This project entails my first attempt at creating a facsimile of a medieval manuscript. It contains a digitcal reproduction of a medieval herbal manuscript. It’s sourced from Bodleian Library Ms. Ashmole 1431 under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license from Creative Commons. As the original 11th century doesn’t possess its original binding, I made a personal interpretation. I based this on contemporary manuscripts found in the E-codices Virtual Manuscript Library of Switzerland.

This manuscript is an 11th-century herbal manuscript from Canterbury. created in the 1070s or 1080s at St. Augustine’s Abbey. It includes texts attributed to notable figures like Apuleius, Dioscorides, and Antonius Musa. The text describes remedies for various ailments, alongside colorful plant illustrations. After passing through various hands, including Elias Ashmole, it was bequeathed to the Ashmolean Museum. It was finally then transferred to the Bodleian Library in 1860. Also see: catalogue entry or view its digitization.

Binding

This binding follows the style of 11th-century Carolingian examples. Two MDF boards form the covers, with four sewing stations anchored using 3 mm flax cord. The quires are sewn around the cords using no. 10 thread, approximately 0.75 mm thick. Leather spine tabs—shaped into the characteristic “ears” of this style—complete the spine and provide the structure for the sewn endbands.

Endbands

The endbands feature a double core, around which thread is wound. Szirmai (2017) describes this technique as “supported straight sewing.” To create the endbands, 1.5 mm flax cord is pegged at one end into the board. Thread is then worked around the cores, looping through the quires and back up again. The image on the right shows how the thread lies flat against the spine. After sewing, the other end of the cores is pegged in place, and small square pieces of wood fill the slots through which the thread passes.

Covering

The book is covered in second-hand vegetable-tanned leather. After gluing the spine, the ‘ribs’ are shaped while the PVA glue sets. The leather is then applied to the front and back boards, wrapped around the edges, and secured to the inside.

Because the leather isn’t pared, there’s a noticeable height difference between the board and the leather edges, which makes it harder for the flyleaf to adhere properly. To fix this, a 1 mm thick greyboard infill levels the surface. While medieval bindings rarely used infill, gesso occasionally served a similar purpose. This added layer helps the flyleaf lie more evenly against the board, creating a cleaner, more finished look.

Clasp

A peg on the side of the book holds the clasp in place, keeping it shut. In medieval manuscripts, this was an essential feature to keep the parchment under pressure and prevent it from buckling. For paper books, this isn’t strictly necessary and, in fact, can be a bit tricky—paper doesn’t press outward in the same way.

Because of the lack of outward pressure from the paper textblock, I’ve found that attaching the clasp before adding the greyboard infill works best. The infill eventually adds the extra thickness needed to create some outward pressure, which helps the clasp stay hooked more reliably. However, this only works if you attach the clasp before adding the greyboard infill!

Perimeter sewing

According to Szirmai, perimeter sewing was rather uncommon in Carolingian-era manuscripts. However, I can’t resist adding it, as the books feel somehow unfinished without it—though that’s probably a modern notion. Either way, the process itself is simple: winding binding thread along the edge of the leather tab, with special care taken at the start and end to ensure the knots are discreet and not too visible. The image above shows the end result in combination with the straight wound double endband.

Contents

The images below show some of the interior of this MS. Ashmole 1431 recreation. The plant illustrations and descriptions clearly highlight its herbal contents. The print quality is so high that it’s hard to tell whether it’s a real manuscript without a close look—several people have already asked. I’m very happy with how it turned out and definitely plan to bind more recreations. It’s much more fun than blank books and allow me to assemble a collection of books that hopefully will on day rival a small medieval library.