24 - GAaETTE DU LIVRE MEDIEvAL

\ S F A R D A T ATHE HENRI SCHILLER CODICOLOGICAL DATABASE

OF THE ""UOUW PALAEOGRAPHY PROJECT' JERUSALEM

Sfardataisasophist icatedquanti tat ivedatabaseandretr ievalsystemofa

larse numbe, or *"u*ruit-"Ji"oroglcat attiiuutes recorded in most of the

exianr explicitly d"ri:;; i"lrr" .r"a"red but otherwise "colophoned" or

named, Hebrew *"oiJiu'i'*u*scripts. sponroi"o by the Israel Academy of

SciencesandHumani t ies, incol laborat ion* i t t . ' t r ' "JewishNat ionaland.University Library in ]"iu'utem' in cooperation with the Institut de Recherche

et d'Histoire O"* f"^t"i ln*i'it' in" Iiebrew Palaeography Project has been

ensased since its i";;;;;;" igosrn sruay,ng ani reiording mosr of the

vislUie and quantifiab;i;i;"i"gicat features|ni'variables of all the surviving

dated Hebrew "oOi""*liO lf," ,rriaut"O ones with indications of scribes' names'

some 5000 munor"riptli"pt i" "oil"ctions all over the world. Since the early

1970's many oi tt e atii"uuiJ, i""Lio"o in the detailed questionnaires have been

coded and "t""trooi*iif;;;ti; Jerusalem. over rhe past seven years an

elaborate retrieving, ;;it;;;;; rinting svstem'.9"'"d-:-i-1:iira software'

was and is stiu 0","J'ii%i*;;";i1;;iG endless querving of the data'

clustering andill,t#it;* ideorogy_of qiantitative codicologv had indeed been

realized by this p'q*it;;;;;}#"th"v *o" ovtiallized "4'qT:l'"d in Latin

. codicology. The gfoiuf unJ exhaustive scope ofthe documentation and the total

exploitarion of all ttre'eitaiilut"J i"n*t rr"ri"i irt"t" also explicitly localized)

minuscripts, *t'i"r' Ji'};;; Ju" to ttte limit"o numbel of the Hebrew

codices, make sfardafc a precise tool for "$"tti"Jitt" chronological limits and

the seo-cul,u'ur p'olJ'iu"t" tr unout"o- 'nufruscripts' baGd on shared

comiinations of variables'

We present here a list of the coded codicological "t:i::i: recorded in the

darabase. fnose *t,iJt,'"r""pui,i.uf ar to Hebre; manuscripts and texts were

considerably uuriog"i'oiuffiirr"i o-irt"oln this list, as were those which are

self_evident, lik" ;;";;;ulftJ g"ogruptri"ur'"rut*iiication of regions and

counrries of proOo"tioi, "*i ,f .rifr"r""f i"r-igt"ti scribes, which in the case of

the Hebrew uoor. "ii"nJm* i"nt ut Asia"to England and from Yemen to

outtlil, included in this presenration are.ttre T:l.l.t-::;:raphic

(or peri-

eraphic) data, suctr'at glitti" fillers'-graohic substitutes f,or the tetragram-

*aion' underlining' citation' etc" which "i"i" t"to'O"d in the questionnaires

No 25, Automne 1994 - 25

but still require a suitable classification system and adequate coding. Textualdata, such as names of scribes, commissioners, vocalizors, artists, the variousscribal formulas, including those pertaining to codicological units (like openingeulogies at the head of quires), colophons (the entire text of which is containedin the database) and bibliographical information were not included in thefollowing shorlened list.

Sfardata is indeed a working instrument. It has proven its capacity as anindispensable tool for both the typology of the Hebrew handwritten books,quantitative codicology and large scale studies of various aspects of bookproduction, and for dating and localizing manuscripts on the basis of sharingthe same combination of codicological elements with the recorded dated ones.The database and its retrieval system provide also historical data, textualsources, lists of toponyms, scribes, patrons. The palaeographical identificationsor assessments in the new catalogue of the important and rather extensivecollection of Hebrew manuscripts in the Palatina Biblioteca in Parma, which isnow been prepared, are carried out through Sfardata.

It should be noted that most of the variables can fit also non-H€brewmanuscripts, particularly Oriental ones. Indeed, selected codicological elementsof 127, mostly Arabic and some Persian and Syriac, manuscripts have beenrecently recorded in Sfardata. The database can be easily extended and, ifnecessary, modified to accommodate manuscripts of other scripts and codexcultures.

The following list does not necessarily reflect the inner structure of thedatabase, nor include the numerical codes of the variables.

Region, country and geo-cultural area of production and scribe's origin.[Not specified here.]

Script type of immigrant scribe : unidentified / Franco-German / Iberian-Provengal-Maghrebic / Italian / Oriental I Byzantine / South Italian /Yemenite

Destination of the copy : unknown / for the copyist's own use / oncommission lfor a relative /for a participating copyist /for a potentialbuyer / for a Christian commissioner / for a woman

Colophon data : written by a woman - copying duration - data on thecopying - personal data - historical data - scribe's fee - scribe'ssignature - scribe's correcting colophon - cryptic colophon -vocalizor's colophon - corrector's colophon - artist's colophon -

26 -ExznrrE DU LIVRE MEDIEVAL

commissioner's colophon - scribe's deed of sale - commissioner's deedof sale

Eras employed i4 coloPhon.[The many systems of rendering dates are not specified here']

Subjects of copied texts. [Not specified here.]

Writing material :

Pencrnapnt:sides : distinguishable / hardly distinguishable / indistinguishable

scratching : not visible / visiblehair follicles : not visible / visible

Arrangement of bifulia: sides do not correspond / matching sides / exceptions

Quirei start with: flesh-side / hair-side / exceptionsThirkn"rr: very fine (...-0.10 mm) / fine (0.11-0.15 mm) / medium (0'16-

0.25 mm) lifrict< (0.26-0.35 mm) / very thick (0.36-...mm)Dorsal stripe :

not visible / visibleacross page / along spine / along top of page / along bottom of page

Pepen:Splitting or splittable layers : two layers /Three layersLaid tines: not visible / visible / hardly visibleChain lines: not visible / unclear / shading (pontuseaux)

singles : regular/ inegulargro"uped : in t*os / in threes / twos and threes alternating / in four /

inegular / unclearFormat: foli6 / quarto / octavo / other / horizontal laid lines / vertical laid lines

Watermarks: not visible / visible - Zigzag signsColoured paperShining paper: entire page / written space

striped shining : entire page / written space

PlncHr,tBNT eND PAPERQUIRES :

Parchment bifolia: outer only / inner only / outer and innerParchment sirips : outer fold only / inner fold only / outer and inner folds

Outer bifulium starts witft : flesh-side / hair-side / variesInner bifuliurz : flesh-side / hair-side / varies

Ink's colours. [Not specified here']

No 25, Automne 1994 - 27

Quir ing:unclear/uniform/uniform:lessthan4quires/ i rregular/ i r regular:less than 4 quires / coupled leaves bifolia

Composition of most of quires.

Means for ensuring the right order of the codex :

NuuBRRnoN : running bifolia / quire bifolia numeration / folios / pages.Quire numeration:

at end : in (Hebrew) letters / in other way / decorated / illustratedat head and end : in Hebrew letters / in Arabic words / in Arabic numerals /

decorated / illustratedat head : in Hebrew letters / in Arabic words i in Arabic numerals /

decorated/ illustrated

Cercnwonos:Placement: exceptional / usual / in middle of lower margins I horizontal /

vertical / diagonalScript : smaller than text / larger than text / square / semi-cursive / cursive /

decorated / illustratedFrequency: quire / bifolia (including / excluding quire opening) / folio / page /

colunnn

Repeerso woRDs : at the beginning of quires / of folios / of bifolia and opening /of bifolia only / of pages / of columns

Hseonrcs : at the beginning of quires / in each leaf / in each page / on top ofcolumns

M,q,Rrwc or ernRB opENrNG.

Rul ing:not visible / lines on recto and verso don't correspond / hardly visible /visible/ various techniques / vertical and horizontal lines / horizontals andone vertical / frame only / verticals and top line only / verticals only /horizontals only / double horizontal lines / text does not match rulins /ruling for pricking / rake ruling / ruling guided by slotted board?

PnlcxtNc :structure: none / for horizontals and verticals / for frame or verticals only /

traces for horizontal lines / for vertical lines / verticals differ fromhorizontals / for groups of lines / single prickings / double for speciallines / in outer margins only / in outer and inner margins

Frequency and direction : quire by quire / part of quire at once / bifolium bybifolium / in other frequency / on recto / on verso / on recto or verso

28 - GEZBTTE DU LIVRE MEDIEVAL

BL[.{DRULNGR;ig by ,,mistara" : horizontals only / on recto / on verso / on recto or verso /

otherwise / verticals ruled differentlyRuling by hard point'.

{uiie uy quir" ' folded / uffilded / on hair-side / on flesh-side / on recto /-

on ueiro / on recto or verso / on both sides / additional ruling

Half quire by half quire : ..' [mostly, as for quire]Two bifolia at once : ... [mostly as for quire.lBifolium by bifolium , ... t-oiUy as for q'irel / by matching ruled sides /

on fourth Page alsoTwo folios at once : ... [mostly as for quire] / on fourth page also

Folio by folio : ... [mostly as fbr quire]

HRno Pl-utvtl,tet.[Same divisions and sub-divisions as for Ruling by hard point']

Cor-ouRpnnwwc:nilirs w plummet: horizonrals only / page by page I each bifolium on both

sides / folio bY folioRuling in ink:horizontals only / page by page / each unfolded bifolium on both

sidesverticals in another way : by plummet / in ink / plummet on hard point--"*fi"g

I Uy f,"tA point l'Uy hardplummet / plummet on other side of

hard Point ruling_ "olou. of plilmmet : brown / black / brown to black / reddish

' Rur-rNc PARCHMENT rN MrXED QUIRes : different technique than paper / different

frequencY than PaPer

Scribal layout devices :tof themanydevicespract icedbyHebrewscribesforproducingevenmargins, only the main categories are listed here'l

Fiiling up space at end of line:"dilatation / space left before last letter/word /

anticipating next word I gtaphic fillerpreventing exieding ̂ argiis: compression / word division / between lines- /

diagonallyprotruiing leiters and words : at distance in the margin / vertically / diagonally

in the margin

Vocalization. [Not specified in this list.]

No 25, Automne 1994 - 29

Illuminations and decoration.[Including sizes and modes of scripts of text, initials, scribal formulas andcolophon. - Not listed here.l

Layout : irregular / uniform / varying / exceptional / glossed or multi-layer textLast written line : within ruling / outside ruling / unclear / letters written

between ruled lines

Dimensions (measured in 3 pages for each hand or layout) : page height -upper margin - text height - lower margin page width - inner margin- text width - outer margin - number of columns - column width -space between columns - total width of columns - 10 written linesheight - number of writing signs in 5 lines - 3'taille" (page height+width).

Proportions and calculations : page width/height - text width/height -page area - text area - spatial proportion (text/page) - upper/lowermargins - inner/outer margins - inner/upper margins - upper+lowermargins/text height - inner+outer margins/text width - intercolumnspace/inner margin text heighUlines number - text linear density (signsper 10 cm) - text spatial density

A presentation ofthe retrieval system can be found in :

M. BEIT-ARIE, '"The codicological data-base of the Hebrew Palaeography Project : a tool forlocalising and dating Hebrew medieval manuscripts", Hebrew Studies: Paperspresented at a colloquium on resources for Hebraica in Europe held at the School ofOriental and African Studies, University of London I1-13 September 1989, ed. by D.Rowland Smith and P.S. Salinger, London, l99l (British Library : Occasional Papers,l3), p. 165-197. [Reproduced in: M. Beit-Arie, The makings of the medieval Hebrewbook, Jerusalem, 1993, pp. 4l-73.1

IDEM, "La base de donn6es codicologiques du 'Hebrew Palaeography Project' : un outil pourla localisation et la datation des manuscrits m6di6vaux h6breux", Mdthodologiesinformatiques et nouveaux horizons dans les recherches: Actes du colloqueinternational de Saint-Paul-de-Vence, 3-5 septembre 1990 publ. par J. Hamesse,

lTurnhoutl, 1992 (Soci6td internationale pour 1'6tude de la philosophie m6di6vale:Recontre de philosophie midi4vale,2), p. 17-67.

M. B. -A .