Dit zijn de landen van der Kerke van Borre

This book, Dit zijn de landen van der Kerke van Borre,  comes from the collection that  C.W. Miller bought for Trinity University. The translation of the title, “These are the Lands of the Church of Borre,” suggests that it comes from the region of Borre, which was located in France. The book provides a detailed record of the lands that the church owned. The book is made of parchment or animal hide.

History and Condition

This book is not in perfect condition and has several areas of damage. However, this is not due to age. The pages are entirely even, and several of them have ‘holes’ or apparent perforations. The cover is also haphazardly sewn into the book, and the stitching itself is uneven and visible. These characteristics are due to the nature and contents of the book. Since it was not a manuscript or meant to be displayed—it was a simple record book—the users would not want to spend top-dollar on materials. The parchment pages likely came from the “rejects” pile or the worst part of the hide. The perforations most likely came from areas in the hide that had imperfections and thus were cut out. The visible stitching also reveals that the book was made as cheaply as possible. If you feel the pages with your hands, you will notice the difference between the smooth and “bumpy” pages, which shows that the “back” of the hide where the fur of the animal was being used for these pages.