Codex

A book made from separate leaves joined along one edge, allowing pages to be turned and revisited without unrolling a continuous roll.

Leaf (paper): One physical sheet in a book, with two sides that can each carry text or images. Leaves joined at one edge create the codex’s sequence of pages.
Roman wax tablet: A reusable writing surface made by filling a recessed wooden frame with wax. Bound sets of tablets offered an early model for handling leaves together.
Bible: A collection of sacred writings central to Judaism and Christianity, with different canons in each tradition. The codex became the standard physical form for preserving and consulting biblical texts.
Page numbering: The practice of assigning numbers to pages in a document or book. A codex’s discrete pages can be numbered for stable references.
Folio: A sheet folded once to form two leaves in a book or manuscript. Folding sheets into gatherings was a common way to assemble early codices.
Papyrus: A writing material made from strips of the papyrus plant pressed into sheets. Papyrus sheets could be assembled into codices as well as scrolls.
Manuscript: A document written by hand rather than produced through ordinary printing. Many surviving historical codices are handwritten manuscripts.
Table of contents: A list of a work’s divisions, usually in their order of appearance. The codex allows readers to jump between separately located sections.
Quire: A group of folded sheets nested together and sewn into a manuscript. Quire structure organizes the codex’s leaves into sewable units.
Parchment: A durable writing material made from prepared animal skin. Its flexibility and strength made parchment well suited to folding into codex gatherings.

Linked from 20 pages