A worn medieval book open to a handwritten page in Latin with a doodle of a face included with the script. It is wrapped roughly in a leather binding like a trapper keeper.

Ad Herennium. Pseudo-Cicero. Italy, 14th century. Medieval Manuscripts [xMMs.Misc1]. Special Collections & Archives, University of Iowa Libraries.

From co-curator Eric Ensley:
This book is a truly extraordinary part of the University of Iowa’s medieval manuscript collection. The most frequently surviving medieval books are often the most important or most beautiful, since people are often inclined to preserve those objects for their appeal or use. However, “ugly” books like these are rarer survivors though they tell us a lot about early peoples. This manuscript contains the Ad Herrenium, a common medieval university text students would emulate when writing letters. This book likely belonged to such a student, who has doodled throughout the pages and used paper, a cheaper material than parchment, to write the text. Like a modern trapper keeper, the student has wrapped the text in a tough leather document, likely a charter that contained business details that were no longer needed.  

A worn medieval book open to a handwritten page in Latin with a doodle of a face included with the script. It is wrapped roughly in a leather binding like a trapper keeper.

Ad Herennium. Pseudo-Cicero. Italy, 14th century. Medieval Manuscripts [xMMs.Misc1]. Special Collections & Archives, University of Iowa Libraries.