Girdle book
Bag book (also in book bag, book bag, Booksbüdel, belts book ) Latin Libri caudate, from the 14th century refers to a very common form of wrapped books with mostly religious content (about breviary, prayer or song books and almanacs ). The bag shape comes from the fact that over the leather binding a second reference is placed, projecting beyond the undercut. Thus the book can it carried like a bag and attached to the belt.
Material and use
The books were made of hand- described parchment pages that were decorated artfully from rubricator with beautiful initials. Bag books were created initially only in monasteries. There was the first bookbinding workshops before merged secular bookbinder to guilds.
The parchment pages were stitched with needle and thread to form a book block and received book cover made of wood. The lids were covered with leather, glued the edges around the wooden lid and only on the lower section and the tail ( contrary head) of the book to one and half times the length allowed to survive. On overhanging leather the book could be so worn out or on a belt with it. The cover was often provided with book fittings, one to two closing of metal ( usually bronze or brass) made sure that did not open the book by itself.
As was the protruding part of the leather at the bottom of the book bag book could be read hanging at the belt.
Contemporary illustrations show the carrying method of the book bag in your hand or on your belt, especially clerics are often so represented.
In order to prevent it from slipping out of his belt, sometimes the excess leather was cut at the end into narrow strips and braided into an elaborate knot. The thickening was still partly a round brass ring to hang the bag on the belt can book.
In order to provide better bag books in the bookcase, this " leather cloth with the node " were later simply cut and are therefore seldom remained preserved for posterity.
Stocks received
In the 16th century ended the use of the form of bag books. A small number (23 pieces) of original bags books are still preserved in the manuscript departments of several European libraries. Thus we find, for example, a well- preserved specimen (1454-1484) in Kremsmuenster in Austria. Another, the prayer book of Margaret of Münsterberg, Princess of Anhalt, dating from around 1500, in the Dessau Anhalt Regional Library.
Bag book in heraldry
The bag book appeared in heraldry as a congregation figure, such as in the arms ( as it is today in the logo ) of the Schottenstift in Vienna, which is also the coat of arms of the district Breitenlee in the 22nd district of Vienna ( Danube City) is quoted.