CODICOLOGY

The cours aims to give students the basic knowledge for the study of medieval and modern manuscripts. Learnig objectives: basic knowledge of the material, historical and cultural aspects of manuscripts, basic principles of manuscript cataloguing.

By the end of the course, the student will have acquired knowledge and understanding of the fundamental material aspects of the Western manuscript, the main historical and cultural dynamics that have characterised its historical development and changes, and the bibliographical tools and methodology of analysis proper to the discipline;
ability to apply knowledge and understanding to the recognition of the different material aspects of the manuscript; to the reading of descriptive catalogues;
ability to make autonomous judgements in the evaluation of catalogue entries;
ability in the written and oral restitution of the main phenomena characterising the history of books between the ancient and medieval ages.

No prior knowledge is required, but philological and/or historical skills can help.

The course aims to provide an introduction to the history of the book in codex form between the Classical Greco-Roman age and the Humanistic age by studying its material aspects in relation to the history of written culture
Contents:
forms of the book from the scroll to the codex
material of the support (papyrus, parchment, paper);
preparation and construction of the codex (preparation of fascicles)
page preparation and text copying;
writing instruments and inks;
the scribe at work (subdivision and organisation of the copy);
codex structure in relation to the text (unitary, miscellaneous, complex codices);
notions of catalographic description.

Mandatory:
The materials discussed in class will be reviewed and deposited in the Moodle platform at the end of each lesson and collected in a special folder.
M. Maniaci, Breve storia del libro manoscritto, Roma, Carocci, 2019
A. Petrucci, Dal manoscritto antico al manoscritto moderno, in A. Petrucci, Letteratura italiana. Una storia attraverso la scrittura, Roma, Carocci, 2017, pp. 111-126.

For specific aspects see M. Maniaci, Terminologia del libro manoscritto, Roma-Milano, Editrice Bibliografica, 1996 (available online: https://www.academia.edu/2583583/M_Maniaci_Terminologia_del_libro_manoscritto ). For general aspects is recommended: M.L. Agati, Il libro manoscritto da oriente a occidente. Per una codicologia comparata, Roma, L'Erma di Bretschneider, 2009, pp. 29-215; as an orientation, M. Maniaci, Breve storia del libro manoscritto, Roma, Carocci editore, 2019, can be useful.

Instead of the course taught by the lecturer and the materials discussed in class, together with the above-mentioned texts, students belonging to the categories envisaged by the Career Rules (link https://www.unive.it/pag/42819/ ) and certified, will be able to make use of teaching materials dedicated to them and uploaded onto the course's Moodle platform, which will be discussed during the examination.

The verification of learning takes place by means of a written test. The written test consists of a 15-question questionnaire on the topics of the examination texts and the topics covered in the lecture. For non-attending students, the questions will also cover the supplementary text.
Books, notes and electronic media may not be used during the written examination.
The examination will be evaluated according to the following parameters:
the student's ability to convey the knowledge acquired in a personal and critical manner, demonstrating the use of language appropriate to the subject matter and the mastery of the expressive medium will be evaluated with marks ranging from excellent to good (30L-26); a mnemonic knowledge of the subject matter, together with the ability to synthesise and analyse articulated in a correct but not always appropriate language, will lead to fair marks (25-23); formative gaps and/or inappropriate language - albeit in a context of minimal knowledge of the examination material - will lead to marks that do not exceed sufficiency (22-18); formative gaps, inappropriate language, lack of orientation within the bibliographical materials offered during the course will be assessed negatively.

Lectures will be conducted in presence, with the aid of power point and internet connection for access to digital collections. Visits to libraries for practical lessons on manuscripts are planned.

Italian

Attendance is strongly recommanded.

written