Codicology

Teacher(s)

Bertrand Paul;

Language

French

Prerequisites

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Main themes

The first part of the course is theoretical : it involves the examination of different stages in the composition of a code : written supports - composition of copy-books - folding the leaves - page setting - stitching and ruling - transcription methods - the copyist 's working tools- decoration and binding. Thus the course is more interested in the study of the container than the contents. With the help of facsimiles, we shall try to show the particularities a researcher may encounter in a codex while doing a codicological description. The course seeks to show the links existing between the material stages in the fabrication of a manuscript and the transmission of the texts conserved therein : the manuscript is by its essence the cultural witness to its epoch. The second part of the course is practical. Each student is asked to describe a manuscript of his choosing and to put the theoretical information that was presented during the first part of the course to work.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

By the end of instruction, students should be able to : - understand the codex as an archeological witness to our cultural past; - reconstitute the various stages in the composition of a medieval book; - point out the material indices helping us find a manuscript's origin and sometimes date it.

Content

Codicology is the historical discipline that studies the archaeology of the written document: it examines its form, its support, its treatment, its writing, its layout and formatting, its binding, its conservation... The Middle Ages remain the reference period from which lessons are given, but the modern and contemporary periods can be considered for evaluative work.  Both archival documents and literary manuscripts are considered. Some lessons may take place in a manuscript library or archive repository.

Evaluation methods

The assessment will consist of a written codicological description of a document, analyzed from a literary or historical perspective OR another form of continuous assessment OR oral examination

Online resources

Course documentation and information will be available on Moodle.

Faculty or entity

> EHAC