Joy Boutrup: Some textile bookmarks in connection with 15th-17th-century religious books

Several early English bibles or prayer books are bound in tapestry woven or richly embroidered textiles. Some of these also have textile bookmarks belonging to them.

These bookmarks consist of several braided or woven strings connected to a round or cylindrical head. A few are found to have biblical texts braided into the strings. A number of preserved English manuscripts from the 17th century have instructions for braiding texts and motifs, the so called letter braids. The presentation will show examples of such bookmarks and some bindings. Especially two bookmarks will be treated in more detail and the theme supported by 15th -16th century paintings showing books and bookmarks.