The Birth of the Codex - (Proceedings of the British Academy) by Colin Henderson Roberts & T C Skeat (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In The Codex, published in 1954, C.H. Roberts studied the process by which in the early centuries of our era the roll as the vehicle for literature was replaced by the codex, which has remained the format of the book ever since. New evidence that has accumulated in the last thirty years has set some of the problems in a new light and in this book, published here for the first time in paperback, the authors re-examine these and offer a different explanation for the remarkable part in the transformation played by the early Church.

From the Back Cover

In The Codex (published in 1954) Dr. Roberts studied how in the early centuries AD the roll was replaced as the vehicle for literature by the codex--the format of the book ever since. New evidence accumulated in the last thirty years has set some of the problems in a new light, and in The Birth of the Codex the authors reexamine the issues and offer a different explanation for the remarkable part played in the transformation by the early Christian Church.

Review Quotes

'The book is written in a lucid and readable style and the major arguments are clear even to the uninformed reader.' Christian Week

'an important, authoritative and readable survey of the evidence for the appearance of the codex form' Theology

'of primary importance to students of the formation of the New Testament and the development of the early church.'Journal of Theological Studies

'This is certainly a book on a specialist subject, but it has all the qualities of a good detective story and will fascinate its readers.' Joseph Robinson Church Times