Codicology

Codicology

Codicology (from Latin cōdex, genitive cōdicis, "notebook, book"; and Greek -λογία, -logia) is the study of books as physical objects, especially manuscripts written on parchment (or paper) in codex form. It is often referred to as 'the archaeology of the book', concerning itself with the materials (parchment, sometimes referred to as membrane or vellum, paper, pigments, inks and so on), and techniques used to make books, including their binding.

There are no clear-cut definitions: some codicologists say that their field encompasses palaeography, the study of handwriting, while some palaeographers say that their field encompasses codicology. The study of written features such as marginalia, glosses, ownership inscriptions, etc. falls in both camps, as does the study of the physical aspects of decoration, which otherwise belongs to art history.

By a close examination of the physical attributes of a book, it is sometimes possible to establish the history and provenance of a book, or to match up long-separated elements originally from the same book. Palaeographers and codicologists may also study the history of libraries, manuscript-collecting and of book-cataloguing.

Important Collections

There exist meanwhile some very good Online-Databases with research functions for medieval manuscripts - German as well as Anglo-American area.

External references



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  • codicology — [kō΄də kä′lə jē, käd΄əkä′lə jē] n. Chiefly Brit. the study of manuscripts as artifacts in their cultural context * * * …   Universalium

  • codicology — [kō΄də kä′lə jē, käd΄əkä′lə jē] n. Chiefly Brit. the study of manuscripts as artifacts in their cultural context …   English World dictionary

  • codicology — noun Etymology: Latin codic , codex + o + English logy Date: 1953 the study of manuscripts as cultural artifacts for historical purposes • codicological adjective …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • codicology — noun the study of codices (early handwritten books) …   Wiktionary

  • codicology — study of manuscripts Sciences and Studies …   Phrontistery dictionary

  • codicology — n. study of manuscripts …   English contemporary dictionary

  • codicology — [ˌkəʊdɪ kɒlədʒi] noun the study of manuscripts and their interrelationships. Derivatives codicological adjective codicologically adverb Origin 1950s: from Fr. codicologie, from L. codex (see codex) …   English new terms dictionary

  • codicology — co·di·col·o·gy …   English syllables

  • codicology — n. the study of manuscripts. Derivatives: codicological adj. codicologically adv. Etymology: F codicologie f. L codex codicis: see CODEX …   Useful english dictionary

  • GENIZAH, CAIRO — Introduction The term genizah is a word shortened from the rabbinical Hebrew phrase bet genizah (see also genizah ). Its counterpart in late biblical Hebrew is genez (pl. genazim, ginzei) which in Esther evidently means a treasury, as well as the …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

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