This chapter moves even further away from the normal medieval book. The main focus is a peculiar bookish object that thrived in the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries, but which has medieval roots, as this chapter shows. The object in question is the “hornbook” (Figure 87). Given the definition of “book” discussed in the General Introduction (see pp. 4–5), we have to conclude that the hornbook is not even a book (i.e., an object made out of quires). Nevertheless, it does emphasize the close connection between the design of objects used for reading and human anatomy. Speaking to the diversity of medieval written culture, this chapter shows that objects to read from were not just made from parchment or paper, but also from gingerbread.

Hornbooks

The hornbook is a primer: a text used by children as they were learning to read. It usually contains the alphabet and some additional short texts, such as the Lord's Prayer or Hail Mary, which the new readers—helpfully—should have already known by heart. These texts are found, for example, in the specimen in Figure 87, which measures only 11 cm × 6 cm. The hornbook's design reflects perfectly how artifacts to read from were customized for use by human beings—which is sensible, of course, because these were their consumers. This particular device, for example, enables those new to reading to hold it up at eye level, as close to the face as needed to examine the unfamiliar shapes in front of them. The other hand was free to practise writing the letters, perhaps with the help of a slate tablet.

Materials

Most surviving hornbooks are made out of wood. In the Early Modern period the pupil's “required readings” were usually printed on a sheet of paper that was subsequently covered by a thin slice of animal horn for protection—hence the object's name. The result is a remarkably sturdy object, which could be dropped without damaging it; a minimum requirement, it seems, for any device used by young children.

Surviving hornbooks show that they were also used to teach adding and subtracting. The one seen in Figure 88, which dates from the eighteenth century and measures 28 cm × 18 cm, has a nifty add-on to this end: an abacus, which is mounted on top.