from damage. The codex pages were made of parchment, which was very susceptible to absorbing moisture, so without the protection of the wooden cover binding the individual pages might have curled. The clasps also served to hold the block of the codex together and to protect the described material from external influences. Since in the Middle Ages the block of pages was firmly attached to the material of the binding at the point of the spine, tension almost always developed automatically. This meant that the codex cover opened when lying down and the codex could only be brought into a closed state by closing the metal elements.

The material actually used for the binding also depended heavily on the intended use of the respective codex: writings that served everyday use were held together by inexpensive covers made of cardboard or pigskin , precious and special writings are characterized by a binding made of high-quality materials such as cowhide or Even silk, which could also be decorated with other decorative elements such as precious stones.

But many codex covers also contained other metal fittings made of brass or iron, including, for example, corner fittings or so-called buttons or humps, which were attached centrally in the middle of the cover. These elements served both for decoration and reinforcement. It also shows that the fittings were still quite small and flat at the beginning and were designed more and more elaborately over time. The metal fittings were also used to secure the codices: metal chains could also be attached to them, which held the work in question in its place within a book collection or library.

However, this practice dates back to a time when codices were kept lying and collected. As soon as people started to store them standing next to each other in the Renaissance, as is still common today, the fittings became a disruptive element and were no longer used or subsequently removed from older works. Incidentally, at the same time the cardboard covers, which correspond to our present-day book covers, also appeared.