Kéziratos

Kéziratos, from Hungarian for manuscripts, denotes handwritten texts produced before the advent of printed books and preserved for study or cultural value. The term covers a broad range of documents, including literary works, scientific treatises, religious texts, letters, diaries, and administrative records, typically written on parchment or paper.

Historically, kéziratos arose in ancient and medieval societies where writing was labor-intensive and copying was done by scribes. In Europe, scriptoria in monasteries and later university libraries copied and circulated texts by hand. Materials varied by region and period, with parchment and vellum common in the medieval West, while paper became widespread in later centuries.

Common forms include codices (book-shaped manuscripts), scrolls, illuminated manuscripts, and marginalia such as glosses and annotations. Languages represented range from Latin and Greek to Arabic, Hebrew, and vernaculars. Some kéziratos functioned as primary literature, others as scholarly compendia or administrative records.

Preservation and study involve archives and libraries, palaeography, conservation, and digitization. Scholars catalog, transcribe, and edit kéziratos to establish accuracy of transmission and to recover historical context. Digitization projects have increased public access while aiding preservation.

While many kéziratos have survived only in a few copies or fragments, they remain essential for understanding linguistic development, religious practices, historical events, and literary traditions. Famous examples include medieval illuminated codices and religious manuscripts as well as the Beowulf manuscript and other Gothic and Arab manuscripts preserved in libraries worldwide.