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      • Seminars on ‘The Evidence of Manuscripts’
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        • 2019 Anniversary Symposium Program: The Roads Taken
        • 2019 Anniversary Symposium Registration
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Vellum Binding Fragments in a Parisian Printed Book of 1598

June 30, 2020 in Documents in Question, Manuscript Studies

Pieces of an Early 16th-Century French Legal Document
Reused as Vellum Supports or Guards
in the Quarto Binding of
Henry de Suberville’s L’Henry-Metre
Printed in Paris in 1598

Manuscript Binding Fragments Remaining In Situ

[Posted on 30 June 2020, with updates]

Smeltzer Collection, Henry de Suberville, 'L'Henry-metre' (1598), Title Page.

Smeltzer Collection, Henry de Suberville, ‘L’Henry-metre’ (1598), Title Page.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Spine View as Preserved.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Spine View as Preserved.

With thanks to the owner, our Associate, Ronald K. Smeltzer, we observe some recycled vellum stiffeners which still stand in situ in a scientific book by the author and inventor Henry de Suberville, printed in Paris in 1598 by Adrien Perier.  All the photographs here are Ronald’s, reproduced with permission.  The volume has lost the boards and any covering of its former cover, but it retains elements of the binding, including the stitching and some stiffeners repurposed from earlier hand-written material. Our purpose here is to examine and illustrate the reused binding fragments in their settings.

Inspired by The Caxton Club/Bibliographical Society of America Symposium on the Book held in April 2015 on “Preserving the Evidence: The Ethics of Book and Paper Conservation”, Ronald has published a concise report (freely downloadable) about the volume and his approach to conserving and conserving it.

  • Ronald K. Smeltzer, “Preserving the Evidence:  A 16th-Century Book Absent Its Binding”, Caxtonian:  Journal of the Caxton Club, 18:9 (September, 2015), 1–3.

His Figure 5 (shown at the left) shows the volume in 3-quarter view, from the front and the spine, with minimal intervention.  Here, we learn, is “Suberville’s treatise in its polyester enclosure with hook-and-loop fasteners, showing the intact structure of the spine, including the remains of head and tail bands and cords”.

Moreover, there survive further remnants from the former state of the volume.  “Apparently as guards, vellum flaps are present, but not visible in Fig. 5, on both sides of the spine. Very old handwriting, not decipherable by me, is on the inner side of the vellum pieces, as illustrated in Fig. 6.”

Figure 6 (shown below) shows a reused vellum fragment as it fits in the volume, with the tops of the original script turned to the gutter and spine of the binding.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598): Vellum Support, as shown in Smeltzer (2015), Figure 6.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598): Vellum Support, as shown in Smeltzer (2015), Figure 6.

As Ronald observed, “Considering the interesting visible and apparently contemporary structure of this late 16th-century book, it seems appropriate to leave it as-is.”

We agree.  See, for example, Physical Evidence and Manuscript Conservation:  A Scholar’s Plea (1994) by our Director, and posts throughout our blog, listed in the Contents List.

The Volume ‘As Is’

The volume is a copy of Henry de Suberville’s L’Henry-Metre, Instrument Royal et Universal avec sa théorique, usage et pratique démontrée . . . (Paris:  Adrien Perier, 1598), lacking its former binding.  The title-page lists the printer’s address as rue sainct Iacques en le boutique de Plantin au Compass, on a notable street in Paris in the Latin Quarter, among other booksellers and printers.  Adrien Périer had marred Madeleine (or Magdalena) Plantin, daughter of Christophe Plantin and widow of Guy Beys (who died in 1595), and he came to use the Plantinian compasses as printing mark.  The colophon of the volume states that the book was printed by Jamet Mettayer, printer and bookseller, that is, during the second period of Mettayer’s work in Paris (1594–1605).

We might wonder what scraps lay to hand to put to use in the sewing when the individual copies of the work received their bindings.

This volume is described thus:

It joins Ronald’s collection of works on early scientific instruments.  On an “obscure” subject, Suberville’s book presents a text on mensuration with the trigonometric device which he had invented:  the HenryMetre.  Its Portraict is illustrated in the book and reproduced in Smeltzer’s Figure 2 (below left).  “With its circular base, both horizontal and vertical angles could be measured.  Hence, it could be used for surveying, measuring heights and distances, and carrying out astronomy measurements”.  Basically, the text offers a guide to the instrument.

Paris, Musée du Louvre, Department of Paintings, Henry IV, King of France in Black Dress (1610), by Frans Pourbus the Younger. Image Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Paris, Musée du Louvre, Department of Paintings, Henry IV, King of France in Black Dress (1610), by Frans Pourbus the Younger. Image Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), 'Pourtraict de l'HenryMetre'.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), ‘Pourtraict de l’HenryMetre’.

The book is a modest quarto.  Its first half has 72 woodcut illustrations, many full page or nearly so, showing how the Henry-Meter is used and providing diagrams of the relevant geometry for calculations based upon measurements to be made with it.  The second half of the text mainly considers specific problems, mathematical calculations, and tables of numbers.  The 4 engraved plates include the “Pourtraict” of the device and the frontispiece portrait, by Thomas de Leu, of the dedicatee, King Henri IV (1553–1610), King of France and Navarre.  (On this frontispiece, see, for example, its record in the British Museum collection.)

The Volume

The title page announces the Henry-Metre as subject, describes its abilities, names its inventor–author, Henry de Subreville Breton, and describes him as Chanoine en l’Eglise Cathedrale S. Pierre de Xaintes; & Aduocat en la Cour de Parlement de Bourdeaux.  The cathedral church at which he was a canon was the former Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Saintes in Saintes, Carente-Maritime, France.  Suberville composed his text apparently during the last few years of the wars of religion in 16th-century France — to which it refers.

Smeltzer Collection, Henry de Suberville, 'L'Henry-metre' (Paris, 1598), Title Page.

Smeltzer Collection, Henry de Suberville, ‘L’Henry-metre’ (Paris, 1598), Title Page.

The Spine

Apparently original, the sewing remains mostly intact.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Spine View as Preserved.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Spine View as Preserved.

The Location of the Strips

It is useful to recognize how the vellum supports are integrated into the book’s structure, noting neighboring blank leaves not part of the gathering structure. The gathering formula encapsulates the structure of this unusual book:

Suberville (1598) gathering formula.

At both front and back, a folded pair of blank paper leaves (comprising a bifolium) stands at the outer side of each gathering which has a vellum support.  At the front, the vellum support encompasses gathering ã and two blank leaves before it. At the rear, the vellum support encompasses gathering H and two blank leaves following leaf H2.  That the 2 blank leaves in each case are not part of the gathering structure itself is seen by their chain-lines that are vertical, and not horizontal as for the text leaves.  The paper of the blanks seems to be slightly different to the touch.  They carry no watermarks.

The Fragments and Their Text

The guards comprise 2 reused Strips, cut to shape.  The Strips are visible at each end of the volume, as a narrow Flap at the end of the text-block, formerly facing the boards and any pastedowns or endleaves pertaining to them.  Wrapping around the fold of its gathering, each Strip re-emerges into view within the text-block as a narrower Stub in the gutter in the opening between pages at the other end of the gathering.

Each Strip carries writing in ink only on one side, which is the flesh side of the animal skin and the Face of the written material.  The Dorse (hair side) is turned outward around the gathering.

We call the guards Strips 1 at the back and 2 at the front, each with a Flap on the outside of the gathering and a Stub on the inside.  Why number them that way, seemingly inverted?  Spoiler Alert:  Both Strips apparently come from a single manuscript or document, and the structure of their text indicates that Strip 1 would originally have preceded Strip 2.

The “outer” portion of each Strip, that is, the Flap, is slit about midway along into 2 sections.  The slit corresponds to the middle row of sewing across the gatherings and its raised band.

Along the spine, it is possible to see the exposed outer edge of the guard at the front of the volume.  Its color and texture contrasts with the paper of the gatherings otherwise.  The guard extends not the full length of the gathering, but rather between its rows of kettle-stitchings at head and foot. At the end of the textblock, the guard sits alongside the 3 raised bands of stitchings spaced at even intervals along the spine.  The slit midway along the guard which produced the 2 halves of the Flap on the outer side, but no division in the Stub on the inner side, is visible emerging alongside the raised middle band of stitching.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Spine View, with 3 Raised Bands flanked by a Row of Kettle-Stitching at either end.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Spine View, with 3 Raised Bands flanked by a Row of Kettle-Stitching at either end.

Close up:

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Spine: Front Midsection.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Spine: Front Midsection.

For each Strip, we show both front and back of each “outer” portion, or Flap, but only the visible Text Side of its Stub on the other side of the gathering.

Note that we view and number their portions taking the upright orientation of the script as the standard, not necessarily the position of the Strip as aligned with respect to the head or tail of the spine.

Strip 1 (at the Back of the Volume)

Flap 1a (Left-Hand Side)

Dorse (Hair side)

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Supports, Strip 1 'Upper' Dorse.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Supports, Strip 1 ‘Upper’ Dorse.

Face / Text Side (Flesh Side), with the text seen upright.  Compare Ronald’s Figure 6 above in black-and-white.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598): Vellum Support 1, 'Upper', Face of Text.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598): Vellum Support 1, ‘Upper’, Face of Text.

Flap 1b (Right-Hand Side)

Dorse (Hair Side)

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Supports, Strip 1 'Lower' Dorse.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Supports, Strip 1 ‘Lower’ Dorse.

Face (Flesh Side), with the text seen upright

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Supports, Strip 1 'Lower' Face.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Supports, Strip 1 ‘Lower’ Face.

*****

Strip 2 (At the Front of the Volume)

Flap 2a (Left-Hand Side)

Dorse (Hair side)

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Supports, Strip 2 'Upper' Dorse.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Supports, Strip 2 ‘Upper’ Dorse.

Face (Flesh Side), with the text upright

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Supports, Strip 2 'Upper' Face.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Supports, Strip 2 ‘Upper’ Face.

Flap 2b (Right-Hand Side)

Dorse (Hair side)

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Supports. Strip 2 'Lower' Dorse.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Supports. Strip 2 ‘Lower’ Dorse.

Face (Flesh Side), with the text upright

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Supports, Strip 2 'Lower' Face.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Supports, Strip 2 ‘Lower’ Face.

On the Other Side of the Gathering

Stub 1 (Strip 1)

Left-Hand Side

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Support Slip 1, Stub, Left ("Royal").

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Support Slip 1, Stub, Left (“Royal”).

Right-Hand Side

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Subermeyer (1598), Vellum Support Slip 1, Stub, Right.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Support Slip 1, Stub, Right-Hand Side.

Stub 2 (Strip 2)

Left-Hand Side

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Support Slip 2, Stub, Left.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Support Slip 2, Stub, Left.

Right-Hand Side

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Support Slip 2, Stub, Right.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Support Slip 2, Stub, Right.

The Pieces ‘Rejoined’

We virtually reconstruct the visible portions of the Strips, which had to be photographed in sections.  The fit in the reconstructed view is approximate, rather than exact, because, in photographing the elements within the still-sewn structure, the angles and distances would have varied between 1 half of an individual Strip and the other.

Strip 1 (Stub 1 + Flap 1)

Stub 1

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Supports Slip 1, Inner Stub, Text 'Rejoined'.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Supports Slip 1, Inner Stub, Text ‘Rejoined’.

 

Flap 1

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Support Slip 1, Outer Flap, Text 'Rejoined'.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Support Slip 1, Outer Flap, Text ‘Rejoined’.

Strip 2 (Stub 2 + Flap 2)

Stub 2

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Support Slip 2, Inner Stub, Text 'Rejoined'.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Support Slip 2, Inner Stub, Text ‘Rejoined’.

Flap 2

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Support Slip 2, Outer Flap, Text 'Rejoined'.

Smeltzer Collection, Henri de Suberville (1598), Vellum Support Slip 2, Outer Flap, Text ‘Rejoined’.

The Location of the Fragments in the Original Document
and in the Current Binding

A set of diagrams represent the placement of the pieces of the vellum and the direction of its written text both on its document and in its pair of reused strips.  With thanks to Leslie French for the renditions.

Reused Vellum Binding Fragments for Suberville (1598) in the Smeltzer Collection.

Reused Vellum Binding Fragments for Suberville (1598) in the Smeltzer Collection.

*****

The Script and Contents

Parts of the text are visible.  Some are legible.

The Stubs carry parts of 1 or 2 long lines of cursive script.  Flap 2 carries parts of 2 lines of script, comprising a line of text and a staggered line of names, plus flourishes.  Remnants of at least 6 lines of script can be seen on the Flap of Strip 1.  Near the beginning of its line ‘2’, there stand the words toutes ses . . . (“all his/her/its/their”).   Following the ‘join’ of the parts of the Flap in line ‘3’, there are the word loys qui . . . (“all his/her/its/their”).  The word Royal, with a distinctive capital R, appears clearly on Stub 1a.  Similar Rs occur elsewhere as well.  Made with a pen having a broader, scratchy nib and paler ink than the text above, the prominent signature(s), accompanied by flourishes (#), spread(s) across most of the Flap on Strip 2 ( . –reston # Lebr . . . #).

The 2 Strips manifestly derive from the same written text, which stood on the Face or recto of the vellum sheet (rather than sheets, presumably).  Given the location of the signature(s) and the orientation of the lines of script, it is appropriate to reconstruct the original — at least in its visible surviving parts — with Strip 1 before, or indeed above, Strip 2.  The text on each Stub precedes the text on its Flap, with an interval of script now hidden within the inside of the fold, amounting to 1 or more lines.  Perhaps the script on the 2 Strips interlocks at the cutting line between them?

Written in ink in a “loose and sloppy hand” characteristic of the period (as described by our Associate, David Sorenson), the now-bipartite fragment comes from a French charter from about 1510–1520 or so.  It was evidently a legal document of some sort, possibly a deed, lease, or other contract.  Perhaps its signer(s) might be identified in other sources.

Our blog has already presented some French documentary materials on vellum with 16th-century script from other private collections.

  • Say Cheese.  Single-sheet document in Latin, circa 1530s, listing rents for plots of land, from Brie.
Single-sheet document in Latin on vellum, circa 1530s, listing rents for plots of land, from Brie in France. Private collection, reproduced by permission.

Private collection, Single-sheet document in Latin on vellum, circa 1530s, from Brie in France.

  • Scrap of Information.  Single-sheet document in Latin, circa 1530s, with a transaction at Vienne, in Isère.
Private Collection, Latin document from Vienne, France, circa 1530s. Reproduced by permission

Private Collection, Document in Latin from Vienne, circa 1530s.

Its Signatures:

Detail of document of 1530 for a transaction relating to Vienne in France, showing the lower left-hand side of the document, with its citation of the date in Latin and with attesting signatures. Reproduced by permission.

Private Collection, Document in Latin from Vienne, France, circe 1530s

  • Scrap of Information.  Fragment of a leaf or document on vellum with the number/date 1538.
    Recto of Scrap from a leaf or document, with the date 1538. Photography © Mildred Budny

    Recto of Scrap from a leaf or document, with the date 1538.

    Image-enhancement reveals more of its features:

    Recto of Scrap from a leaf or document, with the date 1538. Photography © Mildred Budny

    Recto of Scrap from a leaf or document, with the date 1538.

*****

We thank Ronald Smeltzer for permission to examine this volume and for information about its structure and context.  We also thank David Sorenson for advice about the script and type of document from which came the reused vellum strips.

Do you recognize this reused document or its scribe?  Can you read more of the text?

Do you know of other parts of the same document (or similar documents), say in the binding structures of other books — including this text by Henri de Suberville (1598) —  printed by the same printer/producer, whether Adrien Périer or Jamet Mettayer, for example when the latter returned to set up shop in Paris?

Please let us know.  You might reach us via Contact Us or our Facebook Page. Comments here are welcome too.

Watch for more discoveries.  See the Contents List for this blog.

*****

Update:  In January 2022, for the online series on “The Research Group Speaks”, Ronald Smeltzer gave a presentation on The Curious Printing History of La Science de L’Arpenteur.

Dupain de Montesson, La science de l’arpenteur (1766), Title Page Vignette. Ronald K. Smeltzer Collection. Photograph by Ronald K. Smeltzer, reproduced by permission.

*****

Tags: Adrien Périer, Binding Fragments, Binding History, Documents of the Ancien Regime., Henry de Suberville, History of Documents, Jamet Mettayer, Reused Documents
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Italian Notarial Roll of 1305 from Cesena

July 10, 2016 in Documents in Question, Manuscript Studies, Photographic Exhibition

Italian notarial roll of 1305 unrolled, face. Photography © Mildred Budny

Italian notarial roll of 1305, face unrolled

Italian notarial roll, dorse unrolled. Photography © Mildred Budny

Italian notarial roll of 1305, dorse unrolled

Scrollwork

Notarial Document Roll of 1305
in Latin
with Docketing in Italian

Budny Handlist 20

Mildred Budny continues our blog on Manuscript Studies with the publication of a Latin document recording one transaction (a sale of land) on a single sheet of vellum in roll form, issued by the notary Johannes in 1305 at C(a)esena in Emilio-Romano in Italy, and provided with a docketing inscription in Italian on the dorse.  This document joins the cases from Preston in Suffolk, from Grenoble, and from somewhere presumably in France already brought to light in our series.

For a change in this blog, here we place a few bibliographical references at the end.  They provide the fuller citations for sources mentioned along the way in concise form — as with ‘Roschach (1867)’ — as well as a few suggestions for further reading.

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Tags: Armando Petrucci, Budny Handlist, Cesena, Documents from 1305, Ernst Roschach, Imperial notarial aula, Italian notarial documents, Medieval Latin documents, Notarial Sign, Scheide Library
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Full Court Preston

October 10, 2015 in Documents in Question, Manuscript Studies, Photographic Exhibition

Pile of documents and manuscript fragments within melanex protective sheets, with 2 medieval documents from Preston Saint Mary at the top. Photograph by Mildred Budny.Pair of 13th-Century Documents,
Missing Their Seals,
from Preston

Plus a Competition, Prizes Included

[Posted on 10 October 2015, with updates.  Also, now, see Preston Take 2.]

Next stop in our exploration of Manuscript and Document Studies.    Still on the quest of Fragments and Their Contexts.

We turn now to a pair of documents in a private collection, reproduced by permission.  They came for sale as part of a single batch, preserved together and sent forth together, apparently after centuries and generations with a common heritage.  Their origin relates to Preston (now known as Preston Saint Mary), near Ipswich, in Suffolk in England.

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Tags: Book Competition, Docketing, documents in question, History of Documents, Manuscript studies, photographic exhibition, Preston Saint Mary, Seal Bags, Seal Tags
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Curiouser & Curiouser

June 10, 2015 in Documents in Question, Manuscript Studies, Photographic Exhibition

Document on Paper from Grenoble,
Dated 22 February 1345 (Old Style),
With a curious Seal

[Posted on 20 June 2010, with updates]

Mildred Budny reflects upon a fragmentary document, its enigmatic wax seal, and the mid-14th-century owner of the seal.

Today we showcase the fragment of a documentary record on paper which has traveled across time and space to find renewed attention.  Among its curiosities, it carries a seal in red wax depicting a male human head accompanied by creatures and part-creatures drawn from the animal, avian, and insect realms.  Now in a private collection, the document was recently purchased online from a seller in Isère, France, not far from its place of origin in or near Grenoble nearly seven centuries ago. Document in 5 lines on paper, dated 22 February 1345 (Old Style), with red wax seal. Image reproduced by permission.Reproduced here by permission, the fragmentary document written in Latin on paper records a transaction conducted apud Gratianopolis (‘at Grenoble’) in the Dauphiné” (now France), with the date of 22 February 1345 Old Style.  The left-hand side of the document has been roughly torn away, with the loss (of uncertain extent, probably about half) of the first part of the lines of text.

Map it Out

The ‘Carte du Dauphiné’ by Christophe (or Nicolas) Tassin (died 1660), printed in 1630, sets the scene.

'Carte du Dauphiné' by Christophe (or Nicolas) Tassin, printed in 1630. Private Collection, reproduced by permission.

‘Carte du Dauphiné’ by Christophe (or Nicolas) Tassin, printed in 1630. Private Collection, reproduced by permission.

[Update:  A Comment by Wales Legerwood on 11 January 2022 observes: “I have this map in my collection. Interesting that the north arrow of the compass rose as drawn on this particular map is engraved pointing in the wrong direction: south. It should be rotated about 180 degrees.”

'Carte du Dauphiné' by Christophe (or Nicolas) Tassin, printed in 1630. Private Collection, reproduced by permission.

‘Carte du Dauphiné’ by Christophe (or Nicolas) Tassin, printed in 1630. Private Collection, reproduced by permission.

[A map printed a few years later by the same cartographer shows another view.]

Govvernement du Grenoble. 'Plans, vues et cartes du Dauphiné' by Christophe Tassin (1634). Via gallica.bfn.fr: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b53152793f/f2.item.r=Christophe%20TassinDauphine%20Dauphine.

Govvernement du Grenoble. ‘Plans, vues et cartes du Dauphiné’ by Christophe Tassin (1634). Via gallica.bfn.fr.

Seal the Deal

Written in an expert cursive documentary script in brown ink by a single scribe, the 5-line record is ‘signed’ or attested by the double names of Henricus in full (‘Henri’) and the abbreviated Joha[nnes?] (‘Jean’?), accompanied by a tall monogram or cypher to their right.  Both the single names and the cypher are flanked or surrounded by dots, setting them off as names and/or signs as such.

The names and cypher are written in 2 lines by a single hand, perhaps different from the main scribe, in a more compressed upright script.  The names are flanked by dots.  The cypher, both flanked and surmounted by dots, perhaps combines their initial letters h and J in an elegant flourish.

If the names pertain to a single individual, during this period the combination implies a person of some importance worthy of a first and a second name together.  Both the names and the cypher manifest an accomplished hand.  If written by their named individual, they manifest his scribal training to proficiency and, perhaps as well, a commensurate degree of literacy.

Detail of red wax seal on Latin document issued at Grenoble and dated on 22 February 1345 Old Style, with human head in profile facing left. Image reproduced by permission.The names may hold some clue(s) to the meaning of the Device (that is, images) on the Seal, which bears no Legend (that is, inscription) to aid, compound, or delight the process of its decipherment. Perhaps deciphering the one in time may speed the decipherment of the other.

Whoever their owner, the complexity of the design on the Device and the manifest skill of its execution demonstrates an imposing, and perhaps comparably idiosyncratic, identity for this Henricus Joha[. . . ], whose second name could be Johannes (or the like).  It is worth recognizing, however, that, given late medieval naming practices in many regions, the abbreviation for a second name or surname could stand for a place-name, an occupational name, a nickname, or some other appellation, rather than a personal name.

The seal in red wax affixed directly to the page to the lower right of these 2 names depicts within a now-fragmentary roundel the image of a male human head seen in profile with a straight nose, both beard and moustache, and either a conical helmet (albeit without any rim) or an elongated, distorted skull formation.  As it stands on the page, sealed in wax, the head faces downward, but when it is seen upright, the head faces left.

On the page to the left of the names Henri and Jean[?] there appear the remnants in red of a rimmed element and other elements pertaining either to the offset of this seal (for which no folds on the document bear obvious witness) or perhaps to another attestation of unknown identity, now mostly effaced.

Paper Trail

The paper itself carries no watermark, unfortunately, but the surviving remnant of the document is a small portion of the original sheet of paper.  The lines within the paper, however, are very different from those found on later samples, so that the specimen merits interest as an unusual survivor in the history of the development of European paper.

Back-lighting, as seen here, reveals the structure of the lines more clearly.  More posts about this subject, plus a gallery of specimens of European paper across centuries, are in preparation for our website.

Back-lit view of the paper of the Grenoble document of 22 February 1345 Old Style, showing the lines of the paper. Image reproduced by permission.

Wax Lyrical

The red wax seal seen upright, with the male human head facing left. Document on paper issued at Grenoble and dated 13 February 1345 (Old Style). Image reproduced by permissionClose-up of the seal with side-lighting. Image reproduced by permission.Close-up of the seal with lower side-lighting. Image reproduced by permission.Different levels of side-lighting, shown here, reveal more of the details of the Device on the seal.  Its features are curious, to say the least.

At the base of the human neck appears the frontal face (or ‘mask’) of a lion-like creature, which grips in its jaws the base of the long neck of a wide-eyed, winged goose-like creature, seen in profile, crouched beneath the human head.  Fanned plumes or a crest rise(s) above and in front of the head or, it may be, helmet.  Details to the fore of the face seem difficult to discern, perhaps an indication of some wear and age to the seal matrix.  Such ‘blurred’ or fragmented features could suggest that the matrix had received much use, perhaps from being handed down within a family.

A knob-like extension at the crest of the head-or-helmet leads to the base of some formation lost in the damaged ‘apex’ of the field. Behind the rounded back of the head stretches a skinny lizard-like creature, seen from above, rising or crawling above the goose’s head toward the ‘top’ of the scene.  Damage to the seal (or imperfection in its impression) at the right of the lower half of the ‘lizard’ perhaps removed some element in the scene.  The goose’s closed beak clamps onto the remnant of lizard’s right hind-leg.  A curious combination.

The depicted food chain appears to defy biology.  But it does pique curiosity.  Human Neck —> ‘Lion’ Mask —> ‘Goose’ —> ‘Lizard’.  Huh?

Homo sapiens sapiens - Deliberate deformity of the skull, "Toulouse deformity"

«_déformation_toulousaine_»_MHNT (Author Unknown / restoration and digitization. Didier Descouens / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain)

Skull-Duggery

Curious, too, is the elongated shape of the skull, which might or might not be ‘natural’.  The shape appears deformed, like the cranial deformation of human heads or skulls observed in many parts of the world across the centuries or millenia, whether biological or artificial. Widely ranging examples include many ancient Peruvian skulls (from circa 6000–7000 BCE onward), ancient Egyptian examples from the sphere of the Pharoah Akhenaten (1375–1358 BCE), manifestations in art and the archaeological record through many periods of Mesoamerican Mayan culture, and recognized cases of skulls among East Germanic and Huns peoples in migration in the early medieval period in the West.

[Update: Newly discovered is a ‘Conehead’ skeleton, approximately 2,000 years old, of a woman of the Sarmati tribe excavated at Arkaim, near Chelyabinsk, in the southern Urals.]

Such practices reshaped the heads of some humans, for whatever reasons, perhaps or apparently involving prestige.  Both the evidence and the issues remain subjects of fascination and controversy. For example, not all cases which have been considered as representatives of the habit still qualify, as with a Proto-Neolithic skull from Shanidar (circa 300,000–30,000 BCE), previously believed to comprise the earliest known example but now differently reconstructed. But the amplitude of the bodies of evidence for alteration of the shape of skulls through human intervention provides a source of wonder. The practice of intentional cranial deformation, in different manifestations across the centuries in many parts of the world, could produce a ‘permanently visible symptom of social affiliation’. So prominent a feature is hard to miss.

It seems that, in certain contexts, head shape demarcates membership and hierarchies within social or ethnic groups among larger societies, with some apparent manipulation of shapes in the pursuit of demonstrating, or cultivating, affiliations with groups or individuals in power.  The wide range of observable cases of skull deformation globally has been the focus of medical study and classification, for example by Eric John Dingwall (1931) (freely available in full online) and by Amit Ayer, Alexander Campbell, et al. ‘The Sociopolitical History and Physiological Underpinnings of Skull Deformation’ (2010).

Not all cases of strange skull shapes are deliberate, of course, but, whatever the case here in the wax seal, the outcome — if it represents head-shape rather than helmet (which might, presumably, be removed at will) — would be permanently, irrevocably visible for all to see.  Perhaps for some it would have been a source of awe, if not admiration.

Such aspirations for altering physical characteristics of a specific, and visible, part of the human body seem to have governed, for example, the practices of Chinese foot-binding.  The late survivors of that practice make it possible to interview, as well as to photograph in the flesh, some living witnesses.

In a way, the seal of Henry J. itself might give us a glimpse, close-up, of his particular, if not peculiar, characteristics, along with some choices of his own about elements outside his body (animal, etc.) to express his identity on the page.

A Medieval Case of the ‘Toulouse Deformity’?

« Crane déformé 1905 MHNT » par Didier Descouens — Travail personnel. Sous licence CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Déformation toulousaine – Muséum de Toulouse. « Crane déformé 1905 MHNT » par Didier Descouens (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

Curiouser for the presence of our seal on a Grenoble document is the persistence of such a custom, altering the shape of the human cranium by artificial distortion, in parts of Southern France until rather recently, as described and illustrated, for example, in the Wiki articles on Artificial Cranial Deformation or Déformation volontaire du crâne.  This ‘deliberate deformity of the skull’ is known as the ‘Toulouse deformity’.  In this style or type of cranial deformation, a tight cap is placed upon the head, or a band is wrapped around the cranium to compress it into a circular shape, which expands upwards into a cone.

The study of ‘Later Artificial Cranial Deformation in Europe’ (1931) observes that such practices in recent centuries centered upon France.  Perhaps the elongated conical shape of the head on the wax seal formed in 1345 bears witness to the custom as a revival or survival of earlier practices, in their transmission variably across time within or across regions.

It’s a Stretch

It seems not inappropriate to consider in this connection the condition — not entirely a predicament — of being ‘stretched tall’, in which Alice found herself to appear in Wonderland (1853), under the heading of Curiouser and Curiouser.

©The British Library Board, Add. MS 46700, pgs 10-11

©The British Library Board, Add. MS 46700, pgs 10-11. Reproduced by permission

“Curiouser and curiouser!” cried Alice, (she was so surprised that she quite forgot how to speak good English,) “now I’m opening out like the largest telescope that ever was! Goodbye, feet!”

The author’s original manuscript of the first version of the text, now in the British Library, illustrates Alice’s elongated form as envisioned by her creator ‘Lewis Carroll’ (1832–1898), whose pen-name itself is a confection.

The similarly elongated neck on the seal enters a world of fantasy and imagination with its combination of creatures somehow integrated with the human world, both seemingly easily and not so much.

Skull-asticism

Whether the image on the seal represents, or is intended to represent, a given human individual rather than some fanciful being, the combination of creatures clustered around his head suggests a puzzle or word-play.  Within the complex, wide-ranging world of medieval seals and their molds or matrices, there were multiple forms of presenting, or combining, images of one kind and/or another, with or without text.  Many other medieval seals, too, draw upon non-heraldic structures — that is, elements not specifically assigned (as yet) in the time-honored code of heraldry, according to specific rules for devising heraldic coats of arms of rank for persons, families, dynasties, towns, cities, and other organizations.

Non-heraldic forms on seals can indicate in less formally codified, but not necessarily less rigorously chosen, elements to indicate, or to suggest, the identity, name, occupation, preoccupations, predilections, or other characteristics of the owner of the seal.  Many cases, which we in the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence have had the opportunity over recent years to study in detail on site over time, occur within the remarkable selection of medieval seal matrices and documents assembled in the Collection of our Associate John H. Rassweiler and now presented in part as the Rassweiler Collection Online.

The red wax seal seen upright, with the male human head facing left. Document on paper issued at Grenoble and dated 13 February 1345 (Old Style). Image reproduced by permissionThe ensemble in Henricus J.‘s seal confirming a transaction in Grenoble in 1345 may, for example, function as a form of rebus, with an allusion to the owner or his identity in some way, or as the visual illustration of some proverb, in a motto for his or anyone’s consideration.  Such practices are not uncommon in shaping the Devices of medieval European seals.

Or, could we say, such practices may be most uncommon, although widespread.  Common and Uncommon:  that combination could be right for this seal’s Device.  Its designer may have smiled to think of the curious combination.

Within the genre, this Device seems remarkably ingenious.  The script of its owner’s ‘signature’ could indicate that he was well educated.

Dare we say Cerebral?

Its answer, or solution, may yet come to light.

You Think?

More research might illuminate the context of this document, reveal more of its original text, identify the person(s) involved in its record and attestation, and provide the key to its curious seal.  Perhaps you could help with suggestions and information.

We invite you to contribute to the exploration – and its adventure.

Please leave a  Comment here, Contact Us, or join the conversation on our Facebook page.

P. S.  In the conversations about this Post, one of our friends called it a case where ‘Codicology Meets Craniology’.  Cool.

*****

[Published on 10 June 2015, with updates]

Tags: 'Toulouse deformity', 22 February 1345 Old Style, Alice in Wonderland, Artificial cranial deformation, Cranial deformation, Grenoble, History of Paper, Medieval Dauphiné, Medieval Latin documents, medieval seal, Red wax seal
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