The Archaeology of the Armenian Manuscript: Codicology, Paleography, and Beyond

The term archaeology of the book has become a catch phrase to describe the study of manuscripts as physical objects independent of their texts. It encompasses a number of sub-disciplines: codicology, paleography, binding technique, but also writing surface and method of illustration. Codicology includes ruling, the number of text columns, quire size, recalls (custodes), aspects of parchment and paper. A masterlist of Armenian manuscripts, a project initiated by Michael Stone and Bernard Coulie, waits to be completed, but even more pressing is the continued publication of the Master Catalogue of the Matenadaran collection. The early history of the Armenian codex, that is the manuscript with folded pages, is obscure and may remain so. The codex triumphed over roll in the fourth century. Therefore, it is likely that when Mastocʿ devised an alphabet in the fifth century, Armenians used the codex right from the start without a transition from the roll. Keywords: archaeology; Armenian manuscripts; Bernard Coulie; codex; codicology; Mastocʿ; Matenadaran collection; method of illustration; Michael Stone; paleography