codex definition
The Codex Gigas, 13th century, Bohemia. A codex (from the Latin caudex for trunk of a tree or block of wood, book; plural codices) is a book constructed of a number of sheets of paper, vellum, papyrus, or similar materials, with hand-written contents. The book is usually bound by stacking the pages and fixing one edge, and using a cover thicker than the sheets.