Editing Codex (section)

==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>