Codicology of Kermani Scribes ...

Abstract

Manuscripts have been the most important written historical achievements of human being for the development and evolution of science. Scribes play an undeniable role in preserving and transmitting these achievements. Unfortunately, there has not been any appropriate research carried on about this cultural class. Codicology provides maximum information about scribes through catalogs of manuscripts. The most important indicators considered in this study include the scribe’s name and work, the script and its date of writing, where the text was written and where it is preserved. This study aims at introducing the scribes and their works, and to analyze the features of their manuscripts. Results indicate that theology comprises the most frequent occurrence written in Naskh and Nastaligh styls of calligraphy and that the thirteenth century AH has the largest number of scribes, which could be a result of the emergence of paper industry and the improvement of writing facility. The results of this study are consistent with other studies regarding preserving manuscripts and their place of preservation; the largest number of manuscripts can be found in the most highlighted libraries in Iran such as Tehran University library, Library of Congress, Marashi Library, and Malek Library. Writing places indicate the geographical distribution of the scribes and their residential places, at least at the time of writing.

Keywords

• keywords: codicology
• scribes
• kerman
• manuscripts
• catalog of manuscripts