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Girdle books〔See Also: "girdle-books" ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Renaissance''. Gordon Campbell. Oxford University Press, 2003. Xavier University. 27 April 2010 ()〕 were small portable books worn by medieval European monks, clergymen and aristocratic nobles as a popular accessory to medieval costume, between the 13th and 16th centuries.〔K. Kup, "A Fifteenth Century Girdle Book", ''Bulletin of The New York Public Library''. 43/6 (June 1939), 481.〕 They consisted of a book whose leather binding continued loose below the cover of the book in a long tapered tail with a large knot at the end which could be tucked into one's girdle or belt. The knot was usually strips of leather woven together for durability. The book hung upside down and backwards so that when swung upwards it was ready for reading. The books were normally religious: a cleric's daily Office, or for lay persons (especially women) a Book of Hours. One of the best known texts to become a girdle book is Boethius's ''Consolation of Philosophy'', although it is the only surviving philosophical/theological girdle book. Women especially wore the girdle book out of convenience since it was already fashionable, at least in the 15th century, to wear a girdle belt above the waistline.〔Egan, Geoff and Pritchard, Frances. et al. "Girdles" ''Dress Accessories'': c.1150-c.1450 Museum of London, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1991.〕 A book secured on the girdle belt served both the utilitarian function of enabling hands-free carrying and protecting valuable books from theft and the elements. It also made a visible statement of social position, wealth and learning (or at least literacy).〔Margit Smith and Jim Bloxam. "The Medieval Girdle Book Project" V3.N4. ''International Journal of the Book'' Melbourne, Australia, 2005. Pg 7.〕 Authoritative figures, saints or apostles like St. Jerome were often depicted holding girdle books.〔Raymond Clemens & Timothy Graham. ''Introduction to Manuscript Studies''. Cornell U Press. 2007. Pg 56-57.〕 Girdle books also appeared to be a fashionable accessory for lay women, adding to the decorative efforts already invested in the creation of a girdle belt. Artistic depictions of the girdle book confirm their popularity as an accessory.〔"Girdles" Pg. 35-49.〕 Girdle books first appeared in the late 13th century and gained popularity through the 15th sometimes becoming ostentatious jewel-encrusted presentation books and falling out of favour late in the 16th century, when printed books had become much more common.〔("Girdle Book Slip-Cover" ), Crispin Sexi (Jaysen Ollerenshaw), 2005. Accessed December 2006.〕 Another possible reason for their decline was the relatively small number of specialized girdle-protected texts becoming outdated with little need to replace them. In an environment of increasingly cheap printing it was simpler to replicate texts than spend time preserving individual manuscripts. The intricately constructed girdle bindings were simply impractical after a certain point. There are hundreds of artistic representations of girdle books. Their popularity in art indicates a much wider distribution and adoption of the girdle book as a binding than surviving copies suggest. A list of 150 examples "shows the proportion of representation in painting and in sculpture () almost equal." However, only 23 medieval girdle books have survived in their original binding, the oldest datable example being from Kastl, Germany (ca. 1453).〔Bruckner, Ursula, Bruckner, "Beutelbuch-Originale", ''Studien zum Buch- und Biblionthekswesen 9 (1995): 5-23. See also: (" Rare and Beautiful Liturgical Manuscripts on Display at The New York Public Library" ). Accessed December 2006.〕 At least part of the reason for the small number of surviving examples stems from the fact that the use of the girdle book was largely confined to a narrow area from the Netherlands to the Upper Rhine Valley.〔"A Fifteenth Century Girdle Book" Pg 481〕 == Construction == Girdle books were a variant on other forms of medieval book-binding in which the leather or cloth continued loose beyond the edges of the hard cover. Especially for small personal books like the Book of Hours, the leather often extended sideways, which gave extra protection for the book when not in use - the loose edges could be wrapped round, and often buckles or laces enabled the book to be securely closed. In addition, when reading, the book could be held from outside the cover, so that the clean inside surface of the leather, rather than the thumbs of the reader, touched the pages. This stopped the pages acquiring the dirty patches in the lower margins that many medieval books have. These too are often shown in art, although it is noticeable that readers are often not making full use of the protective way of holding the book. The knot used for the handle was a Turk's head knot, so named for similar appearance to the turbans worn by medieval Muslims of the Turkish Empire. Sometimes the girdle book had a hook that fastened to the belt; "a hinge connected the hook to the flap of the binding, allowing maximal movement of the book while it was still attached." Many girdle books were unadorned, however, there are also many that have brass corner pieces, carvings, awl punctures, artisan clasps, and possibly a family crest or other mark on the front. Given the security afforded by carrying the book around, it was less risky to add decoration and gilding to a book less easily stolen than a shelved manuscript. Additionally, ornate metal clasps and hinges were more durable than woven leather or cloth bindings that wore out more quickly from heavy use. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「girdle book」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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