The Structure of a Medieval Manuscript

For more than a thousand years all manuscripts were written and illustrated by hand. By the Middle Ages, books were being made by folding sheets of parchment, arranging them into gatherings, and assembling and binding them together. This animation from the Getty Museum illustrates how medieval books were constructed--a feat of engineering that remains essentially the same today.
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Related exhibition:
bit.ly/RsXNP
#manuscripts #gettymanuscripts #gettymuseum

[@Bidmartinlo]

It's funny to think, how the Medieval and Renaissance world had shaped modern history in more ways than some would like to believe.

[@CatherineSTodd]

The magic of the mind and imagination combined with mathematicians, engineers and artisans continues to amaze. These books are fabulous and beautiful. I hope I can create one some day.

[@boxersailor]

Parchment is sheep skin, but vellum is calf skin (derived from same word as veal). The press on the printing press was too forceful, and sometimes the pages couldn't be double-sided because the first side would show through. A codex is a volume bound with a cover (in the video). Encyclopediae, dictionaries, stories, and text books are all codices. A book can be written on a scroll, so the word codex and book are not interchangeable. Some books are written on a codex, some codices are books.

[@Diamondraw4Real]

What else is a codex used for if not books? Or do you mean some codices are still empty?

[@user-de3xr8le6b]

Well, a notebook consists of sheets bound with a cover, but it's pages are blank at first, so it's a codex, but not a book, it's an empty codex. But if someone writes a story in it, then it becomes a book. Codex is just a type of medium for writing or printing, and as such exists even now, but the thing is now everyone calls codices just books, even if they are blank, as notebooks are at first. Does that help?

[@bbettybutcher5]

Why am I digging those 14 years oldies but goodies videos? 😂

[@gettymuseum]

@zxbee You're welcome. Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@unknownegg955]

U WILL BE HAPPY BECAUSE AFTER 12 YEARS WE COMMENT ON THIS VIDEO 😭😭 THANKS FOR PRESERVING HISTORY

[@deniaridley]

You're so right. And now after 14 years!

[@josemoody1743]

probably most of them are dead 😮

[@TechMore887]

Very useful and important content, highly appreciated.

[@DavidWayne81]

a point of clarification parchment does not specify an animal of source, vellum is specifically from bovines (not necessarily young)

[@EyeLean5280]

For more than a thousand years? I'd say for over two thousand years. One could even say for over three thousand years.

[@Semper_Iratus]

Thank you for this content.

[@Sirchud68]

I love books!!!

[@TheCodexCalixtinus]

Thank you for this source.

[@Lucky-zu4mc]

What a great video! Thank you very much for sharing! God bless you!

[@yeye01189329]

Lucky 😇

[@CatherineSTodd]

Dave, no need to be so rude. I have heard the term "signatures" used myself. Thomas, I am apologizing for Dave's boorish behavior as I don't believe he will. This surely does not belong on such an interesting and educational video. Thanks to the Getty museum for posting them.

[@CatherineSTodd]

J. Paul Getty Museum, who has created your wonderful and informative videos? They are some of the best I've seen.

[@Themaneatingpuppies]

great animation

[@zethron1173]

Very well.put together

[@evanmcgee2054]

I want more of this but in a hour long video

[@gettymuseum]

@lorenzofraga Thank you!

[@JeandePierre]

They are only referred to as "signatures" in the printed-book world, not manuscripts. With MSS, "signatures" means something different.

[@MyNameIsKneoReal]

Nice

[@sus.4319]

nice

[@timothyfreeman97]

Sancte Catherine, Ora pro nobis ✝️🇻🇦🕊

[@meenghosh245]

The people had great artistic sence

[@a_d_creations2369]

Woah this video was 12 years ago?

[@Isaac-gh5ku]

I wonder if these medieval scribers are paid well given how laborous and time-consuming making a book are.

[@homerbenadryl4859]

book pages didnt exist until the printing press

[@boxersailor]

Hmm, thanks.

[@YoureSpotOnWithThat]

Dear Getty,
Thanks for posting.
.
1:34 "But if a book is not bound its folios can seem out of order"
.
The whole idea of a book, or authoritative record of an event is to reduce ignorance and confusion in the reader or the community.
.
Before recoding events folk had to rely on witness or hearsay.
.
"its folios can seem out of order"
Would not have been detected by any reader in those days; connecting one text idea with another is sophisticated, beyond most readers.
.
Cheers.
from,
del-boy.

[@ajaysivaramakrishnan7283]

1/9798

[@elijahcota2408]

Wtf

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