In the late Middle Ages, a book was considered to a greater extent not to be an indicator of the owner's scholarship, but of his high social status. Each copy was made by hand and equated almost to a work of art. And if the book was also non-standard, then its value increased significantly. This review presents examples of unique old books that surprise not with their content, but with their appearance.
Heart shaped songbook
In the late Middle Ages, heart-shaped books were popular. Often they were filled with entertainment rather than religious content. We are talking about songbooks in the form of hearts.
Medieval songbook Chansonnier de Jean de Montchenu, 1475.
Rotundus Codex
This miniature masterpiece, called the Rotundus Codex, dates from 1480. It is a book of hours written in Latin and French. It is made in a non-standard round shape. The diameter of the booklet is only 9 cm, and the spine is 3 cm long. On 266 pages, an unknown author has depicted 30 unique capital letters. Now this 15th century masterpiece is in the city library of the German city of Hildesheim.
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The Rotundus Codex is a miniature book of hours from the 15th century.
Belt book
The waist book was so called because it was worn at the waist. A piece of leather served as a continuation of the book and was plugged into a person's belt or belt. Moreover, the book hung upside down, so you could read it without taking it off your belt. Similar books were popular in the 15th and 16th centuries in Germany and the Netherlands.
A belt book dated 1589.
Double-sided book "dozado"
Similar double-sided books were used in the 16th and 17th centuries. Their unusual binding was called dos-a-dos (dosado). This method was often used in the creation of the Old and New Testaments.
Double-sided book of the 16th or 17th century.
A book that can be read in six different ways
This book is a more complex form of the previous one. It can be read in six different ways. In other words, it contains 6 different books. This ingenious creation was created in Germany in the 16th century. It contains religious texts from the past, including the Small Catechism by Martin Luther. The book is now kept in the Strängnäs library (Sweden).
Book on the "leg"
In the 17th century, books weighed more than they do now. The children's alphabet was a piece of paper enclosed in a frame on a leg. Thus, the child could clamp a piece of wood between his legs and raise the alphabet to the required distance in front of his eyes.