Factsheet

printing press, 15th century
parchment (goathide, sheepskin, calfskin)
preparation: 
        soaking in lime; dehairing; stretching on frame; scraping off met and fat; polishing of surface with lime and pumice; cutting off sheets; folding and gathering in sections.

            tracing of lines; prickling of pinpoints; delimiting of writing space;

            Copying Stage (which could last months/years):
                    adding of rubrics
                    marking with special signs (signatures - letter and digit; catchwords)

            Illumination stage:
                    miniaturist drew ornaments, borders, small scenes, initials, etc.
                    process structured text as well as increased value.

            Binding Stage:
                    sections gathered to form book of codex/codices
                    one by one, sections sewn to ribs and enclosed in a protective binding and covered in leather.
                    wooden panels used for precious books.
                    leather bindings used for elevated manuscripts such as chronicles, treatises, liturgical texts, theological texts, law texts;
                    precious books decorated with metal, rock crystals, precious stones or finely cut ivory tablets.

"Please wash your hands before touching this book"

Library - well maintained.
                    books were attached to stands with chains so they would not be carried away.

Quotes:
"Whoever steals this book will hang on a gallow in Paris
And if he isn't hung, he'll drown
And if he doesn't drown, he'll roast
And if he doesn't roast, a worse end will befall him."

"This book belongs to me, Waelrave Baelde
He who finds it and returns it to me will receive a silver penny or a spoonful of mustard on his grey beard."  (from The City of Leper, 1607)

Monastic scriptoria produced mostly before 1200.
After 1200, manuscripts done by laymen in workshops because of the increasing needs, the rise of universities, etc.

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