manuscript

Manuscript is a document handwritten or manually produced, as opposed to a printed work. The term covers a broad range of materials and contexts, including literary drafts, sacred texts, scientific treatises, musical scores, and archival records. Historically, manuscripts were produced on parchment, vellum, papyrus, or paper, by scribes in scriptoria or private workshops. Decorated manuscripts, or illuminated manuscripts, feature ornate initials and miniature illustrations.

In the ancient and medieval world, manuscripts were copied by hand and circulated within monastic libraries, courts, and scholarly centers. The transition to the codex in late antiquity and the later invention of printing transformed the manuscript’s role from primary vehicle of knowledge to a surviving or preparatory stage in the editing process. Paleography studies the handwriting patterns of manuscripts to date them and locate their origin.

Manuscripts continue to be important for literature, music, science, law, and religion. A literary manuscript may be a draft, a fair copy, or the final authorial version before publication; musical manuscripts contain notated scores; scientific manuscripts may include notes, diagrams, and data.

In modern publishing and archival practice, a manuscript can also mean an author’s submission to a publisher or a digital file prepared for typesetting. In the digital age, manuscripts are often digitized and encoded in structured formats to facilitate preservation, search, and scholarly analysis, complementing traditional manuscript studies and textual criticism.