Why old books repeat a word at the bottom of the page

A lone word below the main text of an old book may look like a printing mistake or a forgotten note. It can instead be a catchword: a small connection between the page in front of you and the text that follows.

A word that points forward

Trinity College Library’s explanation defines catchwords as words, usually in the lower margin, that repeat the first word on the following page. Its example from manuscript R.3.60 uses singula. The repetition is purposeful: compare the isolated word with the next page’s opening.

Here is an invented example to try: imagine that a page ends with “They reached the” and has “harbour” alone beneath it. The next page begins “harbour before sunset.” The marginal word gives you a match across the page turn; it is not another word to insert into the sentence.

The text had to become a physical book

The BnF’s resource on manuscript manufacture, written by Paloma Pucci, describes the practical problem behind these clues. Work could be distributed among scribes and illuminators, leaving separate gatherings that needed reassembly. These folded sections, also called quires, had to end up in a usable sequence.

The resource describes two aids: numerical or alphabetical signatures, and catchwords. A sequence mark supplies an ordering cue; a catchword links the text. In this context, “signature” means a construction mark, rather than an owner signing their name.

Once assembled, the gatherings could be sewn through their central folds onto bands or cords running across the spine. That order of operations matters. An attractive finished binding conceals a set of smaller physical units, each of which had to connect properly with its neighbour.

Look for the end of a section

Catchwords do not have to appear on every page. In Trinity’s account of manuscript B.15.25, they connect the last back-facing page of one quire to the first front-facing page of the next. The library describes thirteen gatherings of eight leaves and two of six. Those numbers belong to this particular manuscript, not a standard recipe for all books.

Some catchwords in that manuscript sit within drawings, including a dog and wrestlers. A construction aid could also receive decorative attention.

Three checks for a digitized book

1. Compare the wording. Does the isolated marginal word match the opening of the next page shown?
2. Check the position. Does the pattern appear regularly, or only at certain transitions?
3. Consult the description. A catalogue’s account of gatherings can help explain the pattern. Keep your observation separate from what the catalogue establishes.

A match is a useful clue, but it does not by itself establish a book’s date, workshop or complete binding history. Record the page or folio reference so another reader can check your observation. For a different kind of preparation mark, see how medieval scribes planned straight lines.

References

Reading scope: Trinity’s explanatory post and the byline and binding section of the BnF resource, especially PDF page 3. The linked manuscript images and videos were not independently examined. The example involving a harbour is invented for explanation.

• Pucci, P. (n.d.). Medieval book production: Manufacturing manuscripts. Bibliothèque nationale de France. https://www.bnf.fr/sites/default/files/2023-08/medieval_book_production_manufacturing_manuscripts.pdf
• Trinity College Library, Cambridge. (2015, April 17). Catchwords. https://trinitycollegelibrarycambridge.wordpress.com/2015/04/17/catchwords/