The Codex and the illuminated Manuscript | 1st Century AD

What is a codex?
A covered and bound collection of hand written pages.

"Codex" is derived from the Latin meaning "block of wood". Why?
The was compact and sturdy.

What is the difference between "sequential access" and "random access"?
One can go to any point in the book for information.

What were the advantages of using the codex?
It was more portable and random access.

What helped spread the use of the codex?
The rise of Christianity.

What replaced papyrus? Describe the process used to create it?
Parchment. It was made from animal skins.

What is vellum?
A finer quality of parchment.

Name several examples of current technology that utilizes the format of the codex?
The online books that can be found on Kindles and iPads.

What led to a period of cultural and economical deterioration?
The decline in the roman empires creation of books. 

Who began creating books by hand, taking the creation to an art form?
Monastic monks.

What does "illumination" refer to? What was included in this ornamentation?
The borders and illustrations. Initials of chapters and paragraphs.

What tool was used for creating the illuminated manuscripts?
Feathers from animals and animal hides.

Why were these manuscripts reserved for religious purposes?
The creation of these manuscripts was difficult.

What is craftsmanship? Why is it important?
The work used to create the books. 

The Roman Alphabet | 7th Century BC

What was the basis of the Roman uppercase alphabet?The greek alphabet.

What were the purposes of the formal and informal styles of lettering?
There were different writing styles for different occasions.

Why is the Roman alphabet the most widely used and what contributions did it make?
This writing style is used by many cultures and contributed the serifs type and baseline.

From where did serifs originate?
The roman alphabet from the carving of stones in Italy.

When and where did lowercase, or minuscule, letters develop?
The two types of letters were kept in different drawers (the lowercase being on the bottom) so the uppercase ended being up on the top and the lowercase on the lower drawer.

What is a ligature and why were they utilized?
When two or more graphemes are joined as a single glyph. 

The Greek Alphabet | 800 BC

How did Greeks come in contact with the Phoenicians?
Through trade agreements.

How was the Greek adaptation of the alphabet different from its predecessor?
It adapted the letter forms.

Why is the Greek alphabet considered to be the world's first true alphabet?
It has given rise to other alphabets.

Name several similarities and differences between the Greek and modern English alphabets?


The greek alphabet uses different symbols than the english alphabet, but still conveys a consonant or vowel. 

Podcast: The Phoenician Alphabet | 1050 BC

The Phoenician alphabet is based on what principle?
That one sign represents a syllable (phonetics)

Describe the shape of the letters and what tool created them?
Letters were carved with a stylus, with the letters being mostly angular and straight.

What two reasons made the Phoenician alphabet so successful?
It was much simpler than the other pictographs and complex characters of other scripts.

What long term effects on the social structures of civilizations did the Phoenicians have with the creation of their alphabet?
Because of its widespread script and simplicity, it could be used in multiple languages. Also, this allowed the commoners to become literate.

Podcast: Hieroglyphics and the Egyptians | 3,000 BC

in the sixth century BC, what three civilizations invaded Egypt? 
Persioans, greeks, and romans

What was discovered on the inside of the temples?
Carved and painted images

Scholars believe that Ancient Egyptians were inspired and influenced by which written language?
Cuneiform

What is the difference between logographic and alphabetic elements?Logo: visual symbols representing ideas or objects
Alphabetic: came later as the language evolved into demotic
The term Hieroglyphic derived from what two Greek words?
Hiero-sacred
Glyphic-writing
What is a scribe? 
People who could read and write

Who else was trained to read and write? Why?


Military leaders, so they could communicate during battle


What is papyrus and how was it made?
Substrate made from reeds native to egypt


What is a substrate?
Reeds wettend and then crushed flat so they could be written on

What were the Books of the Dead?
A set of scrolls for pharaohs and other important egyptians on papyrus, they were instructions to help them find their way to the afterlife

How did Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics become a forgotten language?
The greeks and Romans were unable to read and write them.

What is the Rosetta Stone? Where was it discovered?
A slab of stone with inscriptions on it, Egypt when Napoleon Bonaparte was constructing a french presence in the middle east.

What three languages are included on the stone?
Hieroglyphics, Demotic, and Greek.

Why couldn't the text on the Stone be deciphered?
They couldn't decipher the Hieroglyphics.

Who finally deciphered the text? What was his breakthrough?
Jean Francois Champollion. He was able to match up the Egyptian Hieroglyphics with the greek version of the name of Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses

Why does the interpretation of the Rosetta Stone have such significance?



We now know a great deal about the ancient egyptians and egyptian hieroglyphics
 

Podcast: Cuneiform and the Sumerians | 3,000 BC

The Sumerians were one of the earliest types of this kind of civilization? What does that mean?
Nomadic civilizations, they migrate.

Why is the region of Sumer considered the Cradle of Civilization?
It is where cuneiform was created.

What could the Sumerians practice year round because of the regions climate?

agriculture.


Why was Cuneiform created?
To help track all business transactions


What medium was used to "write" Cuneiform? Explain the process of preparing and writing on this surface? 
Clay, they would wet the clay, form it into flat surfaces, then use a wedge shaped stylus made from reeds to make impressions into the clay surface.

What did Cuneiform begin as a series of?
A series of pictograph

After it evolved over time, what shape did the characters of Cuneiform evolve into?Wedge shaped

After the Akkadians conquered, what happened to the Sumerian culture and written language?
They adopted their culture and written language.

What is a pictograph?
A pictorial or visual representation of an object

Why did the creation of Cuneiform allow the Sumerians to become a sophisticated culture?
They had a new form of communication

Assignment 15 research and inspiration

Inspiration:

I liked this one because it looks ridiculously in depth, the designs look very hard to make but look like they were worth the work.

I liked this one because it looks almost hand made and still very professional looking.