spine tabs (Q944)

Pieces of thick animal skin, usually alum-tawed, secured to the head or tail of the spine (or occasionally as a continuous strip) by the external tiedowns and which project above the endbands to form a tab. The tabs were trimmed to a variety of profiles and the primary cover was often trimmed to the same shape and sewn to the edge of the tab with decorative sewing. Tabs were a characteristic feature of romanesque bindings and fell out of use in the early thirteenth century.