Oldalsorok

Oldalsorok is a term used in Hungarian typography and book history to describe lines that run along the margins of a page. The word combines oldal, meaning side or page, with sor, meaning line or row, and its plural form is oldalsorok. In scholarly contexts the term refers to marginal lines that appear alongside the main text, often serving a decorative function or providing reference marks.

In manuscript traditions, marginal lines could frame the text, delineate sections, or accompany glosses and annotations placed in the margin. In early printed books, such lines sometimes operated as running headers, borders, or rulings that helped organize the page and separate marginal notes from the main body of text. In some cases, oldalsorok accompanied marginal entries or symbols, contributing to the page’s overall layout rather than conveying substantive content themselves.

Differences from related concepts are a matter of usage and style rather than a strict rule. Marginalia generally refers to the content written in the margin, while oldalsorok emphasizes the presence of continuous lines or rulings along the margin that structure the page. The term is relatively niche and primarily of historical interest; it is not widely used in contemporary typography, where terms like margins, sidebars, or running headers are more common.

See also: marginalia, marginal notes, sidebars, running header, typography, book design, paleography.