codex Manesse Ulrich von Singenberg between the second century and fourth century, the codex had replaced the scroll. instead of a long continuous roll, a codex is a collection of sheets attached at the back.
advantages: 1. random access over sequential access, 2. codex is compact, its pages can be written on both sides. 3. a codex could hold twice as much text as a scroll.
the codex is equally easy to rest on a table, which permits the reader to take notes while he or she is reading.
the codex form improved with the separation of words, capital letters, and punctuation, which permitted silent reading!
tables of contents and indices facilitated direct access to information. this form was so effective that it is still the standard book form, over 1500 years after its appearance. then paper would progressively replace parchment.
cheaper to produce, it allowed a greater diffusion of books.
one peculiar code is the codex gigas or the "book of the mad monk".
in the year 1200 or so, a highly devout christian magi known as "Herman the Recluse" vowed to produce the greatest book ever written. from that time on Hermannus Heremitus locked himself away for nearly every waking hour of life in the Benedictine monastery of Podlazice toiling over the construction of the Codex Gigas.
this was all part of an elaborate self-appointed, but church sanctioned and funded, quest toward enlightenment that led to decades of devotional dedication on the part of a medieval super scribe. when he wasn’t attending worship services or performing his regular monastic duties, the insanely pious Mad Monk of the Black Order worked tirelessly on the Big Book, each and every day (except sunday of course).
this work is such a feat that the calligraphy alone would lead to
deep meditative states that gave him profound visions and revelations.
he could get lost in a painting for two or three days straight, and that was just one of many illustrations in the Codex Gigas.
here's another bizarre codex, just published by rizzoli.
Like a guide to an alien world, Codex Seraphinianus is 300 pages of descriptions and explanations for an imaginary existence, all in its own unique (and unreadable) alphabet, complete with thousands of drawings and graphs. Issued for the first time in 1981 by publisher Franco Maria Ricci, it has been a collector’s favorite for years, before witnessing a sudden rise in popularity thanks to a growing fandom on the Internet.