The Codex

Codex

A codex is a book in the format used for modern books, with multiple quires or gatherings typically bound together and given a cover.Developed by the Romans from wooden writing tablets, its gradual replacement...

 Astensis is a Medieval catalog of documents relating to the Asti

Asti

Asti is a city and comune of about 75,000 inhabitants located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about 55 kilometres east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River...

 region. Dating to the 14th century, it describes events related to the medieval commune

Medieval commune

Medieval communes in the European Middle Ages had sworn allegiances of mutual defense among the citizens of a town or city. They took many forms, and varied widely in organization and makeup. Communes are first recorded in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, thereafter becoming a widespread...

 of Asti from 1065 to 1353.

History

The manuscript (also called Malabayla) was discovered in February 1876 by Quintino Sella

Quintino Sella

Quintino Sella was an Italian statesman and financier.-Biography:Sella was born at Sella di Mosso, in the Province of Biella....

, Italian ambassador to Austria

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

, in the archive of emperor Francis Joseph

Francis Joseph

Francis Joseph is an English former professional association football player. He played for Wimbledon, Brentford, Reading, Bristol Rovers, Aldershot, Sheffield United, Crewe Alexandra, Barnet and Gillingham between 1980 and 1992.His younger brother is Roger Joseph....

. When he asked for a copy, the Austrian minister of foreign affairs Andrassy officially gave Sella the manuscript, citing its importance as the reason for doing so.

After his return to Italy, Sella proposed its publication to the Accademia dei Lincei

Accademia dei Lincei

The Accademia dei Lincei, , is an Italian science academy, located at the Palazzo Corsini on the Via della Lungara in Rome, Italy....

. The code was thus published in 1880; four years, after Sella's death, his heirs gifted the Codex to the municipality of Asti.