Dual purpose

Girdle book calendar (March-December only)

Northeastern Spain or southwestern France, first half of the fourteenth century
Ink on parchment (ten single leaves), attached to a silver holder with six carnelian beads
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Helen and Alice Colburn Fund 46.458

no. 63

The kinship between prayer books and devotional objects is beautifully demonstrated by this cunning girdle book from northeastern Spain or southwestern France. This is a folding calendar combining astrological information with liturgical calendar. Like tiny prayer books called vade mecum (Latin for "go with me"), this calendar could fit inside a pocket, or hang from a belt by a cord or chain.