List of codices
Encyclopedia
Notable codices are listed here. For the purposes of this compilation, as in philology
, a "codex
" refers to a manuscript
book published from the late Antiquity
period through the Middle Ages
. (The majority of the books in both the list of manuscripts and list of illuminated manuscripts are codices.) More modern works that include "codex" as part of their name are not listed here. The following codices are usually named for their most famous resting-places, such as a city or library.
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
, a "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...
" refers to a manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
book published from the late Antiquity
Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
period through the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. (The majority of the books in both the list of manuscripts and list of illuminated manuscripts are codices.) More modern works that include "codex" as part of their name are not listed here. The following codices are usually named for their most famous resting-places, such as a city or library.
List
- AbrogansAbrogansThe Abrogans, or Codex Abrogans , is probably the oldest extant book written in the German language. It is a manuscript dictionary of synonyms from Latin into Old High German dating from the 8th century . Several copies were made, but only one has survived to the present, that in the library of St...
- Aleppo CodexAleppo CodexThe Aleppo Codex is a medieval bound manuscript of the Hebrew Bible. The codex was written in the 10th century A.D.The codex has long been considered to be the most authoritative document in the masorah , the tradition by which the Hebrew Scriptures have been preserved from generation to generation...
- Codex AlexandrinusCodex AlexandrinusThe Codex Alexandrinus is a 5th century manuscript of the Greek Bible,The Greek Bible in this context refers to the Bible used by Greek-speaking Christians who lived in Egypt and elsewhere during the early history of Christianity...
- Codex AmbrosianusCodex AmbrosianusThe Codex Ambrosianus refers to five manuscripts, c. 6th-11th century CE, written by different hands and in different alphabets. The codices contain scattered passages from the Old Testament and the New Testament , as well as some commentaries known as Skeireins...
- Codex AmiatinusCodex AmiatinusThe Codex Amiatinus, designated by siglum A, is the earliest surviving manuscript of the nearly complete Bible in the Latin Vulgate version, and is considered to be the most accurate copy of St. Jerome's text. It is missing the Book of Baruch. It was produced in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of...
- Codex ArgenteusCodex ArgenteusThe Codex Argenteus, "Silver Book", is a 6th century manuscript, originally containing bishop Ulfilas's 4th century translation of the Bible into the Gothic language. Of the original 336 folios, 188—including the Speyer fragment discovered in 1970—have been preserved, containing the...
- Arnamagnæan Manuscript Collection
- Codex ArundelCodex ArundelCodex Arundel, is a bound collection of pages of notes written by Leonardo da Vinci and dating mostly from between 1480 and 1518. The codex contains a number of treatises on a variety of subjects, including mechanics and geometry. The name of the codex came from the Earl of Arundel, who acquired...
- Codex AstensisCodex AstensisThe Codex Astensis is a Medieval catalog of documents relating to the Asti region. Dating to the 14th century, it describes events related to the medieval commune of Asti from 1065 to 1353.-History:...
- Codex AtlanticusCodex AtlanticusThe Codex Atlanticus is a twelve-volume, bound set of drawings and writings by Leonardo da Vinci, the largest such set; its name indicates its atlas-like breadth. It comprises 1,119 leaves dating from 1478 to 1519, the contents covering a great variety of subjects, from flight to weaponry to...
- Codex AugiensisCodex AugiensisCodex Augiensis, designated by Fp or 010 , α 1029 is a 9th century diglot uncial manuscript of the Pauline Epistles in double parallel columns of Greek and Latin on the same page.- Description :...
- Auraicept na n-ÉcesAuraicept na n-ÉcesAuraicept na n-Éces is claimed as a 7th century work of Irish grammarians, written by a scholar named Longarad....
- Codex Aureus of EchternachCodex Aureus of EchternachThe Codex Aureus of Echternach is an 11th century illuminated Gospel Book....
- Codex Aureus of LorschCodex Aureus of LorschThe Codex Aureus of Lorsch or Lorsch Gospels is an illuminated Gospel Book written between 778 and 820, roughly coinciding with the period of Charlemagne's rule over the Frankish Empire.It was first recorded in Lorsch Abbey , for which it was presumably written, and...
- Codex Aureus of St. EmmeramCodex Aureus of St. EmmeramThe Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram is a 9th century illuminated Gospel Book. It is named after Emmeram of Regensburg and lavishly illuminated.-History:...
- Book of BallymoteBook of BallymoteThe Book of Ballymote , named for the parish of Ballymote, County Sligo, was written in 1390 or 1391....
- Berlin CodexBerlin CodexThe Berlin Codex , given the accession number Papyrus Berolinensis 8502, is a Coptic manuscript from the 5th century AD, unearthed in Akhmim, Egypt. In Cairo, in January 1896, Carl Reinhardt bought the codex, which had been recently discovered, wrapped in feathers, in a niche in a wall at a...
- Codex BezaeCodex BezaeThe Codex Bezae Cantabrigensis, designated by siglum Dea or 05 , δ 5 , is a codex of the New Testament dating from the 5th century written in an uncial hand on vellum. It contains, in both Greek and Latin, most of the four Gospels and Acts, with a small fragment of the 3 John...
- Codex BoernerianusCodex BoernerianusCodex Boernerianus, designated by Gp or 012 , α 1028 , is a small New Testament codex, measuring 25 x 18 cm, written in one column per page, 20 lines per page. Dated paleographically to the 9th century. The name of the codex derives from Boerner, to whom it once belonged...
- Codex BorbonicusCodex BorbonicusThe Codex Borbonicus is an Aztec codex written by Aztec priests shortly before or after the Spanish conquest of Mexico. The codex is named after the Palais Bourbon in France. It is held at the Bibliothèque de l'Assemblée Nationale in Paris...
- Aztec codices#Boturini Codex
- Carmina BuranaCarmina BuranaCarmina Burana , Latin for "Songs from Beuern" , is the name given to a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces were written principally in Medieval Latin; a few in Middle High German, and some with traces...
- Codex CairensisCodex CairensisThe Codex Cairensis is believed to be the oldest extant Hebrew manuscript containing the complete text of the Old Testament Nevi'im .- History :...
- Codex CalixtinusCodex CalixtinusThe Codex Calixtinus is a 12th-century illuminated manuscript formerly attributed to Pope Callixtus II, though now believed to have been arranged by the French scholar Aymeric Picaud. The principal author is actually given as 'Scriptor I'....
- Codex ClaromontanusCodex ClaromontanusCodex Claromontanus, symbolized by Dp or 06 , δ 1026 , is a Greek-Latin diglot uncial manuscript of the New Testament, written in an uncial hand on vellum. The Greek and Latin text on facing pages...
- Maya codices (Cortesianus Codex)Maya codicesMaya codices are folding books stemming from the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, written in Maya hieroglyphic script on Mesoamerican bark cloth, made from the inner bark of certain trees, the main being the wild fig tree or Amate . Paper, generally known by the Nahuatl word amatl, was named by...
- Codex CumanicusCodex CumanicusThe Codex Cumanicus was a linguistic manual of the Middle Ages, designed to help Catholic missionaries communicate with the Cumans, a nomadic Turkic people. It is currently housed in the Library of St. Mark, in Venice ....
- De arte venandi cum avibusDe arte venandi cum avibusDe Arte Venandi cum Avibus, literally "The Art of Hunting with Birds", is a Latin treatise on ornithology and Falconry written in the 1240s by Frederick II, and dedicated to his son Manfred....
- Dresden CodexDresden CodexThe Dresden Codex, also known as the Codex Dresdensis, is a pre-Columbian Maya book of the eleventh or twelfth century of the Yucatecan Maya in Chichén Itzá. The Maya codex is believed to be a copy of an original text of some three or four hundred years earlier...
- Codex EbnerianusCodex EbnerianusCodex Ebnerianus, Minuscule 105 , δ 257 , is a Greek language illuminated manuscript of the New Testament, though missing the Book of Revelation.Formerly it was labeled by 105e, 48a, and 24p.- Description :...
- Codex Ephraemi RescriptusCodex Ephraemi RescriptusCodex Ephraemi Rescriptus is an early 5th century Greek manuscript of the Bible, the last in the group of the four great uncial manuscripts...
- Exeter BookExeter BookThe Exeter Book, Exeter Cathedral Library MS 3501, also known as the Codex Exoniensis, is a tenth-century book or codex which is an anthology of Anglo-Saxon poetry. It is one of the four major Anglo-Saxon literature codices. The book was donated to the library of Exeter Cathedral by Leofric, the...
- FlateyjarbókFlateyjarbókThe Flatey Book, is an important medieval Icelandic manuscript. It is also known as GkS 1005 fol. and by the Latin name Codex Flateyensis.- Description :...
- Codex GigasCodex GigasThe Codex Gigas is the largest extant medieval manuscript in the world. It is also known as the Devil's Bible because of a large illustration of the devil on the inside and the legend surrounding its creation. It is thought to have been created in the early 13th century in the Benedictine...
- Codex GrandiorCodex GrandiorThe Codex Grandior was a large single volume copy of the Bible in an Old Latin translation that was made for or by Cassiodorus, for his monastic foundation at Vivarium. This codex was in Northumbria at the time of Bede. It was probably acquired in Italy by Benedict Biscop or Ceolfrid in 678 for...
- Codex HierosolymitanusCodex HierosolymitanusCodex Hierosolymitanus is an 11th-century Greek manuscript, written by an unknown scribe named Leo, who dated it 1056...
- Hildegard of Bingen#Works
- Hitda CodexHitda CodexThe Hitda Codex, an eleventh-century codex containing an evangeliary, a selection of passages from the Gospels, that was commissioned by Hitda, abbess of Meschede about 1020, is conserved in the Hessische Landesbibliothek, Darmstadt, Germany...
- Hypatian CodexHypatian CodexThe Hypatian Codex is a compendium of three chronicles: the Primary Chronicle, Kiev Chronicle, and Galician-Volhynian Chronicle. It is the most important source of historical data for southern Rus'...
- In Lebor OgaimIn Lebor OgaimIn Lebor Ogaim , also known as the Ogam Tract, is an Old Irish treatise on the ogham alphabet. It is preserved in R.I.A. MS 23 P 12 308-314 , T.C.D. H.3.18, 26.1-35.28 and National Library of Ireland MS G53 1-22 , and fragments in British Library Add. 4783...
- Book of KellsBook of KellsThe Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was created by Celtic monks ca. 800 or slightly earlier...
- Codex KoridethiCodex KoridethiThe Codex Koridethi, also named Codex Coridethianus, designated by Θ, 038, or Theta , ε 050 , is a 9th century manuscript of the four Gospels. It is written in Greek with uncial script in two columns per page, in 25 lines per page...
- Lebor Gabála ÉrennLebor Gabála ÉrennLebor Gabála Érenn is the Middle Irish title of a loose collection of poems and prose narratives recounting the mythical origins and history of the Irish from the creation of the world down to the Middle Ages...
- Lebor na gCeartLebor na gCeartLebor na gCeart, the "Book of Rights", details the rents and taxes paid by the King of Cashel to various others in Ireland. The Great Book of Lecan and the Book of Ballymote contain copies.- References :...
- Codex LeicesterCodex LeicesterThe Codex Leicester is a collection of largely scientific writings by Leonardo da Vinci. The codex is named after Thomas Coke, later created Earl of Leicester, who purchased it in 1717...
- Leningrad CodexLeningrad CodexThe Leningrad Codex is the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew, using the masoretic text and Tiberian vocalization. It is dated AD 1008 according to its colophon...
- Cologne Mani-CodexCologne Mani-CodexThe Cologne Mani-Codex is a minute papyrus codex, dated on paleographical evidence to the fifth century CE, found near Asyut , Egypt; it contains a Greek text describing the life of Mani, the founder of the religious Manichaeism...
- Maya codices#Madrid Codex
- Codex ManesseCodex ManesseThe Codex Manesse, Manesse Codex, or Große Heidelberger Liederhandschrift is a Liederhandschrift , the single most comprehensive source of Middle High German Minnesang poetry, written and illustrated between ca. 1304 when the main part was completed, and ca...
- Matenadaran MS 7117Matenadaran MS 7117The MS No. 7117 Manuscript from Matenadaran is an Armenian language manual of the 15th century. It contains the Old Udi alphabet.This manual presents different alphabets for comparison: Armenian, Greek, Latin, Syriac, Georgian, Coptic, and Albanian among them.- External links :*...
- Codex MendozaCodex MendozaThe Codex Mendoza is an Aztec codex, created about twenty years after the Spanish conquest of Mexico with the intent that it be seen by Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain...
- Morgan BibleMorgan BibleThe Morgan Bible is a medieval picture bible of 44 folios. It is also called the Morgan Bible of Louis IX, the Book of Kings, the Crusader Bible, and the Maciejowski Bible...
- Nag Hammadi libraryNag Hammadi libraryThe Nag Hammadi library is a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945. That year, twelve leather-bound papyrus codices buried in a sealed jar were found by a local peasant named Mohammed Ali Samman...
- Novgorod CodexNovgorod CodexThe Novgorod Codex is the oldest book of Rus’, unearthed on July 13, 2000 in Novgorod. It is a palimpsest consisting of three bound wooden tablets containing four pages filled with wax, on which its former owner wrote down dozens, probably hundreds of texts during two or three decades, each time...
- Nowell CodexNowell CodexCotton Vitellius A. xv is one of the four major Anglo-Saxon literature codices. It is most famous as the manuscript containing the unique copy of the epic poem Beowulf; in addition to this it contains a fragment of The Life of Saint Christopher, and the more complete texts Letters of Alexander to...
- Nürnberger Handschrift GNM 3227a
- Paris CodexMaya codicesMaya codices are folding books stemming from the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, written in Maya hieroglyphic script on Mesoamerican bark cloth, made from the inner bark of certain trees, the main being the wild fig tree or Amate . Paper, generally known by the Nahuatl word amatl, was named by...
- Peterborough ChroniclePeterborough ChronicleThe Peterborough Chronicle , one of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, contains unique information about the history of England after the Norman Conquest. According to philologist J.A.W...
- Codex Pisanus
- Codex RegiusCodex RegiusCōdex Rēgius is an Icelandic manuscript in which the Poetic Edda is preserved. It is made up of 45 vellum leaves, thought to have been written in the 1270s. It originally contained a further 8 leaves, which are now missing...
- Codex RehdigerianusCodex RehdigerianusCodex Rehdigerianus designated by l or by 11 , is a medieval Latin manuscript written on parchment, which was held in the city library of Breslau. The manuscript is attributed to Cassiodorus II of St. Elisabeth's Church, Breslau...
- Rohonc Codex
- Codex RunicusCodex RunicusThe Codex Runicus is a codex of 202 pages written in medieval runes around the year 1300 which includes the oldest preserved Nordic provincial law, Scanian Law pertaining to the Danish land Scania . Codex Runicus is one of the few runic texts found on parchment. The manuscript's initials are...
- Codex Sangallensis 878Codex Sangallensis 878Codex Sangallensis 878 is a manuscript kept in the library of the Abbey of St. Gall. It dates to the 9th century and probably originates in Fulda monastery. It contains mainly excerpts of grammatical texts, including the Ars minor and Ars maior of Aelius Donatus, the grammar of Priscian, the...
- Codex SeraphinianusCodex SeraphinianusCodex Seraphinianus is a book written and illustrated by the Italian artist, architect and industrial designer Luigi Serafini during thirty months, from 1976 to 1978...
- Codex SinaiticusCodex SinaiticusCodex Sinaiticus is one of the four great uncial codices, an ancient, handwritten copy of the Greek Bible. It is an Alexandrian text-type manuscript written in the 4th century in uncial letters on parchment. Current scholarship considers the Codex Sinaiticus to be one of the best Greek texts of...
- Codex Suprasliensis
- Codex TchacosCodex TchacosThe Codex Tchacos is an ancient Egyptian Coptic papyrus containing early Christian Gnostic texts from approximately 300 AD:*The Gospel of Judas*The First Apocalypse of James*The Letter of Peter to Philip...
- Maya codices (Troano Codex)Maya codicesMaya codices are folding books stemming from the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, written in Maya hieroglyphic script on Mesoamerican bark cloth, made from the inner bark of certain trees, the main being the wild fig tree or Amate . Paper, generally known by the Nahuatl word amatl, was named by...
- Codex Usserianus PrimusCodex Usserianus PrimusCodex Usserianus Primus is an early 7th century Old Latin Gospel Book. It is dated palaeographically to the 6th or 7th century. It is designated by r .- Description :...
- Codex Vaticanus Graecus 1209
- Codex VigilanusCodex VigilanusThe Codex Vigilanus or Códice Albeldense , full name Codex Conciliorum Albeldensis seu Vigilanus, is an illuminated compilation of various historical documents from the Visigothic period in Spain...
- Codex Vindobonensis 795Codex Vindobonensis 795The Codex Vindobonensis 795 is a 9th century manuscript.It contains letters and treatises by Alcuin, including a discussion of the Gothic alphabet.It also contains a description of the Anglo-Saxon futhorc....
- Codex Vindobonensis B 11093Codex Vindobonensis B 11093The Codex Vindobonensis B 11093 is an anonymous fechtbuch of 46 pages of drawn illustrations only, with no text, dating to the mid 15th century, probably created in southern Germany...
- Codex WallersteinCodex WallersteinThe Codex Wallerstein is a 16th century fechtbuch. The titleVom Baumans Fechtbuch appears on the first page, together with the date 1549. The Codex came in the possession of Paulus Hector Mair in 1556...
- Chronicle of Henry of Livonia (Codex Zamoscianus)Chronicle of Henry of LivoniaThe Livonian Chronicle of Henry is a document describing historic events in Livonia and surrounding areas from 1180 to 1227. Apart from the few references in the Primary Chronicle compiled in Kievan Rus' in the twelfth century, it is the oldest known written document about the history of these...
- Codex Zouche-NuttallCodex Zouche-NuttallThe Codex Zouche-Nuttall is an accordion-folded pre-Columbian piece of Mixtec writing, now in the British Museum . It is one of three codices that record the genealogies, alliances and conquests of several 11th and 12th-century rulers of a small Mixtec city-state in highland Oaxaca, the Tilantongo...