Historical Background and "How-To" Projects in Paleography, Papyrology, and Codicology
This section will discuss uncial and half-uncial (also can be referred to as semi-uncial) lettering regarding Latin Palaeography as well as provide a guide on how to write each letter. ...continue reading "Uncial / Half-Uncial (Historical Background and How To)"
For much of antiquity, the scroll was the fundamental unit of literary transmission.
The Greeks and Romans used scrolls from the introduction of writing in around the 8th-6th centuries all the way through approximately the 4th century when they moved on to the codex.
Consequently, a great way to explore the culture and practices surrounding the ancient literary world is to create one for yourself!
As medieval codices were often very complex and elaborate works of art, it was necessary for scribes and their assistants to carefully plan the layout of each page before they began their work. Scribes therefore turned to a practice of pricking and ruling to ensure that each line of text was properly located to create a beautiful and coherent finished product. Pricking and ruling allowed scribes to create an organized template for their text before they began to write. Scribes completed this task by puncturing the parchment in designated locations and drawing lines, either with a pencil or with a blunt object, to demarcate the locations of the lines and columns. The scribes then made small holes on the edges of the parchment with sharp tool at carefully measured intervals so that the markings would be carried through onto subsequent pages. Should the scribe choose to create lines through dry ruling, the lines would carry through onto each page of the codex, though if they used a pencil they would be required to mark each page individually.
https://youtu.be/-FhahzaKXPM
After checking out Kendall Piccollo's post on the history and background of the Caroline (also called Carolingian) Minuscule script (found under the "Historical Background" section here: https://sites.dartmouth.edu/ancientbooks/2016/05/24/carolingian-miniscule/), you may be interested in the finer points on how to write the letters and how to properly produce the text. In this post, I will provide a few tips and tricks through images and videos on how to write Caroline Minuscule. ...continue reading "How to Write Caroline (Carolingian) Minuscule"
After looking at all of the cool projects on this website, you may want to create a book of your own. This guide is here to help. We'll show you have to make a codex with a Coptic binding.
We will be creating a codex with multiple quires.
If you want to start with a simpler project, you can check out how to make a single quire codex here: Single-quire-codex