View source for Codex

{{Short description|Historical ancestor of the modern book}}
{{About|ancient and medieval books}}
[[File:Devil codex Gigas.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|The ''[[Codex Gigas]]'', 13th century, Bohemia]]

The '''codex''' ({{plural form}}: '''codices''' {{IPAc-en|'|k|oʊ|d|ɪ|s|iː|z}})<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Chambers Dictionary|publisher=Chambers|year=2003|isbn=0-550-10105-5|edition=9th|chapter=codex}}</ref> was the historical ancestor format of the modern [[book]]. Technically, the vast majority of modern books use the codex format of a stack of pages [[Bookbinding|bound]] at one edge, along the side of the text. But the term ''codex'' is now reserved for older [[manuscript]] books, which mostly used sheets of [[vellum]], [[parchment]], or [[papyrus]], rather than [[paper]].<ref>''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', 2nd ed.: Codex: "a manuscript volume"</ref>

By convention, the term is also used for any [[Aztec codex]] (although the earlier examples do not actually use the codex format), [[Maya codices]] and other [[Pre-Columbian era|pre-Columbian]] manuscripts. Library practices have led to many European manuscripts having "codex" as part of their usual name, as with the [[Codex Gigas]], while most do not.

Modern books are divided into [[paperback]] (or softback) and those bound with stiff boards, called [[hardback]]s.  Elaborate historical bindings are called [[treasure binding]]s.<ref>[[Michelle P. Brown]], ''Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts, revised: A Guide to Technical Terms'', 2018, Getty Publications, {{ISBN|1606065785}}, 9781606065785 [https://books.google.com/books?id=a4Z1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 p. 109].</ref>{{sfn|Lyons|2011|p=22}} At least in the Western world, the main alternative to the paged codex format for a long document was the continuous [[scroll]], which was the dominant form of document in the [[Ancient history|ancient world]]. Some codices are continuously folded like a [[concertina]], in particular the Maya codices and Aztec codices, which are actually long sheets of paper or animal skin folded into pages. Concertina-style codices made of [[history of paper|fibre-based paper]] were also developed in [[Tang dynasty]] China no later than the 9th century. This practice later spread to [[Heian period|Heian Japan]] through Buddhist exchange, where they were called [[orihon]].<ref>{{cite web |title=CBAA the Association for Book Art Education - A HISTORY OF THE ACCORDION BOOK: PART II // Peter Thomas |url=https://www.collegebookart.org/bookarttheory/10634352 |access-date=2023-10-26 |website=www.collegebookart.org}}</ref>

The [[ancient Romans]] developed the form from [[wax tablet]]s. The gradual replacement of the scroll by the codex has been called the most important advance in book making before the invention of the [[printing press]].<ref>{{harvnb|Roberts|Skeat|1983|p=1}}</ref> The codex transformed the shape of the book itself, and offered a form that has lasted ever since.{{sfn|Lyons|2011|p=8}} The spread of the codex is often associated with the rise of [[Christianity]], which early on adopted the format for the [[Bible]].<ref>{{harvnb|Roberts|Skeat|1983|pp=38–67}}</ref> First described in the 1st century of the Common Era, when the Roman poet [[Martial]] praised its convenient use, the codex achieved numerical parity with the scroll around 300 CE,<ref name=Oxf>"Codex" in the ''[[Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium]]'', Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford, 1991, p. 473. {{ISBN|0195046528}}.</ref> and had completely replaced it throughout what was by then a Christianized [[Greco-Roman world]] by the 6th century.<ref>{{harvnb|Roberts|Skeat|1983|p=75}}</ref>

==Etymology and origins==
[[File:2049 - Byzantine Museum, Athens - Parchement scroll, 13th century - Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, Nov 12.jpg|thumb|upright=.6|The scroll was the document form which was replaced by the codex during the late Roman Empire.]]

The word codex comes from the [[Latin]] word ''caudex'', meaning "trunk of a tree", "block of wood" or "book". The codex began to replace the [[scroll]] almost as soon as it was invented, although new finds add three centuries to its history (see below). In [[Egypt]], by the fifth century, the codex outnumbered the scroll by ten to one based on surviving examples. By the sixth century, the scroll had almost vanished as a medium for literature.<ref>Roberts, Colin H., and Skeat, T. C. (1987), ''The Birth of the Codex''. London: [[Oxford University Press]] for the [[British Academy]], p. 75.</ref> The change from rolls to codices roughly coincides with the transition from [[papyrus]] to [[parchment]] as the preferred writing material, but the two developments are unconnected. In fact, any combination of codices and scrolls with papyrus and parchment is technically feasible and common in the historical record.<ref>{{harvnb|Roberts|Skeat|1983|p=5}}</ref>

Technically, even modern [[notebook]]s and [[paperback]]s are codices, but publishers and scholars reserve the term for [[manuscript]] (hand-written) books produced from [[late antiquity]] until the [[Middle Ages]].{{citation needed|date=June 2021}} The scholarly study of these manuscripts is sometimes called [[codicology]]. The study of ancient documents in general is called [[paleography]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paleography|title=Definition of PALEOGRAPHY|website=www.merriam-webster.com|language=en|access-date=2019-03-05|archive-date=2019-03-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306043044/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paleography|url-status=live}}</ref>

The codex provided considerable advantages over other book formats, primarily its compactness, sturdiness, economic use of materials by using both sides ([[recto and verso]]), and ease of reference (a codex accommodates [[random access]], as opposed to a scroll, which uses [[sequential access]]).<ref>{{harvnb|Roberts|Skeat|1983|pp=45–53}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Table with was and stylus Roman times.jpg|thumb|left|Reproduction Roman-style [[wax tablet]], from which the codex evolved]]

The [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] used precursors made of reusable [[Wax tablet|wax-covered tablets of wood]] for taking notes and other informal writings. Two ancient [[polyptych]]s, a ''pentaptych'' and ''octoptych'' excavated at [[Herculaneum]], used a unique connecting system that presages later sewing on of thongs or cords.<ref>{{cite book|last=Carratelli|first=Giovanni Pugliese|title= "L'instrvmentvm Scriptorivm Nei Monumenti Pompeiani Ed Ercolanesi." in Pompeiana. Raccolta di studi per il secondo centenario degli di Pompei.|year=1950|pages=166–78}}</ref>{{page range too broad|date=February 2022}} A first evidence of the use of papyrus in codex form comes from the [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Ptolemaic period]] in Egypt, as a find at the [[University of Graz]] shows.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://mummybook.uni-graz.at/en/ | title=Graz Mummy Book }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zammit Lupi |first1=Theresa |last2=Krämer |first2=Lena |last3=Csanády |first3=Thomas |last4=Renhart |first4=Erich |date=2024-01-02 |title='The Graz Mummy Book': The Oldest Known Codex Fragment from 260 BC Discovered at Graz University Library, Austria |journal=Journal of Paper Conservation |language=en |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=41–46 |doi=10.1080/18680860.2023.2292721 |issn=1868-0860|doi-access=free }}</ref>

[[Julius Caesar]] may have been the first Roman to reduce scrolls to bound pages in the form of a note-book, possibly even as a papyrus codex.<ref>During the [[Gallic Wars]]; Suet. ''Jul.'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#56.6 56.6] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226081027/https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius%2A.html#56.6 |date=2022-12-26 }}; cf. {{harvnb|Roberts|Skeat|1983|p=18}}</ref> At the turn of the 1st century AD, a kind of folded parchment notebook called ''pugillares membranei'' in Latin became commonly used for writing in the [[Roman Empire]].{{sfn|Roberts|Skeat|1983|pp=15–22}} [[Theodore Cressy Skeat]] theorized that this form of notebook was invented in Rome and then spread rapidly to the Near East.{{sfn|Skeat|2004|p=45}}

Codices are described in certain works by the [[Classical Latin]] poet, [[Martial]]. He wrote a series of five [[couplet]]s meant to accompany gifts of literature that Romans exchanged during the festival of [[Saturnalia]]. Three of these books are specifically described by Martial as being in the form of a codex; the poet praises the compendiousness of the form (as opposed to the scroll), as well as the convenience with which such a book can be read on a journey. In another poem by Martial, the poet advertises a new edition of his works, specifically noting that it is produced as a codex, taking less space than a scroll and being more comfortable to hold in one hand. According to [[Theodore Cressy Skeat]], this might be the first recorded known case of an entire edition of a literary work (not just a single copy) being published in codex form, though it was likely an isolated case and was not a common practice until a much later time.{{sfn|Skeat|2004|pp=45–46}}

[[File:Facsimile of the book of kells-Interior of the Old Library, Trinity College, Dublin.jpg|thumb|The [[Book of Kells]] is an example of a codex that was created during the Middle Ages.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Book of Kells {{!}} Symbols, History & Art |url=https://study.com/learn/lesson/the-book-of-kells.html |access-date=2022-10-28 |website=study.com |language=en |archive-date=2022-10-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028192042/https://study.com/learn/lesson/the-book-of-kells.html |url-status=live }}</ref>|alt=A photo of two pages within the Book of Kells]]

In his discussion of one of the earliest parchment codices to survive from [[Oxyrhynchus]] in Egypt, Eric Turner seems to challenge Skeat's notion when stating, "its mere existence is evidence that this book form had a prehistory", and that "early experiments with this book form may well have taken place outside of Egypt."{{sfn|Turner|1977|p=38}} Early codices of parchment or papyrus appear to have been widely used as personal notebooks, for instance in recording copies of letters sent (Cicero ''Fam.'' 9.26.1). Early codices were not always cohesive. They often contained multiple languages, various topics and even multiple authors. "Such codices formed libraries in their own right."<ref>{{cite book |last=Lyons |first=Martyn  |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/863061436 |title=Books : a living history |date=2013 |publisher=Thames & Hudson |isbn=978-0-500-29115-3 |pages=36–37 |oclc=863061436}}</ref> The parchment notebook pages were "more durable, and could withstand being folded and stitched to other sheets". Parchments whose writing was no longer needed were commonly washed or scraped for re-use, creating a [[palimpsest]]; the erased text, which can often be recovered, is older and usually more interesting than the newer text which replaced it. Consequently, writings in a codex were often considered informal and impermanent.<ref>{{cite web|title=Biblical literature – Types of writing materials and methods|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/biblical-literature|access-date=2020-06-20|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|archive-date=2015-04-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426082426/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/64496/biblical-literature|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Lyons|2011|p=22}} Parchment (animal skin) was expensive, and therefore it was used primarily by the wealthy and powerful, who were also able to pay for textual design and color. "Official documents and deluxe manuscripts [in the [[late Middle Ages]]] were written in gold and silver ink on parchment...dyed or painted with costly purple pigments as an expression of imperial power and wealth."{{sfn|Lyons|2011|p=22}}

As early as the early 2nd century, there is evidence that a codex—usually of papyrus—was the preferred format among [[Christianity|Christians]]. In the library of the [[Villa of the Papyri]], [[Herculaneum]] (buried in AD 79), all the texts (of Greek literature) are scrolls (see [[Herculaneum papyri]]). However, in the [[Nag Hammadi library]], hidden about AD 390, all texts (Gnostic) are codices. Despite this comparison, a fragment of a non-Christian parchment codex of [[Demosthenes]]' ''De Falsa Legatione'' from [[Oxyrhynchus Papyri|Oxyrhynchus]] in Egypt demonstrates that the surviving evidence is insufficient to conclude whether Christians played a major or central role in the development of early codices—or if they simply adopted the format to distinguish themselves from [[Jews]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Turner |first=Eric G. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/979970695 |title=The Typology of the Early Codex |date=2016 |isbn=978-1-5128-0786-8 |publisher= University of Pennsylvania Press | location=Philadelphia, Pa. |pages=40 |oclc=979970695}}</ref>

The earliest surviving fragments from codices come from Egypt, and are variously dated (always tentatively) towards the end of the 1st century or in the first half of the 2nd. This group includes the [[Rylands Library Papyrus P52]], containing part of St John's Gospel, and perhaps dating from between 125 and 160.<ref>{{harvnb|Turner|1977}}, and {{harvnb|Roberts|Skeat|1983}}. From Robert A Kraft (see link): "A fragment of a Latin parchment codex of an otherwise unknown historical text dating to about AD 100 was also found at Oxyrhynchus ([[Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 30|P. Oxy. 30]]; see Roberts & Skeat 28). Papyrus fragments of a 'Treatise of the Empirical School' dated by its editor to the centuries AD 1–2  is also attested in the Berlin collection (inv. # 9015, Pack\2 # 2355)—Turner, Typology # 389, and Roberts & Skeat 71, call it a 'medical manual{{'"}}.</ref>

[[File:Meister des Codex Amiatus 001.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Early medieval bookcase containing about ten codices depicted in the [[Codex Amiatinus]] ({{circa}} 700)]]

In [[Western culture#Foundations|Western culture]], the codex gradually replaced the scroll. Between the 4th century, when the codex gained wide acceptance, and the [[Carolingian Renaissance]] in the 8th century, many works that were not converted from scroll to codex were lost. The codex improved on the scroll in several ways. It could be opened flat at any page for easier reading, pages could be written on both front and back ([[recto and verso]]), and the protection of durable covers made it more compact and easier to transport.<ref>Murray, S. (2009). The library: An illustrated history. New York, NY: Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. Chicago: ALA Editions 2009. (p. 27).</ref>

The ancients stored codices with spines facing inward, and not always vertically. The spine could be used for the [[incipit]], before the concept of a proper title developed in medieval times. Though most early codices were made of papyrus, the material was fragile and supplied from Egypt, the only place where papyrus grew. The more durable parchment and [[vellum]] gained favor, despite the cost.{{sfn|Lyons|2011|p=22}}

[[File:Codex Mendoza folio 37r.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Codex Mendoza]], an [[Aztec codices|Aztec codex]] from the early 16th century, showing the tribute obligations of particular towns]]

The codices of [[Pre-Columbian era|pre-Columbian]] [[Mesoamerica]] (Mexico and Central America) had a similar appearance when closed to the European codex, but were instead made with long folded strips of either fig bark ([[amatl]]) or plant fibers, often with a layer of [[whitewash]] applied before writing. [[New World]] codices were written as late as the 16th century (see [[Maya codices]] and [[Aztec codices]]). Those written before the Spanish conquests seem all to have been single long sheets folded [[concertina]]-style, sometimes written on both sides of the ''[[amatl]]'' [[paper]]. There are significant codices produced in the colonial era, with pictorial and alphabetic texts in Spanish or an indigenous language such as [[Nahuatl]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Lee |first=Jongsoo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R8LqsuokdzUC&dq=There+are+significant+codices+produced+in+the+colonial+era,+with+pictorial+and+alphabetic+texts+in+Spanish+or+an+indigenous+language+such+as+Nahuatl.&pg=PA230 |title=The Allure of Nezahualcoyotl: Pre-Hispanic History, Religion, and Nahua Poetics |date=2008 |publisher=UNM Press |isbn=978-0-8263-4337-6 |language=en}}</ref>

In [[East Asia]], the scroll remained standard for far longer than in the [[Mediterranean]] world. There were intermediate stages, such as scrolls folded [[concertina]]-style and pasted together at the back and books that were printed only on one side of the paper.<ref>[http://idp.bl.uk/education/bookbinding/bookbinding.a4d Several intermediate Chinese bookbinding forms from the 10th century] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160110163433/http://idp.bl.uk/education/bookbinding/bookbinding.a4d|date=2016-01-10}}. [[International Dunhuang Project]].</ref> This replaced traditional Chinese writing mediums such as [[bamboo and wooden slips]], as well as [[History of silk|silk]] and paper scrolls.{{sfn|Needham|Tsien|1985|p=227}} The evolution of the codex in [[History of China|China]] began with folded-leaf [[pamphlet]]s in the 9th century, during the late [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907), improved by the 'butterfly' bindings of the [[Song dynasty]] (960–1279), the wrapped back binding of the [[Yuan dynasty]] (1271–1368), the stitched binding of the [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] (1368–1644) and [[Qing dynasty|Qing]] dynasties (1644–1912), and finally the adoption of Western-style bookbinding in the 20th century.{{sfn|Needham|Tsien|1985|pp=227–229}}{{failed verification|reason=no mention of codex in source|date=February 2022}} The initial phase of this evolution, the accordion-folded palm-leaf-style book, most likely came from [[India]] and was introduced to China via [[Buddhist texts|Buddhist missionaries and scriptures]].{{sfn|Needham|Tsien|1985|pp=227–229}}{{failed verification|reason=no mention of India in source|date=February 2022}}

[[Judaism]] still retains the [[Torah scroll]], at least for ceremonial use.<ref>{{cite book |last=Meyer |first=Michael A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M12toEjI5PEC&dq=Judaism+still+retains+the+Torah+scroll,+at+least+for+ceremonial+use.&pg=PA278 |title=Response to Modernity: A History of the Reform Movement in Judaism |date=1995-04-01 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |isbn=978-0-8143-3755-4 |language=en}}</ref>

==From scrolls to codices==
[[File:Codex Aureus Sankt Emmeram.jpg|thumb|upright|The cover of the [[Carolingian]] gospel book, the [[Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram]], produced ca. AD 870 at the [[Palace of Aachen]], during the reign of [[Charles the Bald]].<br>[[Bayerische Staatsbibliothek]], Munich.]]

Among the experiments of earlier centuries, scrolls were sometimes unrolled horizontally, as a succession of columns. The [[Dead Sea Scrolls]] are a famous example of this format, and it is the standard format for Jewish [[Torah scroll]]s made to this day for ritual use. This made it possible to fold the scroll as an accordion. The next evolutionary step was to cut the [[Folio (printing)|folios]] and sew and glue them at their centers, making it easier to use the papyrus or vellum [[Recto and verso|recto-verso]] as with a modern book.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

Traditional bookbinders would call one of these assembled, trimmed and bound folios (that is, the "pages" of the book as a whole, comprising the front matter and contents) a ''codex'' in contradistinction to the cover or ''case,'' producing the format of book now colloquially known as a ''hardcover''.  In the hardcover bookbinding process, the procedure of binding the codex is very different to that of producing and attaching the case.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

==Preparation==
{{Further|Parchment}}

The first stage in creating a codex is to prepare the animal skin. The skin is washed with water and lime but not together. The skin is soaked in the lime for a couple of days.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/making/ |title=The Making of a Medieval Book |publisher=The J. Paul Getty Trust |access-date=19 November 2010 |archive-date=25 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125133814/http://getty.edu/art/exhibitions/making/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The hair is removed, and the skin is dried by attaching it to a frame, called a herse.<ref name="Intro">{{Cite book |last1=Clemens |first1=Raymond |title=Introduction to manuscript studies |last2=Graham |first2=Timothy |date=2007 |publisher=Cornell university press |isbn=978-0-8014-3863-9 |location=Itaca (N. Y.) London}}</ref>{{Rp|page=11}} The parchment maker attaches the skin at points around the circumference. The skin attaches to the herse by cords. To prevent it from being torn, the maker wraps the area of the skin attached to the cord around a pebble called a pippin.<ref name="Intro" />{{Rp|page=11}} After completing that, the maker uses a crescent shaped knife called a ''lunarium'' or ''[[lunellum]]'' to remove any remaining hairs. Once the skin completely dries, the maker gives it a deep clean and processes it into sheets. The number of sheets from a piece of skin depends on the size of the skin and the final product dimensions. For example, the average calfskin can provide three-and-a-half medium sheets of writing material, which can be doubled when they are folded into two conjoint leaves, also known as a ''bifolium''. Historians have found evidence of manuscripts in which the scribe wrote down the medieval instructions now followed by modern [[membrane]] makers.<ref name="daniel">Thompson, Daniel. "Medieval Parchment-Making." The Library 16, no. 4 (1935).</ref> Defects can often be found in the membrane, whether they are from the original animal, human error during the preparation period, or from when the animal was killed. Defects can also appear during the writing process. Unless the manuscript is kept in perfect condition, defects can also appear later in its life.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

===Preparation of pages for writing===
[[File:Codex Manesse 193r - Albrecht von Rapperswil.jpg|thumb|The [[Codex Manesse]]. Most manuscripts were ruled with horizontal lines that served as the baselines on which the text was entered.]]

Firstly, the membrane must be prepared. The first step is to set up the quires. The quire is a group of several sheets put together. Raymond Clemens and Timothy Graham point out, in "Introduction to Manuscript Studies", that "the quire was the scribe's basic writing unit throughout the Middle Ages":<ref name="Intro"/>{{Rp|page=14}}

<blockquote>Pricking is the process of making holes in a sheet of parchment (or membrane) in preparation of it ruling. The lines were then made by ruling between the prick marks.... The process of entering ruled lines on the page to serve as a guide for entering text. Most manuscripts were ruled with horizontal lines that served as the baselines on which the text was entered and with vertical bounding lines that marked the boundaries of the columns.<ref name="Intro"/>{{page needed|date=February 2022}}</blockquote>

===Forming quire===
From the Carolingian period to the end of the Middle Ages, different styles of folding the quire came about. For example, in continental Europe throughout the Middle Ages, the quire was put into a system in which each side folded on to the same style.{{clarify|date=October 2020}} The hair side met the hair side and the flesh side to the flesh side. This was not the same style used in the British Isles, where the membrane was folded so that it turned out an eight-leaf quire, with single leaves in the third and sixth positions.<ref name="Intro" /> The next stage was tacking the quire. Tacking is when the scribe would hold together the leaves in quire with thread. Once threaded together, the scribe would then sew a line of parchment up the "spine" of the manuscript to protect the tacking.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

===Materials===
The materials codices are made with are their support, and include papyrus, parchment (sometimes referred to as membrane or vellum), and paper. They are written and drawn on with metals, [[pigment]]s, and [[ink]].<ref name="Byzantium">{{cite book |last1=McCormick |first1=Michael |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium |last2=Gamillscheg |first2=Ernst |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1991 |isbn=9780195046526 |editor-last=Kazhdan |editor-first=Alexander P. |chapter=Codicology}}</ref> The quality, size, and choice of support determine the status of a codex. Papyrus is found only in late antiquity and the [[Early Middle Ages]]. Codices intended for display were bound with more durable materials than vellum.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Pearsal |first=Derek |title=The Oxford Companion to the Book |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2010 |isbn=9780198606536 |editor-last=Suarez |editor-first=Michael |chapter=Codicology |editor-last2=Woudhuysen |editor-first2=H. R.}}</ref> Parchment varied widely due to animal species and finish, and identification of animals used to make it has only begun to be studied in the 21st century. How manufacturing influenced the final products, technique, and style, is little understood. However, changes in style are underpinned more by variation in technique.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Medieval Art and Architecture |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780195395365 |editor-last=Hourihane |editor-first=Colum P. |chapter=Codicology}}</ref> Before the 14th and 15th centuries, paper was expensive, and its use may mark off the deluxe copy.<ref name=":0" />

===Structure===
The structure of a codex includes its size, format/''ordinatio''<ref name=":0" /> (its quires or gatherings),<ref name=":1" /> consisting of sheets folded a number of times, often twice- a ''bifolio'',<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gamillscheg|first1=Ernst|last2=Ševčenko|first2=Ihor|editor-last=Kazhdan|editor-first=Alexander P.|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=1991|isbn=9780195046526|chapter=Quire}}</ref> sewing, [[bookbinding]], and rebinding. A quire consisted of a number of folded sheets inserting into one another- at least three, but most commonly four bifolia,<ref name="Byzantium" /> that is eight sheets and sixteen pages:<ref name=":1" /> Latin quaternio or Greek tetradion, which became a synonym for quires.<ref name="Byzantium" /> Unless an exemplar (text to be copied) was copied exactly, format differed.<ref name=":0" /> In preparation for writing codices, ruling patterns were used that determined the layout of each page. Holes were prickled with a spiked lead wheel and a circle. Ruling was then applied separately on each page or once through the top folio.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1991 |isbn=9780195046526 |editor-last=Kazhdan |editor-first=Alexander P. |chapter=Ruling Patterns}}</ref> Ownership markings, decorations, and [[Illuminated manuscript|illumination]] are also a part of it.<ref name="Terminology">{{cite book|last=Beal|first=Peter|title=A Dictionary of English Manuscript Terminology 1450–2000|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2008|isbn=9780199576128|chapter=codicology}}</ref><ref name="Byzantium" /> They are specific to the [[Scriptorium|scriptoria]], or any production center, and libraries of codices.<ref name="Byzantium" />

===Pages===
Watermarks may provide, although often approximate, dates for when the copying occurred. The layout (size of the margin and the number of lines) is determined. There may be textual articulations, [[Page header|running heads]], openings, [[Chapter (books)|chapters]], and [[paragraph]]s. Space was reserved for illustrations and decorated guide letters. The apparatus of books for scholars became more elaborate during the 13th and 14th centuries when chapter, verse, [[page numbering]], marginalia finding guides, [[Index (publishing)|indexes]], [[Glossary|glossaries]], and [[Table of contents|tables of contents]] were developed.<ref name=":0" />

===The ''libraire''===
By a close examination of the physical attributes of a codex, it is sometimes possible to match up long-separated elements originally from the same book. In 13th-century [[Publishing|book publishing]], due to secularization, stationers or ''libraires'' emerged. They would receive commissions for texts, which they would contract out to scribes, illustrators, and binders, to whom they supplied materials. Due to the systematic format used for assembly by the ''libraire'', the structure can be used to reconstruct the original order of a manuscript. However, complications can arise in the study of a codex. Manuscripts were frequently rebound, and this resulted in a particular codex incorporating works of different dates and origins, thus different internal structures. Additionally, a binder could alter or unify these structures to ensure a better fit for the new binding.<ref name="Companion">{{Cite book |last=Hunter |first=Timothy |title=The Oxford Companion to Western Art |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=9780198662037 |editor-last=Brigstocke |editor-first=Hugh |chapter=Codicology}}</ref> Completed quires or books of quires might constitute independent book units- booklets, which could be returned to the stationer, or combined with other texts to make anthologies or miscellanies. Exemplars were sometimes divided into quires for simultaneous copying and loaned out to students for study. To facilitate this, catchwords were used- a word at the end of a page providing the next page's first word.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Margaret M. |title=The Oxford Companion to the Book |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2010 |isbn=9780198606536 |editor-last=Suarez |editor-first=Michael |chapter=Catchword |editor-last2=Woudhuysen |editor-first2=H. R.}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Grimoire]]
* [[History of books]]
* [[History of scrolls]]
* [[Index (publishing)]]
* [[List of codices]]
* [[List of florilegia and botanical codices]]
* [[List of New Testament papyri]]
* [[List of New Testament uncials]]
* [[Traditional Chinese bookbinding]]
* [[Volume (bibliography)]]

==Citations==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==General and cited references==
* {{cite book |last=Diringer |first=David |author-link=David Diringer |title=The Book Before Printing: Ancient, Medieval and Oriental |publisher=Courier Dover Publications |location=New York |year=1982 |isbn=0-486-24243-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Hurtado |first=L. W. |author-link=Larry Hurtado |title=The Earliest Christian Artifacts: Manuscripts and Christian Origins |location=Cambridge |year=2006}}
* {{cite book |last=Lyons |first=Martyn |title=Books: A Living History |publisher=J. Paul Getty Museum |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-60606-083-4 |location=Los Angeles}}
* {{cite book |first2=Tsuen-Hsuin |last2=Tsien |author-link1=Tsien Tsuen-hsuin |first1=Joseph |last1=Needham |author-link2=Joseph Needham |year=1985 |title=Science and Civilization in China: Volume 5: Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 1: Paper and Printing |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=0-521-08690-6}}
* {{cite book | last1 = Roberts | first1 = Colin H. | last2 = Skeat | first2 = T. C. | title = The Birth of the Codex | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = London | year = 1983 | isbn = 0-19-726024-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Skeat |first= T.C.|title=The Collected Biblical Writings of T.C. Skeat.|year=2004|publisher=E.J. Brill |location= Leiden|isbn=90-04-13920-6|page=45|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=td_OLXo4RvkC}}
* {{cite book |last=Turner |first=Eric |year=1977 |title=The Typology of the Early Codex |location=Philadelphia |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-7696-1}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.hss.ed.ac.uk/chb/ |title=Centre for the History of the Book|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080624072331/http://www.hss.ed.ac.uk/chb/ |archive-date=24 June 2008 }}
* {{cite web|url=http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/gopher/other/journals/kraftpub/Christianity/Canon |title=The Codex and Canon Consciousness&nbsp;– Draft paper by Robert Kraft on the change from scroll to codex}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.mathcs.duq.edu/~tobin/maya/ |title=The Construction of the Codex In Classic- and Postclassic-Period Maya Civilization .Maya Codex and Paper Making|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021017172935/http://www.mathcs.duq.edu/~tobin/maya/ |archive-date=17 October 2002 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia|url=http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/scroll/scrollcodex.html |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Romana |title=Scroll and codex}}
* {{cite web|first=K. C. |last=Hanson |url=http://www.kchanson.com/papyri.html |title=Catalogue of New Testament Papyri & Codices 2nd—10th Centuries}}
* {{cite web|url=http://cdi.uvm.edu/collections/getCollection.xql?pid=manuscripts&title=Medieval%20and%20Renaissance%20Manuscripts |title=Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, including Vulgates, Breviaries, Contracts, and Herbal Texts from 12 -17th century |publisher=Center for Digital Initiatives, University of Vermont Libraries|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218052112/http://cdi.uvm.edu/collections/getCollection.xql?pid=manuscripts&title=Medieval%20and%20Renaissance%20Manuscripts |archive-date=18 February 2011 }}

{{Books}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1st-century introductions]]
[[Category:Books by type]]
[[Category:Codicology]]
[[Category:Italian inventions]]
[[Category:Manuscripts by type]]