MANUSCRIPT

manuscript, a term applied to any document written by the human hand (lat. _manu scriptum_) with the aid of pen, pencil or other instrument which can be used with cursive facility, as distinguished from an inscription engraved with chisel or graver, worked laboriously. by usage the word has come to be employed in a special sense to indicate a written work of the ancient world or of the middle ages; collections of such "ancient manuscripts" being highly prized and being stored for preservation in public libraries. down to the time of the invention of printing, and until the printed book had driven it out of the field, the manuscript was the vehicle for the conservation and dissemination of literature, and discharged all the functions of the modern book. in the present article a description is given of the development of the ancient manuscript, particularly among the greeks and romans, leading on to the medieval manuscripts of europe, and bringing down the history of the latter to the invention of printing; the history of the printed volume is dealt with in the article book (q.v.). _materials._--the handbooks on palaeography describe in full the different materials which have been employed from remote time to receive writing, and may be referred to for minuter details. to dispose, in the first place, of the harder materials that have been put under requisition, we find metals both referred to by writers and actually represented by surviving examples. thin leaves of gold or silver were recommended for the inscription of charms in particular. leaden plates were in common use for incantations; the material was cheap and was supposed to be durable. on such plates were scratched the _dirae_ or solemn devotions of obnoxious persons to the infernal deities; many examples have survived. as an instance of the use of soft substance afterwards hardened may be cited the practice by the babylonians and assyrians of writing, or rather of puncturing, their cuneiform characters on clay tablets while moist, which were afterwards dried in the heat of the sun or baked in the oven. potsherds, or _ostraka_, were employed for all kinds of temporary purposes. thousands of them have been found in egypt inscribed with tax receipts and ephemeral drafts and memoranda, children's dictation lessons, &c. analogous to the clay documents of western asia are the tablets coated with wax in vogue among the greeks and romans, offering a surface not to be inscribed with the pen but to be scratched with the sharp pointed _stilus_. these will be described more fully below. with them we class the wooden boards, generally whitened with a coating of paint or composition and adapted for the pen, which were common in egypt, and were specially used for educational purposes. such boards were also employed for official notices in athens in the 4th century b.c. of the more pliant, and therefore generally more convenient, substances there were many, such as animal skins and vegetable growths. practically we might confine our attention to three of them: papyrus, parchment or vellum, and paper, the employment of which, each in turn, as a writing material became almost universal. but there are also others which must be mentioned. in a primitive state of society leaves of plants and trees strong enough for the purpose might be taken as a ready-made material to receive writing. palm leaves are used for this purpose to the present day in parts of india; and the references in classical authors to leaves as early writing material among the greeks and romans cannot be dismissed as entirely fanciful. the bark of trees, and particularly the inner bark of the lime-tree, [greek: philyra,] _tilia_, was employed. the fact that the latin word _liber_, bark, eventually meant also a book, would be sufficient proof that that material was once in common literary use, even if it were not referred to by writers. linen, too, was a writing material among the early romans, as it was also among the etruscans, and as it had been to some extent among the egyptians. skins of animals, tanned, have doubtless served as a writing material from the very earliest period of the use of letters. the egyptians occasionally employed this material. instances of the use of leather in western asia are recorded by ancient authors, and from herodotus we learn that the ionian greeks applied to the rolls of the later-imported papyrus the title [greek: diphtherai], skins, by which they had designated their writing material of leather. the jews, also, to the present day hold to the ancient eastern custom and inscribe the law upon skin rolls. but generally these materials were superseded in the old world by the famous egyptian writing material manufactured from the papyrus plant, which gradually passed beyond the boundaries of its native land and was imported at a remote period into other countries. into greece and into rome it was introduced at so early a time that practically it was the vehicle for classical literature throughout its course. a description of the manufacture and use of this material will be found under papyrus. here it need only be noted that papyrus is associated in greek and roman literature with the roll form of the ancient manuscript, as will be more fully explained below, and that it was the supersession of this material by parchment or vellum which led to the change of shape to the book form. the introduction of the new material, parchment or vellum, was not a revival of the use of animal skins as followed by the old world. the skins were now not tanned into leather, but were prepared by a new process to provide a material, thin, strong, flexible, and smooth of surface on both faces. this improved process was the secret of the success of the new material in ousting the time-honoured papyrus from its high position. the common story, as told by pliny, that eumenes ii. of pergamum (197-158 b.c.), seeking to extend the library of his capital, was opposed by the jealousy of the ptolemies, who forbade the export of papyrus, hoping thus to check the growth of a rival library, and that he was thus compelled to have recourse to skins as a writing material, at all events points to pergamum as the chief centre of trade in the material, [greek: pergamene,] _charta pergamena_. the old terms [greek: diphtherai], _membranae_, applied originally to the older leather, were transferred to the newly improved substance. in describing mss. written on, this material, by common consent the term parchment has in modern times given place to that of vellum, properly applicable only to calfskin, but now generally used in reference to a medieval skin-book of any kind. parchment is a title now usually reserved for the hard sheepskin or other skin material on which law deeds are engrossed. (see parchment.) vellum had a long career as a writing material for the literature of the early centuries of our era and of the middle ages. but in its turn it eventually gave place to paper (q.v.). as early as the 13th century paper, an asiatic invention, was making its way into europe and was adopted in the eastern empire as a material for greek literature side by side with vellum. it soon afterwards began to appear in the countries of southern europe. in the course of the 14th century the use of it became fairly established, and in the middle of the century a number of paper manuscripts were produced along with those on vellum, particularly in italy. finally, in the 15th century paper became the common material for the manuscript book. the new paper, however, made no further change in the form of the manuscript. it possessed exactly the same qualities, as a writing material, as vellum: it could be inscribed on both sides; it could be made up into quires and bound in the codex form; and it had the further advantage of being easily manufactured in large quantities, and therefore of being comparatively cheap. _the forms of the manuscript book._--in describing the development of the manuscript book in the ancient world, and subsequently in the middle ages, we have to deal with it in two forms. the common form of the book of the ancient world was the _roll_, composed of one continuous sheet of material and inscribed only on one side. this form had a long career. in egyptian literature it can be traced back for thousands of years. in greek literature it may he assumed to have been in vogue from the earliest times; actual examples have survived of the latter part of the 4th and beginning of the 3rd centuries b.c. as to its early use in latin literature we cannot speak so definitely; but rome followed the example of greece in letters, and therefore no doubt also in the material shape of literary productions. both in greek and latin literature the roll lasted down to the early centuries of the christian era. it was superseded by the _codex_, the manuscript in book form (in the modern sense of the word book), composed of separate leaves stitched together into quires and made available to receive writing on both sides of the material. this form is still in vogue as the modern printed book, and probably will never be superseded. but the codex in this developed shape was only an evolution from the early waxen tablets of the greeks and romans, two or more of which, hinged together, formed the primitive codex which suggested the later form. therefore it will be necessary to include the description of the tablets with that of the later codex. the roll. the ordinary terms in use among the greeks for a book (that is, a roll) were [greek: biblos] (another form of [greek: bublos], papyrus) and its diminutive [greek: biblion], which included the idea of a written book. the corresponding latin terms were _liber_ and _libellus_; _volumen_ was a rolled-up roll. a roll of material uninscribed was [greek: chartes], _charta_, or [greek: tomos] (originally a _cutting_ of papyrus), applicable also to a roll containing a portion or division of a large work which extended to more than one roll. a work contained within the compass of a single roll was a [greek: monobiblos], or [greek: monobiblon]. the term [greek: teuchos] seems also to have meant a single roll, but it was also applied at a later time to indicate a work contained in several rolls. in writing the text of a work, the scribe might choose to make use of separate sheets of papyrus, [greek: kollemata], _schedae_, and then join them to one another consecutively so as to make up the roll; or he might purchase from the stationers a _scapus_, or ready-made roll of twenty sheets at most; and if this length were not sufficient, he might add other sheets or _scapi_, and thus make a roll of indefinite length. but proverbially a great book was a great evil, and, considering the inconvenience of unrolling a long roll, not only for perusal, but, still more so, for occasional reference, the practice of subdividing lengthy works into divisions of convenient size, adapted to the capacity of moderate-sized rolls, must have come into vogue at a very early period. it was the practice to write on one side only of the papyrus; to write on both front and back of a roll would obviously be a clumsy and irritating method. works intended for the market were never _opisthograph_. of course the blank backs of written rolls which had become obsolete might be turned to account for personal or temporary purposes, as we learn not only from references in classical authors but also from actual examples. the most interesting extant case of an opisthograph papyrus is the copy of aristotle's _constitution of athens_ in the british museum, which is written on the back of a farmer's accounts, of the end of the 1st century--but only for private use. it being the rule, then, to confine the writing to one side of the material, that is, to the inner surface of the made-up roll, that surface was more carefully prepared and smoothed than the other; and, further, the joints of the several sheets were so well made that they offered no obstacle to the action of the pen. still further, care was taken that this, the _recto_ surface of the material, should be that in which the shreds of papyrus of which it was composed lay horizontally, so that the pen might move freely along the fibres; the shreds of the _verso_ side, on the other hand, being in vertical position. this point is of some importance, as, in cases where two different handwritings are found on the two sides of a papyrus, it may be usually assumed that the one on the _recto_ surface is the earlier. the text was written in columns, [greek: selides], _paginae_, the width of which seems not to have been prescribed, but which for calligraphic effect were by preference made narrow, sufficient margins being left at head and foot. the average width of the columns in the best extant papyri ranges from two to three-and-a-half inches. the written lines were parallel with the length of the roll, so that the columns stood, so to say, with the height of the rolled-up roll, and were disclosed consecutively as the roll was unwound. ruling with lead to guide the writing is mentioned by writers, but it does not appear that the practice was generally followed. the number of lines in the several columns of extant papyri is not constant, nor is the marginal boundary of the beginnings of the lines, for the accuracy of which a ruled vertical line would have proved useful, ordinarily kept even. no doubt in practice the horizontal fibres of the material were found to afford a sufficient guide for the lines of writing. if the title of the work was to be given, the scribe appears to have written it ordinarily at the end of the text. but something more was needed. to be obliged to unroll a text to the end, in order to ascertain the name of the author, would be the height of inconvenience. its title was therefore sometimes written at the head of the text. it appears also that at an early period it was inscribed on the outside of the roll, so as to be visible as the roll lay in a chest or on the shelf. but a more general practice was to attach to the top edge of the roll a label or ticket, [greek: sillubos], or [greek: sittubos], _titulus_, _index_, which hung down if the roll lay on the shelf, or was conveniently read if the roll stood along with others in the ordinary cylindrical roll-box, [greek: kiste], [greek: kibotos], _cista_, _capsa_. one such label made of papyrus has survived and is in the british museum. the scribe would not commence his text at the very beginning, nor would he carry it quite down to the end, of the roll. he would leave blank a sufficient length of material at either extremity, where the roll would naturally be most exposed to wear and tear by handling in unrolling and re-rolling; and, further, the extreme vertical edges might each be strengthened by the addition of a strip of papyrus so as to form a double thickness of material. according to the particulars given by classical authors, the roll would be finished off somewhat elaborately; but the details described by them must be taken to apply to the more expensive productions of the book trade, corresponding with the full-bound volumes of our days. in practice, a large proportion of working copies and ordinary editions must have been dealt with more simply. firstly, the roll should be rolled up round a central stick, of wood or bone, called the [greek: omphalos], _umbilicus_, to which the last sheet of the papyrus may or may not have been attached. but as a matter of fact no rolling-sticks have been found in company with extant papyri, and it has therefore been suggested that they were not attached to the material but were rolled in loose, and were therefore liable to drop out. in some instances, as in the rolls found at herculaneum, a central core of papyrus instead of a stick was thought sufficient. the edges, _frontes_, of the roll, after it had been rolled up, were shorn and were rubbed smooth with pumice, and they were sometimes coloured. a valuable roll might be protected with a vellum wrapper, [greek: phainoles], _paenula_, stained with colour; and, further, it might be secured with ornamental thongs. the central stick might also be adorned with knobs or "horns," plain or coloured. this seems to be the natural explanation of the [greek: kerata], or _cornua_, mentioned by the ancient writers. finally, the title-label described above was attached to the completed roll, now ready for the book-market. in the perusal of a work the reader held the roll upright and unrolled it gradually with the right hand; with the left hand he rolled up in the reverse direction what he had read. thus, when he had finished, the roll had become reversed, the beginning of the text being now in the centre of the roll and the end of it being outside. the roll was "explicitus ad umbilicum," or "ad sua cornua." it had therefore now to be unrolled afresh and to be re-rolled into its normal shape--a troublesome process which the lazy man shirked, and which the careful man accomplished by making the revolutions with his two hands while he held the revolving material steady under his chin. although the codex or manuscript in book-form began to make its way in greek and roman literature as early as the 1st century of our era, the roll maintained its position as the recognized type of literary document down to the 3rd, and even into the 4th, century, when it was altogether superseded. we shall proceed to describe the codex after giving some account of the waxen, or, to speak more correctly, the waxed, tablet, its precursor in the book-form. the waxen tablet. the ordinary waxen tablet in use among the greeks and romans was a small oblong slab of wood, beech, fir, and especially box, the surface of which on one or both sides, with the exception of the surrounding margins which were left intact in order to form a frame, was sunk to a slight depth and was therein coated with a thin layer of wax, usually black. the tablet thus presented the appearance of a child's school-slate of the present day. such tablets were single, double, triple, or of several pieces or leaves. in greek they were called [greek: pinax], [greek: pinakis], [greek: deltos], [greek: deltion].: in latin _cera_, _tabula_, _tabella_, &c. two or more put together and held together by rings or thongs acting as hinges formed a _caudex_ or _codex_, literally a stock of wood, which a set of tablets might resemble, and from which they might actually be made by cleaving the wood. a codex of two leaves was called [greek: dithuroi], [greek: diptucha], _diptycha_; of three, [greek: triptucha], _triptycha_: and so on. the triptych appears to have been most generally used. a general term was also _libellus_. tablets served for the ordinary minor affairs of life: for memoranda, literary and other notes and drafts, school exercises, accounts, &c. the writing incised with the stilus could be easily obliterated by smoothing the wax, and the _tabula rasa_ was thus rendered available for a fresh inscription. but tablets were also employed for official purposes, when documents had to be protected from unauthorized scrutiny or from injury. thus they were the receptacles for wills, conveyances, and other legal transactions; and in such cases they were closed against inspection by being bound round with threads which were covered by the witnesses' seals. small tablets, _codicilli_, _pugillares_, often of more valuable material, such as ivory, served for correspondence among other purposes; very small specimens are mentioned as _vitelliani_, for the exchange of love-letters. a certain number of greek waxen tablets have been recovered, chiefly from egypt, but none of them is very early. they are generally of the 3rd century, and are mostly inscribed with school exercises. the largest and most perfect extant codex is one in the british museum (add. ms. 33,270), perhaps of the 3rd century, being made up of nine leaves, measuring nearly 9 by 7 in., and inscribed with documents in shorthand. of latin tablets we are fortunate in having a fairly large number of examples. exclusive of a few isolated specimens, they are the result of two important finds. twenty-four tablets containing the records of a burial club, a.d. 131-167, were recovered between 1786 and 1855 from some ancient mining works in dacia. in 1875 as many as 127 tablets, containing deeds connected with sales by auction and payment of taxes,