Comments on: What’s Your Sign? http://www.bookn3rd.com/?p=589 Book History and diversions therefrom. Sun, 07 Mar 2010 19:46:51 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Laren http://www.bookn3rd.com/?p=589&cpage=1#comment-5328 Laren Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:20:06 +0000 http://www.bookn3rd.com/?p=589#comment-5328 @Margie - thanks for those links, the first two helped me back up a couple of guesstimates on construction and I found a fantastic ledger binding to make an exemplar from!! Thanks so much. @Laura - thanks for the info on the leather covers, I had a feeling that might be a style used, I'd made an example like that, nice to know it was a good guess. Also, there is another article by Hilary Carey that is worth looking at: Carey, Hilary. "Astrological Medicine and the Medieval English Folded Manuscript." Social History of Medicine 17, no. 3 (2004): 345-63. @Margie – thanks for those links, the first two helped me back up a couple of guesstimates on construction and I found a fantastic ledger binding to make an exemplar from!! Thanks so much.

@Laura – thanks for the info on the leather covers, I had a feeling that might be a style used, I’d made an example like that, nice to know it was a good guess. Also, there is another article by Hilary Carey that is worth looking at:

Carey, Hilary. “Astrological Medicine and the Medieval English Folded Manuscript.” Social History of Medicine 17, no. 3 (2004): 345-63.

]]> By: Jacky http://www.bookn3rd.com/?p=589&cpage=1#comment-5240 Jacky Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:33:17 +0000 http://www.bookn3rd.com/?p=589#comment-5240 Thank you so much! You have been of great help! Thank you so much! You have been of great help!

]]> By: Margie Fenney http://www.bookn3rd.com/?p=589&cpage=1#comment-5236 Margie Fenney Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:01:58 +0000 http://www.bookn3rd.com/?p=589#comment-5236 Here are some vade mecum links: http://images.wellcome.ac.uk/ type “folding almanac” in search box shows pics of binding and all pages http://dpg.lib.berkeley.edu/webdb/dsheh/heh_brf?CallNumber=HM+47641 http://www.roe.ac.uk/roe/library/crawford/index.html (scroll down) http://www.schoyencollection.com/calendars.htm#2913 (see MS 1581 and MS 2913) http://bodley30.bodley.ox.ac.uk:8180/luna/servlet/view/all/what/MS.+Rawl.+D.+939 http://bodley30.bodley.ox.ac.uk:8180/luna/servlet/view/search?q=Shelfmark=ashmole%208%20LIMIT:ODLodl~1~1&sort=Shelfmark,Folio_Page,Roll_#,Frame_# http://bodley30.bodley.ox.ac.uk:8180/luna/servlet/view/search?q=Shelfmark=Canon.%20Liturg.%20237%20LIMIT:ODLodl~1~1&sort=Shelfmark,Folio_Page,Roll_ http://bodley30.bodley.ox.ac.uk:8180/luna/servlet/view/search?q=Shelfmark=rawl%20D%20928%20LIMIT:ODLodl~1~1&sort=Shelfmark,Folio_Page,Roll_ http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/viewItem.do;jsessionid=149818EAA158823D6A18514924B0A7AB.node1?ark=21198/zz0000ztdp Enjoy! Here are some vade mecum links:

http://images.wellcome.ac.uk/
type “folding almanac” in search box
shows pics of binding and all pages

http://dpg.lib.berkeley.edu/webdb/dsheh/heh_brf?CallNumber=HM+47641

http://www.roe.ac.uk/roe/library/crawford/index.html (scroll down)

http://www.schoyencollection.com/calendars.htm#2913 (see MS 1581 and MS 2913)

http://bodley30.bodley.ox.ac.uk:8180/luna/servlet/view/all/what/MS.+Rawl.+D.+939

http://bodley30.bodley.ox.ac.uk:8180/luna/servlet/view/search?q=Shelfmark=ashmole%208%20LIMIT:ODLodl~1~1&sort=Shelfmark,Folio_Page,Roll_#,Frame_#

http://bodley30.bodley.ox.ac.uk:8180/luna/servlet/view/search?q=Shelfmark=Canon.%20Liturg.%20237%20LIMIT:ODLodl~1~1&sort=Shelfmark,Folio_Page,Roll_

http://bodley30.bodley.ox.ac.uk:8180/luna/servlet/view/search?q=Shelfmark=rawl%20D%20928%20LIMIT:ODLodl~1~1&sort=Shelfmark,Folio_Page,Roll_

http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/viewItem.do;jsessionid=149818EAA158823D6A18514924B0A7AB.node1?ark=21198/zz0000ztdp

Enjoy!

]]> By: Laura http://www.bookn3rd.com/?p=589&cpage=1#comment-5205 Laura Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:35:59 +0000 http://www.bookn3rd.com/?p=589#comment-5205 Sure! The bleeding points are a bit difficult even for me to read, since they use a lot of medical terminology that's no longer current. So to make sure I get one right, I'm using a quote from this piece on the Guildbook: 'A Zodiacal Lunary for Medical Professionals' by Irma Taavitsainen, chapter 10 of <em>Popular and Practical Science in Medieval England</em>, edited by Lister M. Matheson (East Lansing, MI: Colleagues Press, 1994), 283-298 (p. 286). The highest bleeding point on the man's right arm states: 'Open þe hed vayne þat es called <em>cyphalica</em> and ligges hyest in þe arme for clensying of þe hede and of þe brayne.' My translation: Open the head vein that is called <em>cyphalica</em> and lies highest in the arm for cleansing of the head and of the brain. The þ symbol is <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorn_%28letter%29 rel="nofollow">thorn</a>, an Anglo-Saxon letter that basically stands for 'th'. Hope that helps - good luck with your paper! Sure! The bleeding points are a bit difficult even for me to read, since they use a lot of medical terminology that’s no longer current. So to make sure I get one right, I’m using a quote from this piece on the Guildbook: ‘A Zodiacal Lunary for Medical Professionals’ by Irma Taavitsainen, chapter 10 of Popular and Practical Science in Medieval England, edited by Lister M. Matheson (East Lansing, MI: Colleagues Press, 1994), 283-298 (p. 286).

The highest bleeding point on the man’s right arm states: ‘Open þe hed vayne þat es called cyphalica and ligges hyest in þe arme for clensying of þe hede and of þe brayne.’

My translation: Open the head vein that is called cyphalica and lies highest in the arm for cleansing of the head and of the brain. The þ symbol is thorn, an Anglo-Saxon letter that basically stands for ‘th’. Hope that helps – good luck with your paper!

]]> By: Jacky http://www.bookn3rd.com/?p=589&cpage=1#comment-5167 Jacky Tue, 08 Sep 2009 05:34:03 +0000 http://www.bookn3rd.com/?p=589#comment-5167 Hi! I really like your article and I've found it pretty helpful. I'm writing a report about early medicine and wanted to quote what says in any of the bleeding points on the vein man, but I can hardly see what it says. So, I was wondering if you can help me. I know you must be deadly busy finishing your dissertation, but if you can help me on that it'll be awesome! Thank you. Hi!
I really like your article and I’ve found it pretty helpful. I’m writing a report about early medicine and wanted to quote what says in any of the bleeding points on the vein man, but I can hardly see what it says. So, I was wondering if you can help me. I know you must be deadly busy finishing your dissertation, but if you can help me on that it’ll be awesome!
Thank you.

]]> By: Laura http://www.bookn3rd.com/?p=589&cpage=1#comment-5032 Laura Thu, 03 Sep 2009 09:50:13 +0000 http://www.bookn3rd.com/?p=589#comment-5032 Good questions. Basically, the vade mecum is a collection of parchment sheets that are folded individually and then sewn together into a tab at the top. C.H. Talbot describes one in this way: 'The manuscript consists of six small pieces of parchment, measuring approximately 14 X 6 inches, folded across the middle and then folded again into three sections, so that the outward appearance shows strips each measuring 7 x 2 inches.' The text was written on the inside of the folded pages, oriented with the tab at the bottom so that one could consult it while attached to the belt. A title was usually written on the outside of each sheet so that the user could quickly find the section they were looking for. Most of the ones I looked at were simply a collection of folded sheets sewn together at the bottom without any kind of cover or binding. One did have a limp cover which was essentially just two pieces of soft leather over the back and front that were sewn into the tab and hung over the pages, like the loose covers of a modern spiral-bound notebook or legal pad. Here are some sources for more info. The two journal articles can be obtained through JSTOR if you have access to it at a library. <em>Medieval Medicine in Illuminated Manuscripts</em> by Peter Murray Jones (revised 1998 edition of <em>Medieval Medical Miniatures</em>, originally published in 1984) 'What is the Folded Almanac? The Form and Function of a Key Manuscript Source for Astro-medical Practice in Later Medieval England' by Hilary M. Carey, in <em>Social History of Medicine</em> vol. 16 no. 3 (2003). (This one has several pictures). 'A Medieval Physician's Vade Mecum' by C.H. Talbot, in <em>The Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences</em> vol. 16 no. 3 (1961). Hope that helps! Good questions. Basically, the vade mecum is a collection of parchment sheets that are folded individually and then sewn together into a tab at the top. C.H. Talbot describes one in this way:

‘The manuscript consists of six small pieces of parchment, measuring approximately 14 X 6 inches, folded across the middle and then folded again into three sections, so that the outward appearance shows strips each measuring 7 x 2 inches.’

The text was written on the inside of the folded pages, oriented with the tab at the bottom so that one could consult it while attached to the belt. A title was usually written on the outside of each sheet so that the user could quickly find the section they were looking for. Most of the ones I looked at were simply a collection of folded sheets sewn together at the bottom without any kind of cover or binding. One did have a limp cover which was essentially just two pieces of soft leather over the back and front that were sewn into the tab and hung over the pages, like the loose covers of a modern spiral-bound notebook or legal pad.

Here are some sources for more info. The two journal articles can be obtained through JSTOR if you have access to it at a library.

Medieval Medicine in Illuminated Manuscripts by Peter Murray Jones (revised 1998 edition of Medieval Medical Miniatures, originally published in 1984)

‘What is the Folded Almanac? The Form and Function of a Key Manuscript Source for Astro-medical Practice in Later Medieval England’ by Hilary M. Carey, in Social History of Medicine vol. 16 no. 3 (2003). (This one has several pictures).

‘A Medieval Physician’s Vade Mecum’ by C.H. Talbot, in The Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences vol. 16 no. 3 (1961).

Hope that helps!

]]> By: Laren http://www.bookn3rd.com/?p=589&cpage=1#comment-5025 Laren Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:39:49 +0000 http://www.bookn3rd.com/?p=589#comment-5025 Hi, great article. I was wondering if you might have any more details on the vade mecum? I'm also interested in this type of book but I'm having alot of trouble working out how the pages were connected to the covers and how the covers worked. I'm interested in limp medieval binding and also the vade mecum and I'd like to make some exemplars to show people. Hi, great article. I was wondering if you might have any more details on the vade mecum? I’m also interested in this type of book but I’m having alot of trouble working out how the pages were connected to the covers and how the covers worked. I’m interested in limp medieval binding and also the vade mecum and I’d like to make some exemplars to show people.

]]> By: Laura http://www.bookn3rd.com/?p=589&cpage=1#comment-3503 Laura Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:59:15 +0000 http://www.bookn3rd.com/?p=589#comment-3503 That's wonderful! I hope all goes well! That’s wonderful! I hope all goes well!

]]> By: Nick http://www.bookn3rd.com/?p=589&cpage=1#comment-3167 Nick Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:35:29 +0000 http://www.bookn3rd.com/?p=589#comment-3167 Mine's also due on 30 September. Part of what is stressing me is having a job that has suddenly got extremely busy (let's just say my bosses are worried about whether or not they will win the next election, and are demanding new ideas accordingly...). The other thing is that my wife is expecting our first baby on 6 October - I'm glad it's that way round rather than the other, but even so it means realistically I have to get it done by the start of September in case the little one decides to make an early appearance! Anyway I'm sure I'll be fine... I think you're right about blogging as a way to finesse one's thoughts, though. Mine’s also due on 30 September. Part of what is stressing me is having a job that has suddenly got extremely busy (let’s just say my bosses are worried about whether or not they will win the next election, and are demanding new ideas accordingly…). The other thing is that my wife is expecting our first baby on 6 October – I’m glad it’s that way round rather than the other, but even so it means realistically I have to get it done by the start of September in case the little one decides to make an early appearance!

Anyway I’m sure I’ll be fine… I think you’re right about blogging as a way to finesse one’s thoughts, though.

]]> By: Laura http://www.bookn3rd.com/?p=589&cpage=1#comment-3139 Laura Thu, 25 Jun 2009 01:12:31 +0000 http://www.bookn3rd.com/?p=589#comment-3139 Thanks! Don't worry, I'm already stressing a lot, and I'm sure it will get worse. It's not due until the end of September, and I have until the middle of July to get my first chapter in. I've also found writing blog posts helpful in the past, as it seems to clarify my thought process. When is yours due? Thanks! Don’t worry, I’m already stressing a lot, and I’m sure it will get worse. It’s not due until the end of September, and I have until the middle of July to get my first chapter in. I’ve also found writing blog posts helpful in the past, as it seems to clarify my thought process. When is yours due?

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