MANUSCRIPTS 



3640 



MAORI 



has come to be applied in an almost technical 

 sense, were almost exclusively on papyrus, 

 parchment or paper. Black ink, made of lamp- 

 black, boneblack or some vegetables substances, 

 was most used, but red, purple and even yellow 

 inks were sometimes employed for decorative 

 purposes. 



The earliest form of manuscript was the roll, 

 or volumen, which was also called biblos, from 

 the Greek name for papyrus. Sheets of papy- 

 rus or of parchment were joined together to 

 make a long strip, the joining being so expertly 

 done that there was no obstacle to the pen. 

 Often a number of rolls were needed for a 

 single work, as very large rolls were unwieldy. 

 Beginning at the left, the work was written in 

 columns of from two to three and one-half 

 inches in width, the lines running parallel with 

 the length of the strip. In rolling the finished 

 work onto its central stick, the last part was 

 of course rolled on first, so that the manuscript 

 might be read as it was unrolled. After it had 

 been read, it had to be rolled back again, that 

 it might be in shape for the next reading. 



As long as rolls were used, the manuscript 

 was written on one side only, for a roll written 

 on both sides would have been very incon- 

 venient. The papyrus, moreover, was smoother 

 on one side than on the other. When parch- 

 ment, or vellum, came into use, its durable 

 quality suggested the possibility of using both 

 sides, and a more suitable book form was 

 sought. The little waxen tablets, two or three 

 of which were hinged together into something 

 approaching in form the modern book, served 

 as a model for the codex, or stitched volume. 

 By the fourth century the codex, which had 

 recommended itself by its greater convenience 

 for reference, had almost displaced the roll for 

 ordinary works, though the latter was still used 

 for legal documents, records and liturgies. For 

 such purposes it is in occasional use even 

 to-day. 



As a writing implement, the first in use was 

 a reed softened at the tip and. used as a brush 

 for tracing the letters. The later Greeks and 

 Romans used reeds also, but they pointed and 

 slit them, so that they closely resembled the 

 modern pen; and bronze pens were common in 

 the days of the Roman empire. 



Illumination of Manuscripts. The illumina- 

 tion of manuscripts is almost as old as the 

 earliest making of them. Strictly speaking, the 

 term applies only to the decoration of the text 

 with gold, silver and brilliant colors, but it is 

 commonly used to denote any ornamentation. 



The oldest-known manuscript with decorations 

 in color is a papyrus roll of the Egyptian Book 

 of the Dead, which dates from the fifteenth 

 century B. c., but the brilliantly-colored pictures 

 are in the nature of illustrations rather than of 

 pure ornamentation. Among the Greeks and 

 Romans, illumination of manuscript seems not 

 to have become common until about the fourth 



MANUSCRIPT COVER 



A heavily-jeweled cover lovingly wrought over 

 twelve hundred years ago. 



century. From that time on, the various styles 

 begin to be evident. There were illustrations of 

 scenes described in the text ; there were decora- 

 tive borders, initial letters, vignettes and tail- 

 pieces, many of them done in gold and gor- 

 geous colors. Copies of the Bible, in particular, 

 were abundantly supplied with such ornamenta- 

 tion, and some manuscripts were of great 

 beauty. When printing was introduced, the art 

 began to wane. The early printed books, how- 

 ever, often had spaces left for the huge initial 

 letters which had become common in the manu- 

 scripts, and these were introduced by hand. 

 Very hirh prices have been paid for copies of 

 the old illuminated manuscripts. A.MC c. 



MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY, THE. See 

 subhead under HALE, EDWARD EVERETT. 



MAORI, maho'ri, the name of the native 

 inhabitants of the two islands of New Zealand; 

 the word maori, in their language, means native. 

 They are above the average in stature, brown 



