• Section I

» Ancient writing materials

• 1) PSI XIII 1300
• 2) PSI III 275
• 3) PSI III 276
• 4) PSI III 277
• 5) PSI IX 1027
• 6) PL III/973
• 7) PSI I 28

» The roll

• 8) PSI I 103
• 9) PSI V 514
• 10) PSI IV 361
• 11) PSI IV 422
• 12) PSI IV 428
• 13) P. Flor. II 148
• 14) P. Flor. I 93
• 15) PSI XII 1266
• 16) PSI X 1197

» The codex

• 17) P. Flor. I.71
• 18) PSI X 1164
• 19) PSI XIV 1371
• 20) PSI XI 1182

» Codex formats

• 21) Plut. 4.31
• 22) Acquisti e Doni 153
• 23) Edili 182
• 24) Plut. 2.16

» Scrolls outside Egypt

• 25) Acquisti e Doni 801
• 26) Acquisti e Doni 821
• 39) Acquisti e Doni 777
• 40) Acquisti e Doni 794

•  Section II

» Manuscript production

» Parchment and paper

» Scripts

• 27) San Marco 257
• 28) Pluteo 74.7
• 29. Pluteo 82.1
• 30. Ashburnham 125
• 31. Pluteo 5 sin.6
• 32. Pluteo 90 sup.125
• 33. Pluteo 33.31
• 34. Pluteo 46.12
• 37. Redi 28
• 38. Orientale 11

» Format and funcyion. The Bible

• 35. Edili 125
• 36. Pluteo 3, capsula I

» Bibliografia

» Credits

• Format and function: the Bible

The Bible, which contains the sacred texts of the Jewish and Christian tradition, is the quintessential ‘book’ and offers a perfect example of the interaction between format and function in a manuscript codex.
Biblical texts could be read for liturgical purposes in a community setting or for devotional purposes in private; they could also be studied individually or in the classroom. Each of these functions corresponds to a specific format: larger sizes for books to be displayed to the faithful or used in public functions, and smaller, more manageable formats for manuscripts intended for prayer and individual consultation.
The two items shown here—an enormous Bible from Florence Cathedral and a small portable one that has traditionally been linked with Marco Polo (1254-1324) or a traveller who went to China in the 13th-14th century—are extremely different in both size and function.
In the first case (no. 35) the Bible is a monumental tome that once belonged to a religious community. It is presented as an instrument of propaganda reflecting the impetus towards moral renewal promoted by the Church between the mid-11th and mid-12th centuries. Uncoincidentally, this book model originated in Rome.
In the second case (no. 36) the manuscript on display is a typical ‘pocket’ Bible, a model devised at the University of Paris in the early 13th century to meet the needs of teachers, students and preachers for personal copies of the scriptures to consult, peruse and carry about handily.

» Go up