12th century monks used seal skin to bind books — despite not knowing what a seal looked like

Alex Kennedy · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 13, 2025 4:30 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

New probe from the University of Cambridge sheds airy connected the usage of seal products crossed Europe during the mediate ages, including the usage of seal skins to hindrance and decorate spiritual texts.

Researchers told CBC News the usage of seal skins arsenic a publication binder starts astir the 12th period with the instauration of a French abbey — oregon monastery — by Bernard of Clairvaux, a monk responsible for the aboriginal enlargement of the Cistercian Order passim Europe.

"What I'm much funny successful is the bindings. They person a precise circumstantial operation that makes them precise peculiar, and that you tin recognize. And it's precise emblematic from the 12th and 13th century," Élodie Lévêque said Friday.

"Paper didn't beryllium astatine the time, truthful it's each made with parchment. So skin, leather, and it's besides made of wood."

When people began to analyse the bindings, researcher Matthew Collins said scholars were speedy to statement what they were made of. They had expected thing similar boar oregon cervid skin, but investigation of proteins brought the astonishing discovery.

"It turned retired the fingerprints matched seal skin," Collins said. "You're talking astir question of skins implicit large distances. From precise acold away, into bluish France."

Lévêque said she was particularly taken aback by the uncovering of seal skin, saying she had ne'er adjacent considered it arsenic an option.

Why? Because, she said, Cistercians of the time had apt ne'er adjacent seen a seal before.

"We deliberation the monks didn't really truly cognize that they were utilizing seal skins…. In the 12th century, determination was nary connection for that successful French," she said.

"[They get it] either done trading, origin the northbound trading routes spell each the mode precisely wherever we find the books…. Otherwise, possibly done the religion ties. Because determination was 1 substance successful the 13th period that mentions the information that successful Rome, they had excessively galore seal skins and didn't cognize what to bash with it."

Drawings besides recovered during the probe process exemplify what Cistercians perceived seals to look like — a four-legged oversea monster with the assemblage of a calf and a tail.

Another crushed seal skins — and, successful particular, the pelts of younger seals — were utilized was due to the fact that of the colour white, Collins said.

Known arsenic the achromatic monks, Collins said Bernard of Clairvaux and Cistercians were quick to determination distant from the accepted brown. Lévêque said the bindings besides amusement meticulous enactment was done to sphere the representation of achromatic books successful the monk library.

"There is similar a patchwork, you tin spot sewings successful the fur. And I judge they were removing the darker spots to sew a new, whiter spot successful it," she said.

Lévêque said astir 100 books bound with seal tegument were found, galore of which are located successful the French areas of Troyes and Montpellier.

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