Scribes'Toolkit

Title Page Marker

Brief description This particular example dates from the 14th to 15th centuries, measures 38 mm in diameter, and was found in a Book of Hours in the Monastère de St. Gilles, France. Apparently, the item was left with the dealer when the original manuscript in which it was found was purchased, because “it kept the page open.” The manuscript in which it was found was possibly written in the Monastère de St. Gilles, Normandy, around 1350. It was tightly folded and has “Pr: Matt” or “Mart” (for Père Matthieu or Martin) written on it, presumably the name of the monk who left it there, or even the scribe who created the manuscript. From this, one can conclude that the monks each had their own name marker. This item most closely resembles a modern-day bookmark—a device used to “save” ones position in a book or keep the book open while it is being consulted. Historically, bookmarkers were often part of the actual book or manuscript: “Tabs or knotted strips of parchment were attached to the fore–edge of the book [the edge of the page, opposite the spine] at appropriate points; ribbons of linen, silk, or parchment could be attached at the headband and descend vertically into the book.” It is not unusual, however, to find loose items such as “parchment, vellum, leather, string, small twigs, stems of plants [or] pieces of straw” stuck between the pages of medieval manuscripts, of which this particular item is clearly an example. Much of this paragraph was composed of rephrased material provided by Alan Cole. Brown, Michelle P. Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts: A Guide to Technical Terms. Los Angeles: Getty Publications, 1994.

Contributor: Courtney Killian, paraphrased from Alan Cole

Contribution date: Winter 2014