apocrypha: books included in the Septaguint and Vulgate but excluded from the Jewish and Protestant canons of the Old Testament

bestiary: a book containing descriptions and tales of beasts--both fantastic and real. A nice printed example is T. H. White's Book of Beasts (Dover).

book of hours: a book used for private devotions, centering around the Hours of the Virgin.

codex: a manuscript book

codicology: the study of the physical structure of the book or manuscript.

commonplace book: a book in which important passages or things to be remembered are recorded, usually under different headings.

exemplar: something that serves as a model or example; i.e. a book from which another is copied.

folio: a sheet in a book. Folios have two sides. the front is the "recto" and the back is the "verso."

gloss: commentary upon another text. Glosses can be comprised of single words written in the margins of a work or entire treatises published all on their own.

guild: a medieval association of merchants or craftsmen formed both for mutual protection and to regulate the craft

hagiography: the study of saints lives.

iconography: the study of the meaning of images.

illumination: luminous and colorful decorations in a manuscript--especially those embellished with gold or silver. Sometimes refers to miniatures in the manuscript.

illuminator: an artist who produces illuminations for manuscripts.

incunabula: books printed in the early years of the printing press--i.e. before 1500.

lapidary: a treatise on precious stones.

manuscript: a book written by hand, abbreviated as MS

marginalia: writing or decorations in the margins of a manuscript.

parchment: sheep or goat skin that has been specially prepared (stretched, scraped, whitened, and cut to size) to be written upon. The name comes from Pergamon, which was an early production center.

patron: a person who commissions a book.

pecia: literally, "piece"--a piece of a larger text that has been divided into sections so that it can be copied quickly.

pricking: the marking of a folio with a small stylus or knife, so that the sheet can be "ruled" and then written upon.

quire: a gathering or booklet which, when combined with other quires, forms a book. Normally quires are comprised of four sheets of parchment folded once to make a little booklet

romance: a genre of literature that tells an adventure, frequently magical, about courtly people.

rubric: a title or section heading in a manuscript that helps identify the text to follow. Frequently rubrics are red.

ruling: the horizontal lines across a folio that guide the hand in writing

scribe: the person who physically copies out books or documents.

scrivener: a professional penmen, i.e. a copyist, scribe, clerk, or secretary

scriptorium: a place where texts are written or copied. Generally refers to the place in monasteries or churches where books are made.

stationer: a middleman who receives commissions for books and subcontracts them out. Also supplies craftsmen with the materials they need to produce the books.

stylus: a pointed instrument used for writing in wax. Can also be used for pricking and ruling a manuscript.

vellum: another word for parchment.