Hebrew Codicology: An Introduction

Abstract

The codex or so-called manuscript book, the precursor to the printed book, thrived in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The task of the codicologist is to analyze and describe the physical features סf the codex, or in the words סf Professor Malachi Beit-Arie, Director of the Hebrew Paleography Project at the Jewish National University Library in Jerusalem, to conduct an "archaeological examination" of a codex so that it may be correctly localized and dated. This paper explains and illustrates the most prominent features of Hebrew codicology.