Biomolecular analysis shows that unusual book coverings are made of sealskin, hinting at far-flung trade networks.

A trove of books written by medieval-era French monks were bound with bizarre “hairy” covers from far-away animals — shedding ...

The monks curated a vast manuscript and book collection at the Library of Clairvaux Abbey, a site in Champagne, France, founded in 1115. The group of 12th- and 13th-century works expanded to more than ...

Strange “hairy” covers of books in medieval Europe were made from seal skin obtained from Viking descendants, a new study has ...

The material on the covers of books from a French abbey was too hairy to have come from calves or other local mammals.

A scientific analysis of dozens of 12th- and 13th-century books found in European monasteries reveals they were bound in sealskins procured by Norse traders from as far away as Greenland.

“It was first thought to be a 14th-century story about Sir Gawain but further examination revealed it to be part of the Old French Vulgate Merlin sequel, a different and extremely significant ...