[EKStationers] Vade Mecums, Was Beginnings of this List

[Helen Pinto]

Talismans- I know there are some Middle Eastern traditions where short 
prayers are written on scrolls and then rolled up inside a piece of jewelry, 
but I don't know how far back they go.  Religious texts were also 
embroidered on clothing in period.
As for vade mecums, these were more secular, and much longer.  They 
consisted of several pages, folded up inside a cover of leather or cloth, 
and often hung from a belt.  The primary use was for calendars, medical and 
legal information, astronomical charts, legal information, charts, etc. 
(Vade mecum means "go with me", so it was important information that you 
would need to have on hand.)  There is a good picture of BL MS Add 17358 in 
the book below.  This one is oblong (others are folded concertina style) in 
what looks like a velvet cover with some braid trim.  There are several 
pages, and it would be easy to make.  Imagine a regular sheet of paper, held 
in portrait orientation.  Cut a bit off the top of the sheet so that there 
is a tab in the middle of the top edge of the page.  Now fold the page in 
half (more or less) up on itself to level with the new cut edge.  Crease. 
Then fold the left side in a third of the way, crease, then the right on top 
of it, and crease.  Make several.  Cut a front and back cover in the shape 
of the folded sheets from leather or some re-inforced fabric.  Sew or rivet 
the whole thing together at the top.  Write all over the pages (before or 
after).  When you need to access a sheet, you open to that page and unfold 
it.
Hope this helps.
                         -Aidan
Brown, Michelle P., _Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts_, Getty 
Publications, Los Angeles, Ca, 1994, ISBN: 0-89236-217-0