The Building of a 6-7th Century  Merovingian Prayer Book (First Incarnation - Second coming soon)

This project is a commission for an SCA friend I have known for many years (I think I even helped her get re-started in the SCA).  She asked me to first to help her find someone who could do the project, and I, silly person that I am, said I would do it.  My hopes is to make this book as close as possible to one that might have existed in Gaul of the 6-7th centuries.  The only exception might well be that it will not be written on vellum, but rather on Pergamenta, a vellum substitute.  The versals might also be of a slightly later period.  My friend has mentioned she wasn't interested in illuminations, but we shall see what research can find. (tee, hee, hee) Below is some of the initial research using five reference books:  (1) "The Historical Source Book for Scribes," by Michelle P. Brown & Patricia Lovett.  Published in 1999 by The British Library, London, ISBN: 0-8020-4720-3  (page 40, Merovingian Uncials, France 7th Century, Burney MS 340, f24). (2) "ABC of Bookbinding, A Unique Glossary," by Jane Greenfield.  Published in 1998 by The Lyons Press, New York, ISBN: 1-884718-41-8 (pages 80 & 81, Coptic Structure). (3)  "A Guide to Western Historical Scripts from Antiquity to 1600," by Michelle P. Brown. Published in 1990 by The British Libaray, London.  ISBN: 0-8020-5866-3   (pages 38 & 39). (4)  "The Decorated Letter," by J.J.G. Alexander.  Published in 1978 by George Braziller.  ISBN: 0-8076-0895-5  (pages 44 & 45/plate 3) (5)  "The Archeology of Medieval Bookbinding," by J.A. Szirmai.  Reprinted by Ashgate Publishing Company in 2001.  ISBN: 0-85967-904-7 (pages 7-14, The First Single Quire Coptic Codices)

Merovingian Uncials, France 7th Century
Source:  "The Historical Source Book for Scribes,"

Above is an example of 7th century Merovingian Uncial and glossed in something called "B" minuscule found in works from the monestary of Corbie.  The hands appear to be contempory.  The original book was 10¼" x 6¾" in size.  The description of the page (which was only done in B&W in the book I found it) did not explain if the heading was any specific colors, but I would imagine they were in yellows, greens, and orange -- as some similar headings of a slightly later period were.  The main difference I can see between these two hands is that the second (this one above) has "dots" between each word, whereas the first example does not.   Source:  "A Guide to Western Historical Scripts from Antiquity to 1600," by Michelle P. Brown.

Even though this manuscript was thought to have been written in the second half of the 8th century, it is also reminiscent of the earlier Merovingian art form of the 6th to 7th centuries (as stated by J.J.G. Alexander in "The Decorated Letter."

First Proto-type of the book....

The style of Coptic binding I intended to use is the one at the bottom of the page above... which is also shown slightly differently in the next illustration.

To Einhorn Manor