A scientific analysis of dozens of 12th- and 13th-century books found in European monasteries reveals they were bound in sealskins procured by Norse traders from as far away as Greenland.

The monks curated a vast manuscript and book collection at the Library of Clairvaux Abbey, a site in Champagne, France, founded in 1115. The group of 12th- and 13th-century works expanded to more than ...