The application of statistical techniques to the study of manuscript books, based on the analysis of large data sets acquired through the archaeological observation of manuscripts, is one of the most original trends in codicological research, aiming not only to reconstruct on a sound basis the methods and processes used in book manufacture and their tendential evolution in space and time, but also to interpret them as the result of a dynamic interplay between various and often incompatible needs (of cultural, technical, social and economic nature) that book artisans had to reconcile in the best possible way.
The present collection of essays in English translation was guided by the desire to offer a multifarious well-articulated picture of the application of statistical methodology to the various aspects of manuscript production, namely analysis of materials, characterization of book types, manufacturing techniques, planning and use of layout characterization of scripts and scribal habits.
The volume aims to present to a wider readership a series of significant papers which have appeared over the last fifteen years, by means of which the statistical approach continues to demonstrate its vast potential.
Author(s): Marilena Maniaci
Series: Studies in Manuscript Cultures, 19
Publisher: De Gruyter
Year: 2021
Language: English
Pages: 779
City: Berlin
Contents
Statistical Codicology. Principles, Directions, Perspectives
Forms and typologies
The Structure of Atlantic Bibles
The Miniaturisation of Bible Manuscripts in the 13th Century: A Comparative Study
Making a Count of Hagiographic Books. Quantitative Aspects of the Production and Dissemination of Latin Hagiographic Literature (2nd–15th Centuries)
Materials and tools
Parchment in Byzantine Manuscripts of the 11th and 12th Centuries: Characteristics and Use
Watermarks Galore. Observations on the Number and Homogeneity of Papers Used in Manuscripts and Incunabula
An Experiment in Dating Documents through the Analysis of Watermarks: The Letter ‘P’ in Incunabula of the Low Countries
Manufacturing techniques
Quiring in Manuscripts of the Late Middle Ages
The Art of Not Quartering Skins:
The Arithmetic Properties of Lineation in Humanistic Manuscripts
The ‘Non-Unitary’ Greek Codex: Typologies and Terminology
The Third Dimension of the Book: Codicological Aspects of Multi- Textuality
Layout and text formatting
Canons and ‘Recipes’ for the Layout of the Medieval Book:
Divergences between the East and the West in the Construction and Management of the Written Space: General Principles and Specific Solutions
A Medieval Puzzle. The ‘Architecture’ of the Page in Manuscripts and Incunabula of the Codex Justinianus
Words within Words : Layout Strategies in Some Glossed Manuscripts of the Iliad
At the End of the Line: Text Continuity and the Division of Words in Byzantine Manuscripts
Scripts and scribes
The Rhythm of the Scribe:
The Scribe’s Gesture and its ‘Shadow’:
Quantitative Codicology and Scientific Paradigms. A Typology of Latin Formulae in the Colophons of Western Manuscripts
Concerning the (Re)discovery of French Scriptoria:
Index of Written Sources
