Combinations of Letters - Letters within Letters

This term refers to intricate scribal practices in manuscript writing, which involve the rearrangement, dilation, contraction, anticipation, and insertion of letters within words. It also includes the use of graphic fillers and markings to separate fused words or emphasize certain terms. These techniques enhance the legibility and efficiency of the text, while also contributing to its unique character.

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Subject - Bible

This term indicates that the main focus or subject matter of the text is the Bible. It involves the exploration of the Bible's content, historical context, interpretation, and its significance in religious and scholarly studies.

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The Bible is the Text Itself

This phrase emphasizes that the Bible, beyond being a vessel for divine words, is an integral part of the message it conveys. It reflects the physical form of the Bible, the design, the production practices, and the various elements it contains, all of which contribute to its overall meaning and interpretation.

Writing Pad

A writing pad refers to a collection of tools used by medieval scribes for manuscript copying. This includes a ruler, plummet, and awl for pricking, to ensure uniform lines and regular copying. Tools may vary based on personal preference. Techniques such as letter size alteration are used for line integrity.

Watermarks

A watermark is a distinctive mark embedded in paper during its production, often used to identify the paper's manufacturer. In the context of historical manuscripts, watermarks can provide valuable information about the paper's origin and the manuscript's provenance.

Writing Medium: Lined Paper

Lined paper refers to paper that has been pre-printed with lines to guide handwriting. In the context of historical manuscripts, it is indicated by the presence of hard point ruling on each folio, suggesting that the ruling was guided by a ruling board. This practice is found in many paper manuscripts, including those mixed with parchment. The lack of guiding prickings suggests that the lines were often ruled with a ruling board. This method was commonly used in the production of manuscripts, providing a consistent and organized appearance to the written text.

Contrast Begins on the Side: Hair

This refers to the manuscript creation process where each opening shows the coarse, scraped hair side of the parchment facing another hair side, and alternately, the smoother, lighter flesh sides facing each other. This arrangement creates a noticeable contrast between the alternating openings.

Smugglers:- Smugglers are Invisible

This refers to scribes who subtly incorporated their names or marks into the manuscripts they copied in a way that's hard to notice, thus 'smuggling' their identities into the work.

Writing Medium: Parchment and Paper

The writing medium refers to the surface used for writing in a manuscript. In medieval Hebrew codices, parchment (made from animal skins) and paper (made from linen rags or cotton) were primarily used. Some manuscripts used a combination of both, known as mixed quiring. A quire catchword is a word at the end of a quire (a group of pages) that repeats the first word of the next quire. Occidental paper is characterized by watermarks. The choice of writing medium greatly influenced the appearance and production of manuscripts.

Contrast Begins on the Side: Flesh

This passage discusses the arrangement of manuscript pages or folios in historical texts. The "hair" and "flesh" sides refer to the two sides of a parchment, with the hair side being where the animal's hair was before removal, and the flesh side being the side attached to the animal's flesh. The arrangement and marking of these pages were done meticulously for optimal readability and presentation.

Lines: Visible Lines

"Lines: Visible lines" refers to the guiding lines or rulings on a manuscript page used for maintaining straight and even lines of text. Laid lines and chain lines are types of lines seen in certain papers. The hair and flesh sides of parchment, differing in texture and color, were also crucial in manuscript arrangement.

Writing Medium: Parchment

Parchment is a durable writing medium made from processed animal skin, typically from calves, goats, or sheep. Used primarily in the Middle Ages for creating codices, its appearance and processing techniques varied across regions. The "Oriental type" parchment, used in the Middle East, is noted for its smooth, glossy surfaces and similar-looking sides.

Smugglers: Individual Smugglers

Smugglers, in this context, refers to individuals who, through migration, 'smuggle' their cultural, intellectual and economic backgrounds into new areas, leading to a blending of script types and cultures. They continue to use their original scripts in their new locations, influencing the local manuscript production.

Splitting or Fissile: 2 Layers

"Splitting or Fissile" in this context refers to the ability of a material, specifically parchment, to be split into thin layers. Parchment is made from animal skin, typically from sheep, goats, or cows. The skin is treated, stretched, and dried to create a strong and durable writing material. One of the unique properties of parchment is that it can be split or divided into thinner layers, a characteristic that is referred to as 'fissile'. This property is particularly useful in bookbinding and manuscript production.

Ink Color

Ink color in the context of the provided text refers to the color of the ink used for writing on parchment in medieval manuscripts. The ink was used along with a calamus (a type of writing instrument) for writing and decorating the parchment.

Measures for Maintaining the Order of the Codex

Measures for maintaining the order of the codex refer to techniques used in medieval manuscript production to enhance readability and comprehension. These include the use of graphic markings and signs, emphasis on initial words and headings, addition of a table of contents, examination of codex's formation, and ruling of horizontal and vertical lines for the written space.

Running Title and Mid-Contrast Keynote

A Running title is typically a repetitive header that appears on each page of a document, book, or manuscript. It usually contains the title of the work or the chapter title. A Mid-contrast keynote is not a standard term in manuscript studies or codicology and it does not appear in the provided text. It may refer to a specific type of annotation or marking technique used in the manuscript, but without further context or explanation, its exact meaning remains unclear.

Page Saver: Italic

"Page Saver: Italic" refers to a manuscript writing technique where words that might exceed the margin are written in a slanted or italic style to save space and maintain the margin boundary line. This method was common in non-biblical Middle Eastern manuscripts.

Means for Preserving the Sequence of the Codex (General)

Means for preserving the sequence of the codex (general) refers to various methods used by scribes to ensure the correct binding and order of the pages in a codex. These methods include catchword methods and numbering methods. These were crucial for the production of manuscripts, especially before the development of indexing and tables of contents.

Maintains Contrast: Balanced

Maintains contrast - balanced refers to the methodical and consistent arrangement of parchment bifolia in manuscript production, where hair side faces hair side and flesh side faces flesh side. This practice results in each opening of the manuscript showing identical sides, either hair or flesh, in an alternating order. This arrangement not only maintains the contrast between the different textures or hues of the parchment sides but also helps to balance the curvature of the parchment, resulting in a tight block when the manuscript is closed or opened and leafed through.

Keeping the Order of the Codex: Page/Sheet Keepers

Keeping the order of the codex: page/sheet keepers refers to the use of various methods in manuscript production to ensure the correct sequence of the manuscript units (quires) and their building blocks (bifolia). These methods include quire catchwords and bifolium catchwords.

Counting Counters: In the Head

"Counting counters: in the head" refers to a method used in manuscript records, particularly common in France and Germany during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. This method involves the use of anticipated letters, many of which are followed by a graphic filler. This device, while facilitating the copying process, could potentially hinder reading fluency and confuse the reader.

Keeping the Codex Orderly: Keepers of Contras

"Keeping the Codex Orderly: Keepers of Contras" refers to the use of catchwords and counter-catchwords in manuscript records to maintain the order of the text.

Line Pagination

Line pagination refers to the method of splitting a word at the end of a line and continuing it on the next line. This is a common technique used in various types of manuscripts for line justification.

Additional Information

In addition to line pagination, the text also mentions other methods used by scribes for various purposes. These include dilation of letters, graphic fillers, lexitomy, transposition of letters within a word or transposition of words, insertion of elided words, separation of fused words, and row management: prevention of deviation: spacing and crowding.

Graphic Fill: At the End of the Line

Graphic fill refers to a method used by scribes to maintain the visual integrity of the text. When a word at the end of a line is too long to fit within the set margin, the scribe would bisect the word and use a graphic mark, usually a slant, to indicate the bisection. The remaining part of the word would then be completed at the start of the next line.

The Beginning of the Next Word: With a Sign

The beginning of the next word with a sign refers to a method used by scribes when a word at the end of a line was too long to fit within the set margin. The scribe would bisect the word, write the first part at the end of the current line, and then start the next line with the remaining part of the word. A sign, often a slant, was used to indicate this bisection.

Line Management: Line Filling

Line management, specifically line filling, refers to the various strategies employed by scribes to maintain the integrity of the text while ensuring that each line of text is filled to the margin. This involves careful planning, foresight, and sometimes quick calculations to ensure that the text fits neatly within the given space.

Line Filling (General) Exception or Its Prevention: Yes

"Line filling (general) exception or its prevention:- Yes" refers to the various strategies used by scribes in the text to manage the alignment of text lines in a manuscript. These strategies include dilating or constricting the last letters, reducing the size of letters liable to exceed the margin, and avoiding the dismemberment of words at the end of a line.

Row Management: Alignment and Deviation

"Row management: alignment and deviation" refers to the techniques used by scribes in manuscripts to maintain the alignment of text and manage deviations from the margin.

Perforation to Guide the Drawing of the Line

"Perforation to guide the drawing of the line" refers to the practice of making small pricks or holes (perforations) in the margins of the manuscript pages. These perforations served as a guide for scribes to draw straight and evenly spaced lines for the text.

A Pair of Perforations for Drawing the Full Width of the Page

"A pair of perforations for drawing the full width of the page" refers to two closely spaced prickings (small holes) made in the manuscript. These prickings mark where through-lines should be drawn across the entire width of the page, serving as structural axes for the ruling grid.

Drawing in Engraving

Drawing in engraving refers to the process of creating an image or design by cutting, scratching, or etching into a surface. In the context of manuscripts and books, it could potentially refer to the process of creating images or designs on the pages or covers of the books.

Sheet Sheet: Spread Out

This term refers to the process of preparing parchment or paper sheets for manuscript production. The sheets are produced from entire skins of animals like calves, sheep, or goats, or from mould-made paper. These sheets are then folded and cut into bifolia according to the required size of the manuscript that is being produced.

Decorations

Decorations refer to the embellishments or artistic elements added to the manuscripts. These could include intricate designs, illustrations, or ornate lettering. They can enhance the visual appeal of the manuscript and often hold significant cultural or religious symbolism.

Opening Boxes or Titles: Yes

Opening boxes or titles refers to the practice of marking the beginning of a new section, chapter, or important part within a manuscript. This could be done through the use of different colored ink, special symbols, ornate lettering, or distinct formatting.

Outline or Template (Format) – Other

"Outline or template (format) - other" refers to the unique and individualized methods used by scribes in the creation of manuscripts. This includes the use of graphic fillers, dilation or contraction of letters, anticipation of letters, and writing exceeding letters at a distance from the margins.

The Bottom Line: Not Inside the Frame

"The bottom line: not inside the frame" refers to the additional line added at the bottom of the ruling in manuscripts. This was done because Hebrew writing, like Greek and later Arabic writing, suspends downward from the ruled line. This additional line framed the written area on all sides.

The Language of the Text

"Language of the text" in this context refers to the specific script, style, and linguistic features used in the manuscript being discussed. It can include aspects such as the type of script (e.g., Hebrew, Latin), the use of decorations or illustrations, the arrangement of text on the page, and other codicological features.