Codicology
/ˌkoʊdɪˈkɑːlədʒi/noun
The study of manuscripts as physical objects, including their structure, materials, and history.
Did you know?Codicology is a modern scholarly term built from Greek roots for “book” and “study,” and it reveals how manuscripts can be investigated like artifacts, not just read as texts.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
codex
“A block of wood; later, a bound book or tablet book”
Ancient Greek
Greek
kódex
“Originally a tree trunk or block of wood; later associated with a book made of wooden tablets”
Greek
Greek
-logia
“Study of; discourse about”
19th Century
French/Scholarly Latin
codicologie
“The study of manuscripts as physical objects”
Modern English
English
codicology
“The scholarly study of manuscripts as material artifacts”