Szirmai, John - The Archaeology of Medieval Bookbinding

307 fig. 24, p. 319 fig. 74). Several details in illustrations of codices that have come down
to us from the Notitia Dignitatum (Goodburn and Bartholomew 1976; Berger 1981) have
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been assumed to represent Eigenthumliche Einbände mit iiberschlagenden Zipfeln zum
Verschliessen' (Wattenbach 1871 p. 222); they could be corrupted versions of ancient fastenings,
entirely forgotten and unknown to late medieval artists (Figure 2.8).
All boards of the codices in Table 2.1 (except for Codex C and the Barcelona
codex) have one or two further holes in the top right-hand or left-hand corner of the upper
or lower board, with vestiges of leather thongs suggesting they may have belonged to bookmarkers.
Such bookmarkers, of leather with parchment lining and decoration in blind
tooling, have been preserved with Codices A and B (Lamacraft 1939 pp. 226, 231, pi. V)
and some remnants with the Glazier and Mudil codices. Ends of leather thongs are present
in corresponding positions in the boards of Bodmer P. XIX (Kasscr 1962b).
2.6 PAPYRUS CODICES WITH PASTEBOARD COVERS
The above examination of binding structures has referred exclusively to multi-quire codices
written on parchment and provided with wooden boards (with the exception of Codex C).
Since in this period papyrus was much more frequently used as writing material, one would
expect to encounter a larger number of extant bindings of multi-quire papyrus codices. Yet
this is not the case, for various reasons. One lies in the approach to the early days of papyrology,
which regarded the sheer salvage of the texts as the highest priority. This procedure
usually led to the destruction of the binding, hence the loss of evidence on its structure.
Another obvious reason is the often very damaged condition of finds: Ibscher (1933) compares
the condition of a series of Manichean codices (of the fourth or fifth century) to
lumps of peat. He assures us that nothing is left of the sewing structure, assumes that the
boards had been covered in lavishly decorated leather and praises the high standard of the
Manichean bindings (1937 p. 15), 9
but fails to describe any vestiges or to record any clue
as to the method of board attachment (1933 p. 85).
One of the earliest of such bindings in papyrus pasteboards is a codex probably
dating from the third century (BNF MS suppl. gr. 1120, two texts of Philo of Alexandria,
178 x 165 mm, four quires), found in 1889 in Coptos, Upper Egypt. The concise description
of the binding (Scheil 1893) mentions that sewing was carried out with vegetable fibre
applying parchment stays, that there was a parchment bookmarker and a reinforcement of
the covering leather with pasteboards made up of fragments from a Gospel; the upper cover
was extended into an envelope flap with a leather strap for closing the codex (Figure 2.9).
Another binding of this type belongs to the Nag Hammadi find (Codex I) and contains two
large quires (c. 300 x 150 mm, 73 leaves). It has semi-limp covers, similar to the singlequire
Nag Hammadi codices (see Figure 1.1), stiffened with a lining of used papyrus leaves.
Each of the two quires had been separately joined to the cover with tackets through leather
stays in the centrefolds and knotted on the outside of the back (Doresse 1961 pp. 47-8;
Robinson 1975 pp. 176-80). The leather envelope flap on the upper cover (possibly with a
wrapping band) is partly lost; there are leather ties at the head and tail of both covers. 10