Selected Glossary
Bifolium: A sheet of writing material (usually parchment, paper, or papyrus) folded in half to produce a pair of conjugate leaves. Multiple bifolia inserted into one another and sewn together through the fold make up a quire.1
Codex (pl. codices): Form of the book composed of elected sheets of writing material (usually parchment, paper, or papyrus) folded double to form bifolia which are then gathered into quires sewn together through the center fold which are themselves then assembled into sequential order and usually provided with a protective cover. A codex may consist of a single quire or many, and contain one or many individual manuscripts.1
Codicology: the study of manuscripts as cultural artifacts for historical purposes. 2
Hagiography: biography of saints or venerated persons.2
Leaf: One of the individual units (folio or singleton) making up a bifolium, quire, or book. A leaf possesses a front and a back, described as recto and verso, and may contain writing or decoration on one or both sides, or neither. As a term of codicological description, it is referred to as a leaf, regardless of whether of whether it is foliated or paginated. As a term of bibliographical reference, it is referred to as a folio if it has been foliated (with the recto or verso sides specified), or each if its sides is referred to individually as a page if it has been paginated.1
Manuscript: From the Latin manu scriptus "written by hand". Both an adjective and a noun used to describe a method of production and its product: a book, letter, document, etc. written by hand, usually on parchment, paper, or papyrus. Use in distinction to codex to denote a component item making up part of a composite manuscript codex.1
Paleography: the study of ancient writings and inscriptions.2
Parchment: Generic term used to denote any written support material made from animal skin, such as sheep, goat, calf, etc. Vellum is a term properly applied only to calf skin, which produces a very fine, white, and thin writing surface lacking the imperfections commonly found in the skins of other or older animals. However, owing to its qualitative associations the term vellum is frequently misapplied to writing support material from any animal that has been prepared to a similarly high level of quality. The term parchment is to be preferred in all cases.1
Ruling: A combination of horizontal and vertical bounding lines drawn or incised in simple or complex patterns used to set out the writing space on a page and to guide the line of writing across the page. Also describes the process of ruling. Ruling made be drawn in dry or hard point using a stylus (ie, "ruled in dry point"), in lead or silver point (ie, "ruled in lead," or "...in plummet,' or "...in crayon," or "...in pencil"), or in ink using a pen (ie, "ruled in pen").1
Script: A system or lettering or writing that possesses discernible characteristic features and which is identifiable as a type. A model or standard that guides the drawing of letter forms by an individual scribe.1
Shelfmark: A mark consisting of a combination of letters, numbers, or names usually indicating the physical location of a manuscript within a particular fonds, room, bookcase, or press and its position relative to other items on the same shelf or within a sequence of a collection. In the past and today commonly used as the official designation for a manuscript and as organizing principle for a manuscripts catalog.1
Support: Material (usually parchment, paper, or papyrus) used to receive writing or decoration also known as material support or writing support.1
References
1 Pass, G. A., Association of College and Research Libraries. Rare, Books and Manuscripts Section. Bibliographic Standards Committee. (2002). Descriptive cataloging of ancient, medieval, renaissance, and early modern manuscripts. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries.
2 Merriam-Webster OnLine (11th ed.). (2008). Springfield, MA: Merriam Webster. Retrieved April 20, 2008 from http://www.merriam-webster.com/