If you have worked with medieval or early-modern books you will likely have encountered them: tiny pieces of medieval parchment sticking out of bindings, and parts of manuscript leaves glued to the inside of boards.

When Gutenberg invented moving type, handwritten books became old-fashioned overnight. All over Europe they subsequently became the victims of recycling at the hands of binders.

Such fragments of medieval manuscripts form a most useful research object for the historian of the book. They are the heavily damaged remains of objects that do not survive because they were cut up to be used as binding support.

[S]tories that may otherwise not have survived, given that classical and medieval texts frequently only come down to us in fragmentary form. [I]t is not easy to make sense of the remains. Binders seem to have particularly enjoyed slicing text columns in half.

Sounds like the plot to an Indian Jones movie or Allan Quartermain book…

Top photo via The Conveyor.
Middle photo via Medieval Fragments.
Bottom photo via Erik Kwakkel (Bishop’s mitre complete with…Norse love poetry? Seriously?)

Quoted text via Medieval Fragments.