

HoP 317 - Made by Hand - Byzantine Manuscripts
Jan 27, 2019
Explore how Byzantine scribes preserved ancient philosophy during tumultuous times. Discover the evolution from papyrus to parchment and the innovations that helped safeguard texts. Learn about the roles of royal libraries and monasteries in this transmission. Dive into the challenges of transcribing, including common errors and the shift in scripts. Finally, uncover the legacy of Byzantine philologists and their impact on the revival of Aristotle's works and Platonism in their culture.
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Byzantine Scribes Preserve Plato
- The survival of Plato's dialogues depends on Byzantine scribes copying manuscripts by hand.
- Modern printed Greek texts are scholars' best guess, reconstructed through Byzantine transmission and editing.
Challenges of Ancient Manuscripts
- Ancient texts were first written on wax tablets then papyrus scrolls without punctuation or accents.
- Reading ancient Greek manuscripts required learning to identify word and sentence breaks in all capital letters.
Materials for Manuscripts Evolve
- Parchment replaced papyrus as the dominant writing material, made from treated animal skin.
- Paper came later from China, becoming crucial by being cheaper and more durable than parchment and papyrus.