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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Just for entertainment value, in Muirchui´s (I think, and please pardon the spelling) life of St. Patrick, Patrick suggests to a druid that they prove the power of their respective religions by throwing their books into the water. The Druid refuses, because 'water is a god of his' (i.e. of Patrick´s). They end up having a fire ordeal instead. But maybe this shows that the idea of waterproof books was around at the time. A more recent anecdote: a teacher of mine (better leave him nameless!) was once examining the rolls, written on heavy parchment, of some venerable institution in its library, which actually (!!!) let him have a cup of tea on the table as well. The predictable happened: the tea spilled, and my teacher, greatly chagrined, rushed to the librarian to confess and ask what to do. 'Just wipe them off with a hanky,' he was told, 'they´re quite waterproof.' ! All the best, Meg ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: subscribe medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: unsubscribe medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/medieval-religion