Hebrew Codicology: Historical and Comparative Typology of Hebrew Medieval Codices.

Pre-publication: 

BEIT-ARIÉ, Malachi, Hebrew Codicology: Historical and Comparative Typology of Hebrew Medieval Codices based on the Documentation of the Extant Dated Manuscripts in Quantitative Approach (Hebrew version).

Chapter I:​​

​Introduction

​​The codex

​​Codicology – development, approaches to the study of hand-produced books, trends

​​Hebrew codicology

​​Extant manuscripts, geo-cultural classification of codicological practices and types of book script

​​The singularity of Hebrew book production

​​The indispensability of the comparative perspective for Hebrew codicology

​

​​Chapter II:

​Colophon components and scribal formulae

​​​Names of manuscript producers and division of labour

​​Destination of the copying

​​Dating systems

​​Indication of locality

​​Personal and historical information

​​Information on copying conditions and on the exemplar

​​Duration of copying and its pace

​​Blessings

​​Scribal formulae at the end and beginning of the copying and at the lower margins

​​

​Chapter III:

​​Writing materials

​​Parchment

​​Oriental (Arabic) and Occidental paper

​​Disposition of laid and chain lines in Oriental paper

​​Combination of paper and parchment (mixed quiring)

​​

​Chapter IV:

​Quiring

​Chapter V:

​Marking the sequence of quires, bifolia or folios in the codex

​​Catchwords and counter catchwords

​​Signatures

​​Marking the central opening of the quire

​​

​Chapter VI:

​The scaffolding of copying – the architectural disposition of the copied text and its techniques

​​Pricking

​​Ruling

​​Relief ruling

​​Blind ruling by boards or templates

​​Coloured ruling Plummet, engraving plummet and ink)

​​

​Chapter VII:

​Line management and its impact on the copying pace and the comfort of reading

​​Line justification which does not interfere with the integrity of last words

​​Line justification which breaks up last words

​​

​Chapter VIII:

​Legibility of the text, transparency of its structure and the graphic hierarchy of its layers

​​

​Chapter IX:

​The affinity between the copying of the text and its decoration, illumination and illustration

​​

​Chapter X:

​Bibliographical, codicological and palaeographical units and methods for distinguishing between hands

​​

​Chapter XI:

​Hebrew palaeography: Modes of medieval book-script, their diffusion and function, script types and their evolution

​​​Branches of Hebrew script

​​The three-operation mode of the Hebrew script structure

​​Script types and their modes

​​​Scripts in the Islamic zones

​​Scripts in the Western Christianity zones

​​The Byzantine branch

​​

​Chapter XII:

​Selected specimens of cursive scripts with annotated transcription

​

​Chapter XIII:

​The textual aspect: Deliberate intervention in the transmission and unconscious corruption

​​Publication of texts in the Middle Ages

​Personal production and its impact on the transmission: the scholarly copying books as against the duplication of texts by hired scribes

​​The implications on textual criticism and on the editing of texts

​

​Afterword

​Reflections on the mystery of the uniformity of Hebrew book craft in each of the geo-cultural entities and on the extent of affinity to the host tradition

​​The evolution of manuscript book production – progression or regression?

Source: APILIST

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