Marc DroginRezensionen

Short book with an interesting historical perspective. Way back when books were copied by hand and costly to produce, the scribes, most often monks or nuns often laid an anathema;that is, a curse on any who damaged, stole or refused to return a book. Using God and the threat of excommunication as a way of preventing such crimes against books from occurring, gave the scribe a little extra power to hopefully prevent their hard labor from being destroyed.

wrote procure joys life supernal;
May he who this book the of
steals endure pangs death infernal.

I first came across a book curse in, of all things, a kid's book. I was reading Inkheart, which opens each chapter with a quote from various literary works, and this rather memorable curse:

"For him that stealeth, or borroweth and returneth not, this book from its owner, let it change into a serpent into his hand & rend him. Let him be struck with palsy, & all his members blasted. Let him languish in pain crying aloud for mercy, & let there be no surcease to his agony till he sing in dissolution. Let bookworms gnaw his entrails in token of the Worm that dieth not, & when at least he goeth to his final punishment, let the flames of Hell consume him for ever."

I've been curious about the origin of that ever since. Then a few weeks ago at work, I came across a bookish link that took me to an Atlas Obscura article on book curses. Reading through with interest, I saw that they quoted Marc Drogin and reference this book. The delightful part of this book is that it not only includes a wide variety of curses, the reference works Drogin found them in, and the original abbey (generally) in which they were found, it puts the idea of curses in their historical context.

As odd as it sounds to us now, in a time when books were so precious an extensive library could be anywhere from two to two dozen volumes, stealing them or destroying them was a terrible thought. Books were precious commodities, and before Drogin even begins to talk about the curses, he gives us some background about their creation and value in medieval Europe. And then, of course, he does include a variety of curses that, in our day and age, have become a mere curiosity, while books proliferate by the thousands.

Oh, and the curse that originally interested me? According to Drogin, it was from the Monastery of San Pedro in Barcelona, and referenced in A Small Book of Book Curses by Judith Anne Duncan. I may have to read that one too.

A delightful history of the importance of books in the Middle Ages, and a collection of the curses applied in order to keep them safe.

Fun little book with a number of interesting anecdotes about books and writing.

This is a lovely book. Well written, lovely worksheets.

Very readable, understandable and backed up with a manuscript example for each style. Good beginning book for current middle ages scribes! The content in this book is also in his Medieval Calligraphy book.

Drogin's book has everything in his other book,Calligraphy of the Middle Ages and How to Do It, plus more. This is the better buy.

This book has been my bible in terms of medieval calligraphy. Not only does it give a great history of medieval calligraphy but it breaks down the hands beautifully. Very practical for anyone who wants to learn about and do medieval calligraphy. *Highly* recommended.

Curses from a time when books were precious, and written words held power as much because so few could read them as anything else.

Recommended for callgraphers with an interest in mimicing medieval documents.½

The making of a book in the medieval monastery was a lengthy and laborious process. Books were few and precious, and often lived chained to the library's shelf. Thus, it is no surprise that curses were called down upon those who would steal or damage a book.

Drogin has collected many of these book curses, as well as describing the history and importance of the medieval book.

For him that stealeth, or borroweth and returneth not, this book from its owner, let it change into a serpent in his hand & rend him. Let him be struck with palsy, & all his members blasted. Let him languish in pain crying aloud for mercy, & let there be no surcease to his agony till he sing in dissolution. Let bookworms gnaw his entrails in token of the Worm that dieth not, & when at last he goeth to his final punishment, let the flames of Hell consume him for ever.

You have been warned!

Highly recommended

Anathema is excommunication.

This book belongs to none but me
For there’s my name inside to see
To steal this book, if you should try
It’s by the throat that you’ll hang high.
And ravens then will gather ‘bout
To find your eyes and pull them out.
And when you’re screaming, "oh, oh, oh!"
Remember you deserve this woe.
-- Page 78

Whoe’er this book
To make his own doth plot,
The fires of Hell
And brimstone be his lot.
-- Page 82

Who folds a leafe downe
ye divel toaste browne,
Who makes marke or blotte
ye divel roaste hot,
Who stealeth thisse boke,
ye divel shall cook
-- Page 110