Codicology is the study of a codex, an older handwritten book. It is closely related to palaeography, the study of handwriting in older manuscripts, and to philology, the study of language and culture in older texts. All three originated in Classical Latin and Greek studies, but later extended to the Medieval studies, and then to manuscripts and books from other pre-modern cultures and time periods. first page of the Codex Argenteus A codex (Latin for book; plural codices) is a handwritten book from late Antiquity or the Early Middle Ages. ... Palaeography (British) or paleography (American) (from the Greek palaiós, old and graphein, to write) is the study of ancient and medieval manuscripts, independent of the language (Koine Greek, Classical Latin, Medieval Latin, Old English, etc. ... Philology is the study of ancient texts and languages. ... The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000-5,500 years, with cuneiform possibly being the oldest form of writing. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ...

Codicology concerns itself chiefly with the book as a physical object, and has therefore been referred to as 'the archaeology of the book'. The various methods in which a book is put together, and the skills needed at each stage of this process, are the most obvious provinces of codicology: but the study of the book also involves the materials used to make the book: papyrus, membrane, paper and so on, as well as the technology of the quill pen and of ink. Marginalia and glosses, including ownership inscriptions, can be informative. The decoration inside the book (illuminated initials, miniatures, carpet pages) as well as the binding and the decoration of the cover are integral to codicological study. Papyrus plant Cyperus papyrus at Kew Gardens, London Papyrus is an early form of paper made from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that grows to 5 meters (15 ft) in height and was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt. ... It has been suggested that Net flux be merged into this article or section. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... A quill pen is made from a flight feather (preferably a primary) of a large bird, most often a goose. ... An ink is a liquid containing various pigments and/or dyes used for colouring a surface to render an image or text. ... Marginalia is the general term for notes, scribbles, doodles and editorial comments made in the margin of a book. ... Alternative meaning: Initial (linguistics) Detail from a rare Blackletter Bible (1497) printed in Strassburg by J.R.Grueninger. ... 15mm British Camel Corps and Heliograph Team from Peter Pig A miniature figure -- also known as a miniature or just a mini -- is a small figurine commonly used in role playing games (RPGs) such as Dungeons & Dragons. ...

Apart from the ways in which it can aid palaeographers, codicology is usually seen as a branch of cultural history. By a close examination of the physical attributes of a book, it is possible to establish the history and provenance of a book. By extension, codicologists also study the history of libraries and of book-cataloguing. Cultural history, at least in its common definition since the 1970s, often combines the approaches of anthropology and history to look at popular cultural traditions and cultural interpretations of historical experience. ...