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Book History > Glossary > Flashcards

Glossary Flashcards

1
Q

acanthus

A

Painted decorations on a leaf. Mostly decoration, little text.

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2
Q

ascender

A

the top of a letter, above ‘the line’ - like: l, k, h, d, b, f

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3
Q

autograph

A

when the text is written by the author

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4
Q

bands

A

Bands are strips of leather or cloth that are used to bind the pages of a book together.

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5
Q

bastard

A

a typeface. quickly written. Less formal

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6
Q

beveled boards

A

Boards where the edges of the book’s covers are cut at an angle, or beveled, to create a sloping edge.

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7
Q

bifolium

A

a sheet, creates two leaves when folded in half. A number of bifolia folded together form a QUIRE.

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8
Q

boards

A

the stiff covers at the fornt and back of a book, generally wood (oak). Boards attached to quires by cords.

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9
Q

bookhand

A

any styled handwriting in scripts in the middle ages

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10
Q

boss

A

metal pieces in the middle on the book cover - for protection

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11
Q

Caroline minuscule

A

a script, the most important in the evolution of scripts in middle ages. offset writing in 1600.

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12
Q

catchword

A

a way to order quires by putting the first words of the next quire in the lower margin of the last page in a quire.

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13
Q

chained book

A

chains connected to the books to prevent theft. attached to desk where it was read.

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14
Q

chain-lines

A

Chain lines, on the other hand, refer specifically to the thicker lines that are created by the ropes or chains that are used to hold the mould in place during the paper-making process. These lines are created when the ropes or chains press into the wet paper as it is being formed on the mould. Chain lines run perpendicular to the laid lines and they are usually closer together than laid lines.

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15
Q

chemise

A

An overcover made of leather or fabric, loosely slipped over the book or attached to primary cover

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16
Q

clasp

A

A metal fitting attached to the BOARDS at the EDGE of a BINDING in order to hold the book shut and to preserve the PARCHMENT (from warping)

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17
Q

codex

A

the book format we use now. book in the shape of a block. a book composed of folded sheets sewn along one edge.

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18
Q

codicology

A

the study of manuscripts. study of physical and structure of a book. Material, collation, pricking etc. Gives a better understanding of history and production.

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19
Q

collation

A

the description of the physical structure of the book: the number of its quires and the arrangement of the leaves within the quires.

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20
Q

colophone

A

An inscription recording information relating to the circumstances of the production of a manuscript or printed book. like who, when, where.

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21
Q

cords

A

a sewing support.

The horizontal supporting bands onto which QUIRES are sewn at the SPINE to form the book. quires sewn into cords, ends of cords channeled into wooden board.

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22
Q

corner piece

A

L shaped in corner of books made of metal, to protect book from damage from dropping it etc.

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23
Q

cue initials

A

Small letters to indicate for the one making the decorative initials what letter it should be.

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24
Q

cursive

A

a medieval script. Used for notes, draft texts. informal.

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25
Q

descender

A

the bottom part of a letter, ex q, p, j

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26
Q

drypoint

A

a method for pricking and ruling. pressing into paper with knife or stylus - only one side needed to be ruled

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27
Q

endleaf

A

the first or last leaf, blank - for protection. Either being paste downs or flyleaves.

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28
Q

exemplar

A

“The text used to produce another text”
- used to provide books to students. quire by quire. students copied from this ‘exemplar’. –> the pecia system

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29
Q

ex libirs inscription

A

An inscription that records a book’s inclusion in a library, whether private or institutional. Such inscriptions offer valuable evidence of a manuscript’s PROVENANCE.

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30
Q

explicit

A

the last lines. provide information about title of work and name or initials of author or scribe. later replaced by colophones. The closing of a textual unit. When cataloguing manuscripts, the INCIPIT and explicit of a text are often cited to aid textual identification.

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31
Q

expunction

A

The dots placed under a text as part of the correction process to indicate a deletion.

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32
Q

flesh side

A

one side of a piece of parchment - the one without hair, the inside of the animal. Whiter and softer than hair side.

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33
Q

flyleaf

A

One leaf.

Flyleaves at the beginning or end of a book serve to protect the text in the event of worming or damage to the BINDING. They often carry PEN TRIALS and inscriptions concerning PROVENANCE.

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34
Q

book of hours

A

A small book used for private devotions.

Books of hours were medieval best-sellers and have survived in relatively high quantity. They are nearly always illuminated and often contain a MINIATURE or set of miniatures for each major textual division. These subjects include scenes from the life of the Virgin, Christ, and King David, depictions of the saints and themes relating to death and judgment.

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35
Q

breviary

A

A SERVICE BOOK containing the texts necessary for the celebration of the DIVINE OFFICE. A breviary is often adorned with DECORATED or HISTORIATED INITIALS, and more luxurious copies may contain MINIATURES depicting biblical scenes or the performance of the office.

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36
Q

folio

A

sheet of writing material - half of a bifolium. The front and back of a folio are referred to as the RECTO and VERSO. Use of foliation, are just leaves before they are ‘numbered’.

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37
Q

gallnut

A

A type of ink.

Gall wasp lay egg in an oak, result are oak galls. Contain tannic and gallic acids –> soak. Mixed with metallic salt to make it blacker.

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38
Q

gathering

A

quires - several sheets grouped together

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39
Q

girdle book

A

A small portable book, attached to girdle or belt. Mostly books of hours or prayer books - for devotional purpose.

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40
Q

gloss

A

A word or words commenting on the main text. Glosses were often written in the margins or between the lines.

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41
Q

gutter

A

The gutter is the space between the left and right pages of a book, usually located at the spine.

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42
Q

hair side

A

The side of a sheet of PARCHMENT or vellum that once carried the animal’s hair. This side is generally darker and smoother than the FLESH SIDE and may carry speckled traces of hair follicles.

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43
Q

hand

A

a scribe.

44
Q

historiated initial

A

A letter containing an identifiable scene or figures, sometimes relating to the text of historical value.

45
Q

hybrid

A

hybrid script, mix between others (the ones that doesn’t fit) ex. cursiva and textualis.

46
Q

illumination

A

the embellishment of a manuscript with luminous colours (especially gold and silver). A MINIATURE is sometimes referred to as an illumination.

47
Q

incipit

A

The opening words of a text. The incipit and EXPLICIT of a book or text are often used in place of a title to identify a text.

48
Q

initial

A

An enlarged and decorated letter introducing an important section of a text.

Initials can have different levels of significance, according to the divisions of the text or their place within a program of decoration.

49
Q

ink

A

A writing support, what is used with the ‘pen’ to put words on a paper. The basis of medieval ink was a solution of gall and gum, coloured by the addition of carbon (lampblack) and/or iron salts.

50
Q

laid lines

A

Laid lines are the visible parallel lines on the surface of a sheet of paper. They are created during the paper-making process, as the fibers are compressed between thin wires woven between the rods of the mould. Laid lines run in the same direction as the wires of the mould and they are usually spaced at regular intervals.

51
Q

lampblack

A

An ink, one of the oldest. For papyrus.

52
Q

lapboard

A

a flat, portable surface that is used to support a book or other written material while it is being read or written upon. Used when it is not practical to use a desk.

53
Q

lead point

A

A lead point, also known as plummet, is a piece of lead alloy, which could be used for RULING.

54
Q

leaf

A

2 pages, both the verso and the recto side. A folio.

55
Q

ligature

A

œ, for example. Two or more letters joined.

56
Q

line filler

A

A decorative device (abstract, foliate, zoomorphic, or anthropomorphic) that fills the remainder of a line not fully occupied by SCRIPT.

57
Q

lunellum

A

The specific knife (round shape) top scrape the animal skin - made to not make holes in the skin, not damage the parchment.

58
Q

majuscule

A

A capital letter, especially one used in ancient manuscripts. A large letter.

59
Q

miniature

A

An independent illustration, as opposed to a scene incorporated into another element of the decorative scheme such as a BORDER or INITIAL.

60
Q

model book

A

A book in which artists recorded designs, of their own invention or copied from other sources, often accompanied by notes relating to colour and composition.

61
Q

missal

A

A SERVICE BOOK containing the texts necessary for the performance of the MASS (including chants, prayers, and readings), together with ceremonial directions.

62
Q

oak gall

A

used to make ink for parchment. Gall wasp lay egg in an oak, result are oak galls.

63
Q

opening

A

The beginning of a written work. The first section that readers encounter and it sets the tone and introduces the main characters and themes of the work.

64
Q

opening title

A

The title at the beginning of a work, usually main title of work (title of book/play/manuscript). The opening title is usually followed by the author’s name and is usually the first thing that readers see when they start reading the work.

65
Q

ownership inscriptions

A

An inscription in the book of the name of whom it belongs to. ‘libre de’ - ‘the book of’.

66
Q

paleography

A

The study of the history of SCRIPTS.

67
Q

palimsest

A

Reused writing support material from which the underlying text has been erased. Erasure was not always complete and an underlying text can often be read with the assistance of ultraviolet light.

68
Q

paper

A

Paper is a writing support now made out of wood but in the middle ages made out of cloths. Cheaper and more delicate than parchment.

In the 750, the Arabs learned techniques of paper manufacture from the Chinese. Made in Muslim Spain beginning in the late 1000. During the 1100 and 1200, it was used in Italy; from the 1200 on, paper was made in Italy. During the 1300 and 1400, production in France. In England 1550.

Paper was traditionally made from cotton or linen rags. The rags were soaked and pulverized until reduced to a pulp and were then placed in a vat with a solution of water and size. A wooden frame strung with wires (producing horizontal laid lines and vertical chain lines) was dipped into the mixture and agitated until the fibres fused to form a sheet of paper. This was then placed between sheets of blotting paper and pressed. The paper produced was then either trimmed or left with its rough edge. Paper frames often incorporated wire devices, which leave an image in the paper known as a watermark.

69
Q

papyrus

A

A writing support made from the papyrus plant. Before parchment and paper was used.

The outer skin of the stern of the papyrus plant was peeled off and the rest cut into strips that were laid side by side vertically, with another layer of strips then overlaid horizontally. The whole was dampened and beaten or pressed in the sun. The resin released by the fibres during this process fused them into a sheet that was then trimmed and smoothed. The next step was to attach the sheets with a flour paste to form a ROLL.

The side with the horizontal fibres visible would generally be used for writing with a reed PEN: the horizontal fibres guided the writing on the inner surface, while the vertical fibres strengthened the outside. Papyrus was sturdy and plentiful, and it apparently was rarely reused.

70
Q

parchment

A

A writing support material made from animal skin, that derives its name from Pergamon (Bergama in modern Turkey). More expensive, older, and more durable than paper.

Sheep and goat skin, calfskin (vellum). Uterine vellum, the skin of stillborn or very young calves, is characterized by its small size and particularly fine, white appearance; however, it was rarely used.

To produce parchment or vellum, the animal skins were defleshed in a bath of lime, stretched on a frame, and scraped with a lunular knife while damp. They could then be treated with PUMICE, whitened with a substance such as CHALK, and cut to size. Differences in preparation technique seem to have occasioned greater diversity in appearance than did the type of skin used. Parchment supplanted PAPYRUS as the most popular writing support material in the fourth century, although it was known earlier. Parchment was itself largely replaced by PAPER in the 1500 (with the rise of printing), but remained in use for certain high-grade books.

71
Q

pastedown

A

A leaf pasted onto the inside of a board to conceal the CHANNELING and PEGGING and other mechanics of the BINDING. Pastedowns are often formed of fragments of earlier manuscripts that were considered dispensable (maculatur).

72
Q

pecia system

A

A system used from the 1200 on, in which university-approved EXEMPLARS of texts were divided into sections and were hired out by STATIONERS to SCRIBES for copying.

73
Q

pen flourished initial

A

An INITIAL with a fine linear embellishment, produced with a thin PEN and either text INK or coloured inks.

Blue and red were generally used during the late ROMANESQUE and GOTHIC periods. Green, common in Anglo-Norman manuscripts, was rarely used after 1200. Violet is found in manuscripts of the final quarter of the thirteenth century virtually everywhere except Paris, and purple occurs during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Pen flourishing can also be applied to other decorative components.

74
Q

pen trial

A

A test of a newly trimmed PEN nib. A quill pen requires recutting very frequently (at least twice per FOLIO).

Catch phrases, names, letters, and sketches were often written in the margins or on FLYLEAVES to test the recut nib, or simply as doodling.

75
Q

plummet

A

is a piece of lead alloy, sometimes contained in a holder (the precursor of the pencil), which could be used for RULING. Made of lead white

76
Q

pricking

A

The marking of a FOLIO or BIFOLIUM by a point or KNIFE to guide RULING.

77
Q

probatio pennae

A

Another word for pen trial.

78
Q

provenance

A

Provenance is the history of a book’s ownership.

Provenance information may be deduced from evidence relating to the original commission, from subsequent additions and annotations, or from references in catalogues, correspondence, and other records.

79
Q

pulp

A

the raw material for paper making. The substance before paper is made of it.

80
Q

quaternion

A

a unit/gathering of quires.

81
Q

quire

A

A quire is a gathering of sheets of paper that have been folded and sewn together to form a section of a book.

82
Q

reagent

A

Chemical substance that is used to test for the presence of other substances or to cause a chemical reaction to occur.

83
Q

recto

A

The front side of a FOLIO or leaf. (aka right side in an open book)

84
Q

retting

A

A part of making paper. Fermenting the rags and fabric, to destroy microorganisms.

85
Q

roll

A

A type of manuscript made from a long piece of parchment (or papyrus) that was rolled up for storage.

More formal and larger than scrolls.
They were used for legal documents, records etc.

86
Q

rubrication

A

Rubrication is the practice of adding headings, titles, and other text to a manuscript in red ink. Made by rubricators.

87
Q

ruling

A

The process by which a frame and/or horizontal lines are produced to guide the hand in writing.

88
Q

script

A

The style of handwriting used in a manuscripts.

Some of the most common scripts used in the Middle Ages included Carolingian, Gothic, and Humanistic.

89
Q

scriptorium

A

A writing room. The term is generally (but not exclusively) used of the place in a monastery or church where books are made.

90
Q

scroll

A

document that is written or printed on a long strip of paper or parchment that is rolled and secured with a ribbon. Can refer to any type of document.

91
Q

sewing supports

A

Material used for attaching pages of a manuscript together.

Usually spaced cords, skin straps, or cloth tapes that extend across the width of the textblock spine. The sewing thread then passes over, around or through these sewing supports.

92
Q

shelfmark

A

A mark, often incorporating numbers, which indicates a book’s location within a library.

93
Q

singleton

A

A single folio that has lost its mate (the other half of the bifolium) or that originally was designed to be sewn into a book as a single sheet.

94
Q

sizing

A

Sizing is a process that is used to make paper or other writing materials more resistant to ink.

Done to improve quality of paper, make it more durable. Make paper less absorbent and ink will not bleed.

95
Q

stationer

A

A stationer was a person or a business that produced and sold books and other written materials in the Middle Ages. Stationers were responsible for the production and distribution of manuscripts, which involved tasks such as copying, binding, and selling books.

96
Q

stitchword

A

Another word for catch word. The word of the next quire written in the bottom of the end of the quire.

97
Q

stylus

A

A pointed implement, generally of metal or bone, used for writing on wax TABLETS. A stylus can also be used for PRICKING and RULING a manuscript.

98
Q

terminus ad quem

A

The latest possible date that a manuscript could have been written after a certain point in time.

99
Q

terminus ante quem

A

The earliest possible date that a manuscript could have been written.

100
Q

terminus post quem

A

The latest possible date that a manuscript could have been written.

101
Q

uncial

A

A majuscule script. Written only in capital letters.

102
Q

uterine vellum

A

Very very thin special parchment.

103
Q

verso

A

The back side of a FOLIO (aka the left one in an open book)

104
Q

water mark

A

Paper frames often incorporated wire devices (in the form of designs or monograms), which leave an image in the paper known as a watermark. Can help know origin of paper.

105
Q

wax tablets

A

A writing support for the first stage of a text. Wrote a text with a stylus and later transported to parchment (or paper). Often the author wrote on wax tablets and the scribe transfered it.

106
Q

The incunabula

A

Books printed in Europe up until 1500

Book History (4 decks)

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