[MR] History Blog: Medieval Books Covered in Seal Skins

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

Today both the History Blog and Archaeology News report on an interesting
discovery in the library at Clairvaux Abbey in France: some of their
medieval manuscripts are bound in seal skin.

Well, not all that many. Clairvaux Abbey owns 1,450 medieval books, and
many of them have been rebound over the centuries. That said, 43 books were
determined to be clad in seal skin.  A few books (13) at other monastic
collections are also bound this way.

Seal skin is not mentioned in the Clairvaux's records, however other
records from the 13th century show that sometimes tithes were paid in seal
skin. The skins are believed to have come from Northern Europe via trade
routes.

Animal lover that I am, with a special fondness for seals and sea lions,
the photo of the impossibly cute little gray seal made me a bit weepy.

The History Blog story is at https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/72886 .

A similar story on the Archeology News site is at
https://archaeologymag.com/2025/04/medieval-books-were-bound-in-sealskin/ .

Yours Aye,

Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆
Continuing a crusade to keep the original Merry Rose relevant and in
business.