History of Text Technologies

Catchword: A word written at the end (generally in the lower margin) of a quire that repeats the first word on the following page. Catchwords facilitate the arrangement of the quires during binding.

Codex: Originating in the first century, the codex is a book composed of folded sheets sewn along one edge, distinct from other writing vehicles such as the roll or tablet.

Gilding/Gilt: The application of gold or silver to a surface. Gold could be applied as an ink, in an expensive powdered form, for use in detailed work , but it was more frequently applied in medieval illumination in the form of gold leaf.

Illumination: Illumination, from the Latin illuminare, 'to enlighten or illuminate', is the embellishment of a manuscript with luminous colors (especially gold and silver). In the past, the coloring of maps and prints was also called illumination. A miniature is sometimes referred to as an illumination.

Incipit Page: The opening of a major section of text that is embellished with a large initial or monogram and display script. 

Initial: An enlarged and decorated letter introducing an important section of a text. Initials can have different levels of significance, according to the divisions of the text or their place within a program of decoration.

Manuscript: The word manuscript, literally 'handwritten', has come to be used to describe a book written by hand. It is abbreviated as ms. (singular) and mss. (plural).

Mise-en-page: This term refers to the layout of a page. Significant  decisions for the mise-en-page of manuscripts include a one- or two-column layout pf the text, as well as complex layouts and ruling patterns to accommodate glosses, commentaries and other parallel texts.

Parchment: A writing support material that  is often used generically to denote animal skin prepared to receive writing, although it is more correctly applied only to sheep and goat skin, with the term vellum reserved for calfskin. Uterine vellum, the skin of stillborn or very young calves, is characterized by its small size and particularly fine, white appearance; however, it was rarely used.

Script: The handwriting used in manuscripts. Medieval script was subject to greater discipline and more rigid rules and hierarchies than modern personal handwriting, for in early book production such professional or semi-professional handwriting had to serve many of the functions of modern print. The form and function of a book determined the overall appearance of a script - its aspect - the speed and care with which the letters were formed - its ductus - and the number of space-saving devices employed (notably abbreviations).