From a review of Lionel Casson's Libraries in the Ancient World the author provides some statistics regarding the appearance of codices and the transition in the ancient world from the technology of rolls to the technology of codices. The following statistics (which exclude Christian literature) are cited:
Greek literary & scientific works:
http://mountainman.com.au/essenes/Libra ... Casson.htm
- 1st & 2nd Century CE: a total of 1,330 with 18 (1.5%) being codices [15 Papyrus; 3 Parchment] - the rest on Rolls.
- 3rd century the percentage of codices rises to 17%.
- Around 300 CE the percentage of codices is 50%.
- Around 400 CE the percentage of codices is 80%
- By 500 CE the percentage of codices has risen to 90%
http://mountainman.com.au/essenes/Libra ... Casson.htm
See also:
What Do We Mean By “Codex”?
Brent Nongbri
P.Hib. 113, the papyrus kept at Graz that has recently been proposed as being the earliest surviving remains of a codex, continues to be in the news. I made a brief post about it some days ago, and in the comments to that post, David Kelsey raised an interesting question:
This is a good observation and really boils down to this: What do we mean by the term “codex”? Is it something more than a series of leaves linked together in some fashion? I tend to think of the codex as an example of a kind of technology, so it is indeed these physical characteristics that are most interesting to me. I would answer David’s question affirmatively. What he describes, a stack of three sheets folded together and stitched through the middle, is a small, single-quire codex.
https://brentnongbri.com/2023/07/03/wha ... -by-codex/
Brent Nongbri
P.Hib. 113, the papyrus kept at Graz that has recently been proposed as being the earliest surviving remains of a codex, continues to be in the news. I made a brief post about it some days ago, and in the comments to that post, David Kelsey raised an interesting question:
- “If I were to take three sheaths of paper, fold them in the middle and insert inside each other to form a quire, then stitch the sections together, as a finished product I essentially have a booklet. But is this a codex? At what point does folded sheets gathered become a codex? Could this papyrus from Graz University be the front page of a booklet only and can it is so proved to have other associated pages written on both side be an actual codex?”
This is a good observation and really boils down to this: What do we mean by the term “codex”? Is it something more than a series of leaves linked together in some fashion? I tend to think of the codex as an example of a kind of technology, so it is indeed these physical characteristics that are most interesting to me. I would answer David’s question affirmatively. What he describes, a stack of three sheets folded together and stitched through the middle, is a small, single-quire codex.
https://brentnongbri.com/2023/07/03/wha ... -by-codex/
Statistics: Posted by Leucius Charinus — Thu Jun 06, 2024 6:18 pm