Pretty medieval manuscript of the day is a girdle book. This book, a philosophical tract by Boetheius (the consolation of philosophy), was bound in such a way that it was possible to tie it to the owner’s girdle (belt) and refer to it throughout the day. Although the book and the binding date from the fifteenth century, the catalogue record suggests this is not the original binding. The book is thought to have originated in England, but the binding is Dutch or German, and the book is now in America at Yale University’s Beinecke Library. What travels it has had!
Image source: Beinecke MS 84. Creative Commons licensed via Flickr.