কোডেক্স

কোডেক্স (একবচন codex, বহুবচন codices ) ছিল আধুনিক বইয়ের ইতিহাসভুক্ত সর্বপ্রাচীন সংস্করণ। কাগজের পাতায় রচনার পরিবর্তে, এতে ভেলাম, প্যাপিরাস অন্যান্য উপকরণের পাতা ব্যবহার করা হত। "কোডেক্স" শব্দটি প্রাচীন পাণ্ডুলিপি বইয়ের জন্য ব্যবহৃত হত যেগুলোতে হাতের লিখা বিষয়বস্তু ছিল। একটি কোডেক্সকে, অনেকটা আধুনিক বইয়ের মতো, এর পৃষ্ঠাগুলি গাদিয়ে এবং পাতার একপাশ আটকিয়ে আধুনিক পুস্তকবাঁধাইয়ের সাথে সাদৃশ্যপূর্ণ আকারে শতাব্দী ধরে বিভিন্ন পদ্ধতিতে বাঁধাই করা হত। অন্যদিকে আধুনিক বইগুলোকে পেপারব্যাক বা সফটব্যাকে ভাগ করা হয় এবং সেগুলোকে শক্ত বোর্ড দিয়ে আবদ্ধ করা হয়, যাকে বলা হয় হার্ডব্যাক। বিস্তৃত ঐতিহাসিক বাইন্ডিংকে ট্রেজার বাইন্ডিং বলা হয়।
অন্তত পশ্চিমা বিশ্বে, দীর্ঘ নথির জন্য পৃষ্ঠাযুক্ত কোডেক্স বিন্যাসের প্রধান বিকল্প ছিল ক্রমাগত স্ক্রল, যা ছিল প্রাচীন বিশ্বে নথিপত্রের প্রভাবশালী রূপ। কিছু কোডেক্সকে ক্রমাগত একটি কনসার্টিনার মতো ভাঁজ করা হয়, বিশেষ করে মায়া কোডিসিস এবং অ্যাজটেক কোডিসিস, যা হল আসলে কাগজের লম্বা শীট বা প্রাণীর চামড়া পাতায় ভাঁজ করা।
প্রাচীন রোমানেরা মোমের ফলক থেকে কাঠামোটি তৈরি করত। স্ক্রোলের স্থলে কোডেক্সের ক্রমান্বিত প্রতিস্থাপনকে ছাপাখানা আবিষ্কারের আগে বই তৈরির সবচেয়ে গুরুত্বপূর্ণ অগ্রগতি বলা হয়। কোডেক্সের আকারটি নিজেই বইয়ের আকারে পরিবর্তিত হয়ে যায়, এবং সেই আকারটিই শেষ পর্যন্ত রয়ে যায়। কোডেক্সের বিস্তার অনেকটাই খ্রিস্টধর্মের উত্থানের সাথে জড়িত, বাইবেলের প্রথম দিককার বিন্যাস কোডেক্সের বিন্যাসে করা হত। ১ম শতাব্দী খ্রিস্টাব্দের রোমান কবি মার্শাল সর্বপ্রথম বর্ণনা করেন যে, কোডেক্সের ব্যবহার ৩০০ খ্রিস্টাব্দের কাছাকাছি সময়ে স্ক্রোলের সাথে সংখ্যাগত সমতা অর্জন করে এবং ৬ষ্ঠ শতাব্দীতে তখনকার একটি খ্রিস্টান গ্রিক-রোমান বিশ্ব জুড়ে এটি সম্পূর্ণরূপে স্ক্রোলের স্থলে প্রতিস্থাপিত করা হয়। মার্শাল এটির সুবিধাজনক ব্যবহারের প্রশংসা করেছিলেন।
codex শব্দটি এসেছে লাতিন শব্দ "caudex" থেকে, অর্থ "বৃক্ষের কাণ্ড", “কাঠের গুড়ি” বা “বই”। আবিষ্কারের পরপরই স্ক্রলের স্থলে এর ব্যবহার শুরু হয়। টিকে থাকা উদাহরণগুলির উপর ভিত্তি করে বলা হয় যে, মিশরে, ৫ম শতাব্দির সময়, কোডেক্স স্ক্রলকে সংখ্যায় দশে একে ছাড়িয়ে যায়। ৬ষ্ঠ শতাব্দি হতে হতে সাহিত্যের মাধ্যম হিসেবে স্ক্রল সম্পূর্ণরূপে বিলুপ্ত হয়ে যায়। রোল থেকে কোডেক্সে পরিবর্তনটি মোটামুটিভাবে পছন্দের লেখার উপাদান হিসাবে প্যাপিরাস থেকে পার্চমেন্টে রূপান্তরের সাথে মিলে যায়, কিন্তু দুটি উন্নয়নই সংযোগহীন। কাজেই, প্যাপিরাস ও পার্চমেন্টের সাথে কোডেক্স ও স্ক্রলের যে কোন সমন্বয়ই প্রায়োগিকভাবে সম্ভাব্য এবং ঐতিহাসিক রেকর্ডে সচরাচর।
প্রায়োগিকভাবে, এমনকি আধুনিক পেপারব্যাকগুলোও কোডেক্স, কিন্তু প্রকাশক এবং বিদ্বানসমাজ নিকট প্রাচীন থেকে মধ্যযুগ এ উৎপাদিত ম্যানুস্ক্রিপ্ট (হস্ত-লিখিত) বইয়ের জন্য পরিভাষাটি সংচিতি করে রেখেছেন। বুকবাইন্ডিং শিল্পের দৃষ্টিকোণ থেকে এই পাণ্ডুলিপিগুলির পাণ্ডিত্যপূর্ণ অধ্যয়নকে কোডিকোলজি বলা হয়ে থাকে। আর প্রাচীন নথির অধ্যয়নকে সাধারণত বলা হয় পালিওগ্রাফি.
কোডেক্স অন্যান্য বইয়ের ফরম্যাটের তুলনায় যথেষ্ট সুবিধা প্রদান করে, প্রাথমিকভাবে উদাহরণস্বরূপ এর আঁট, দৃঢ়তা, উভয় দিক ব্যবহার করে উপকরণের অর্থনৈতিক ব্যবহার (রেক্টো ও ভার্সো), এবং রেফারেন্সের সুগম্যতা (একটি কোডেক্সে এলোমেলো অ্যাক্সেস সামঞ্জস্য করা হয়, বিপরীতে স্ক্রলে ক্রমিক অ্যাক্সেস ব্যবহার করা হয়।) ইত্যাদি।
The Romans used precursors made of reusable wax-covered tablets of wood for taking notes and other informal writings. Two ancient polyptychs, a "pentaptych" and "octoptych" excavated at Herculaneum, used a unique connecting system that presages later sewing on of thongs or cords. Julius Caesar may have been the first Roman to reduce scrolls to bound pages in the form of a note-book, possibly even as a papyrus codex. At the turn of the 1st century AD, a kind of folded parchment notebook called "pugillares membranei" in Latin became commonly used for writing in the Roman Empire. Theodore Cressy Skeat theorized that this form of notebook was invented in Rome and then spread rapidly to the Near East.
Codices are described in certain works by the Classical Latin poet, Martial. He wrote a series of five couplets meant to accompany gifts of literature that Romans exchanged during the festival of Saturnalia. Three of these books are specifically described by Martial as being in the form of a codex; the poet praises the compendiousness of the form (as opposed to the scroll), as well as the convenience with which such a book can be read on a journey. In another poem by Martial, the poet advertises a new edition of his works, specifically noting that it is produced as a codex, taking less space than a scroll and being more comfortable to hold in one hand. According to Theodore Cressy Skeat, this might be the first recorded known case of an entire edition of a literary work (not just a single copy) being published in codex form, though it was likely an isolated case and was not a common practice until a much later time.
In his discussion of one of the earliest parchment codices to survive from Oxyrhynchus in Egypt, Eric Turner seems to challenge Skeat's notion when stating, "its mere existence is evidence that this book form had a prehistory", and that "early experiments with this book form may well have taken place outside of Egypt." Early codices of parchment or papyrus appear to have been widely used as personal notebooks, for instance in recording copies of letters sent (Cicero "Fam." 9.26.1). Early codices weren't always cohesive. They often contained multiple languages, various topics and even multiple authors. The parchment notebook pages were "more durable, and could withstand being folded and stitched to other sheets". Parchments whose writing was no longer needed were commonly washed or scraped for re-use, creating a palimpsest; the erased text, which can often be recovered, is older and usually more interesting than the newer text which replaced it. Consequently, writings in a codex were often considered informal and impermanent. Parchment (animal skin) was expensive, and therefore it was used primarily by the wealthy and powerful, who were also able to pay for textual design and color. "Official documents and deluxe manuscripts [in the late Middle Ages] were written in gold and silver ink on parchment...dyed or painted with costly purple pigments as an expression of imperial power and wealth."
As early as the early 2nd century, there is evidence that a codex—usually of papyrus—was the preferred format among Christians. In the library of the Villa of the Papyri, Herculaneum (buried in AD 79), all the texts (of Greek literature) are scrolls (see Herculaneum papyri). However, in the Nag Hammadi library, hidden about AD 390, all texts (Gnostic) are codices. Despite this comparison, a fragment of a non-Christian parchment codex of Demosthenes' "De Falsa Legatione" from Oxyrhynchus in Egypt demonstrates that the surviving evidence is insufficient to conclude whether Christians played a major or central role in the development of early codices—or if they simply adopted the format to distinguish themselves from Jews.
The earliest surviving fragments from codices come from Egypt, and are variously dated (always tentatively) towards the end of the 1st century or in the first half of the 2nd. This group includes the Rylands Library Papyrus P52, containing part of St John's Gospel, and perhaps dating from between 125 and 160.
In Western culture, the codex gradually replaced the scroll. Between the 4th century, when the codex gained wide acceptance, and the Carolingian Renaissance in the 8th century, many works that were not converted from scroll to codex were lost. The codex improved on the scroll in several ways. It could be opened flat at any page for easier reading, pages could be written on both front and back (recto and verso), and the protection of durable covers made it more compact and easier to transport.
The ancients stored codices with spines facing inward, and not always vertically. The spine could be used for the incipit, before the concept of a proper title developed in medieval times. Though most early codices were made of papyrus, papyrus was fragile and supplied from Egypt, the only place where papyrus grew. The more durable parchment and vellum gained favor, despite the cost.
The codices of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica (Mexico and Central America) had a similar appearance when closed to the European codex, but were instead made with long folded strips of either fig bark (amatl) or plant fibers, often with a layer of whitewash applied before writing. New World codices were written as late as the 16th century (see Maya codices and Aztec codices). Those written before the Spanish conquests seem all to have been single long sheets folded concertina-style, sometimes written on both sides of the "amatl" paper. There are significant codices produced in the colonial era, with pictorial and alphabetic texts in Spanish or an indigenous language such as Nahuatl.
In East Asia, the scroll remained standard for far longer than in the Mediterranean world. There were intermediate stages, such as scrolls folded concertina-style and pasted together at the back and books that were printed only on one side of the paper. This replaced traditional Chinese writing mediums such as bamboo and wooden slips, as well as silk and paper scrolls. The evolution of the codex in China began with folded-leaf pamphlets in the 9th century, during the late Tang Dynasty (618-907), improved by the 'butterfly' bindings of the Song dynasty (960-1279), the wrapped back binding of the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368), the stitched binding of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing dynasties (1644-1912), and finally the adoption of Western-style bookbinding in the 20th century. The initial phase of this evolution, the accordion-folded palm-leaf-style book, most likely came from India and was introduced to China via Buddhist missionaries and scriptures.
Judaism still retains the Torah scroll, at least for ceremonial use.
Among the experiments of earlier centuries, scrolls were sometimes unrolled horizontally, as a succession of columns. (The Dead Sea Scrolls are a famous example of this format.) This made it possible to fold the scroll as an accordion. The next evolutionary step was to cut the folios and sew and glue them at their centers, making it easier to use the papyrus or vellum recto-verso as with a modern book.
Traditional bookbinders would call one of these assembled, trimmed and bound folios (that is, the "pages" of the book as a whole, comprising the front matter and contents) a "codex" in contradistinction to the cover or "case," producing the format of book now colloquially known as a "hardcover". In the hardcover bookbinding process, the procedure of binding the codex is very different to that of producing and attaching the case.
The first stage in creating a codex is to prepare the animal skin. The skin is washed with water and lime but not together. The skin is soaked in the lime for a couple of days. The hair is removed, and the skin is dried by attaching it to a frame, called a herse. The parchment maker attaches the skin at points around the circumference. The skin attaches to the herse by cords. To prevent it from being torn, the maker wraps the area of the skin attached to the cord around a pebble called a pippin. After completing that, the maker uses a crescent shaped knife called a "lunarium" or "lunellum" to remove any remaining hairs. Once the skin completely dries, the maker gives it a deep clean and processes it into sheets. The number of sheets from a piece of skin depends on the size of the skin and the final product dimensions. For example, the average calfskin can provide three-and-a-half medium sheets of writing material, which can be doubled when they are folded into two conjoint leaves, also known as a "bifolium". Historians have found evidence of manuscripts in which the scribe wrote down the medieval instructions now followed by modern membrane makers. Defects can often be found in the membrane, whether they are from the original animal, human error during the preparation period, or from when the animal was killed. Defects can also appear during the writing process. Unless the manuscript is kept in perfect condition, defects can also appear later in its life.
Firstly, the membrane must be prepared. The first step is to set up the quires. The quire is a group of several sheets put together. Raymond Clemens and Timothy Graham point out, in "Introduction to Manuscript Studies", that "the quire was the scribe's basic writing unit throughout the Middle Ages": Pricking is the process of making holes in a sheet of parchment (or membrane) in preparation of it ruling. The lines were then made by ruling between the prick marks... The process of entering ruled lines on the page to serve as a guide for entering text. Most manuscripts were ruled with horizontal lines that served as the baselines on which the text was entered and with vertical bounding lines that marked the boundaries of the columns.
From the Carolingian period to the end of the Middle Ages, different styles of folding the quire came about. For example, in Mainland Europe throughout the Middle Ages, the quire was put into a system in which each side folded on to the same style. The hair side met the hair side and the flesh side to the flesh side. This was not the same style used in the British Isles, where the membrane was folded so that it turned out an eight-leaf quire, with single leaves in the third and sixth positions. The next stage was tacking the quire. Tacking is when the scribe would hold together the leaves in quire with thread. Once threaded together, the scribe would then sew a line of parchment up the "spine" of the manuscript to protect the tacking.