Yeoman's in the Fork Blog

I have been trying to decide what to write about this week, being rather preoccupied with working on an illustration consisting of 14th century books and a monk. Creating art is never quite what others think of it, if they think of it at all. I’ve spent time researching: just what did monks wear, and how were books made in the 14th century; and how were they stored? What exactly did books look like then? It is rather like putting a puzzle together.

One of the more interesting things I have learned this week, with assistance from Jeanne Bennett, who’s writing a book on the history and technique of fore-edge paintings, is that corner bosses were nailed to the covers of books. So what are corner bosses? They are handcrafted pieces of metal used to protect the books from each other. The books in this time period were so large and heavy, that if stacked on top of each other, they would rub each other and the covers would be damaged. The protective bosses created a barrier so the book covers would not touch another book when stacked. This method of protecting a book resulted in a beautiful, added piece of craftsmanship to the book cover. And the monks did all their work by natural day light and candle light! So I have decided when my electric power goes off in a thunderstorm, I will just enjoy the peace and quiet until everything becomes the 21st century again.