The ''Girdle Book'' was a component of Religious wear with some Monks and Nuns – between the 13th and 16th Centuries (AD). A leather ''holder'', for the Prayer Book known as ''The Book of Hours'', The Girdle was attached to a Belt by cloth ribbons or leather straps. This ensured that a Religious was always able to ''be in His or Her Prayers'' – at the ''appointed time''. Nobles throughout Europe too began to emulate The ''Book Girdle''. They carried Prayer Books (less out of piousness and more for ''fashion''). Considered ''vogue'', often these ''Girdles'' were encrusted with fine jewels and gemstones. They were soon seen as somewhat ostentatious by the 16th Century and seldom seen by Religious and Noble alike.