Codicology

(book) Codicology ( ; from French codicologie; from Latin , genitive , "notebook, book" and Greek , -logia) or manuscriptology (Indian English) is the study of codices or manuscript books. It is often referred to as "the archaeology of the book," a term coined by François Masai. It concerns itself with the materials, tools and techniques used to make codices, along with their features. The demarcation of codicology is not clear-cut. Some view codicology as a discipline complete in itself, while others see it as auxiliary to textual criticism analysis and transmission, which is studied by philology. Codicologists may also study the history of libraries, manuscript collecting, book cataloguing, and scribes, which otherwise belongs to the history of the book. 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. Unlike traditional palaeography, codicology places more emphasis on the cultural aspect of books.…

(book)]] Codicology ( ; from French codicologie; from Latin , genitive , "notebook, book" and Greek , -logia) or manuscriptology (Indian English) is the study of codices or manuscript books. It is often referred to as "the archaeology of the book," a term coined by François Masai. It concerns itself with the materials, tools and techniques used to make codices, along with their features. The demarcation of codicology is not clear-cut. Some view codicology as a discipline complete in itself, while others see it as auxiliary to textual criticism analysis and transmission, which is studied by philology. Codicologists may also study the history of libraries, manuscript collecting, book cataloguing, and scribes, which otherwise belongs to the history of the book. 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. Unlike traditional palaeography, codicology places more emphasis on the cultural aspect of books. The focus on material is referred to as stricto sensu codicology, while a broader approach, incorporating palaeography, philology, art history, and the history of the book, is referred to as lato sensu codicology, and the exact meaning depends on the codicologist's view. Palaeographic techniques are used along with codicological techniques. Analysis of the work of the scribe, script styles and their variations, may reveal the book's character, value, purpose, date, and the importance attached to its different parts. Many incunabula, books printed up to the year 1500, were finished wholly or partly by hand, so they belong to the domain of codicology.

See also

– collections similar to the British Library. . Several huge collections, e.g. Harleian Collection (also via Catalogue of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts). The known Anglo-Saxon works include Beowulf and the Lindisfarne Gospel (Book of Lindisfarne). – Washington D.C., huge catalogue of manuscript collections. Encyclopedia of the History of Ukraine article on codicology in Ukrainian Scriptorium - journal of codicology in Spanish Auxiliary science of history codicology in German 'Ktiv' - The International Collection of Digitized Hebrew Manuscripts, A catalog of about 400,000 Hebrew manuscripts, of which about 100,000 are digitized. 'Marburger Repertorium of German manuscripts in the 13th and 14th century, Philipps-Universität Marburg (descriptive catalog) (not included are solitary documents and minimal inscriptions in Latin Manuscripts). Department for Special Collections, University Library of Graz, Online-Catalogue with over 2.000 registered manuscripts partially already (2011) with detailed palaeografic descriptions and digitally complete versions. Hill Museum & Manuscript Library in Collegeville, Minnesota, 90,000 manuscripts from Austria and Spain. The Digital Walters, The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. Over 900 illuminated manuscripts and 1250 incunables. Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts, 12th–17th centuries, Center for Digital Initiatives, University of Vermont Libraries

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