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Scribe:
A person involved in writing books or documents. During the early Christian period and the Middle Ages, scribes often worked within a scriptorium. Following the rise of the universities around 1200, scribes began to function independently.
Script:
The handwriting used in manuscripts. Medieval script required discipline and consistency. The form and function of a book determined the appearance of a script, the speed and care with which the letters were formed, and the number of space-saving devices (notably abbreviations.)
Scriptorium (pl. scriptoria):
A writing room. The term is generally used to describe the area in a monastery or church where books are produced..
Secular:
Not bound by religious statute; not belonging to or living in a monastic order. Book production was a secular activity during antiquity, but from the early Christian period until the rise of the universities around 1200, it largely took place in the scriptoria.
Sermon:
A speech about moral and spiritual issues delivered in a place of worship by a member of the clergy such as a pastor or priest.
Service Book:
A book used in the Christian liturgy.
Sewing support slip:
The part of a sewing support which extends beyond the width of the spine at either side and is used to attach the cover to a bookblock.
Shoulder:
The place where the front or back cover joins the spine.
Spine:
The vertical edge of a book where the pages are sewn together. Rounded, glued spines were first introduced in the early sixteenth century. Prior to this, spines were flat, though some had raised cords.
Special Collection:
A group of items with a common provenance or theme that hold monetary and or cultural/historical significance.
Split lacing:
The process in bookbinding, of attaching boards to the text block by passing the cords on which the book is sewn through a single hole that is cut into the boards and returned through two separate holes.
Stationer:
a person who sells the materials used in writing, such as paper, pens, pencils, powdered pigments, and ink
Strapwork initial:
A decorative design of interlaced bands inside an enlarged letter.
Stylized:
The rendering of a subject in a non-naturalistic and decorative form.
Stylus:
A pointed implement, generally made of metal or bone, used for pricking and ruling a manuscript.