Codicology and history of the book. Some observations

The reconstruction of the genesis and evolution of codicology is an opportunity to return to the twofold nature of the discipline and the problematic relationship between Codicology and the history of the book. The research of codicology, considered the archaeology of the manuscript, has achieved significant results on book materials and manufacturing techniques, but these results risk being limited to the descriptive level and not going further. Instead, uncovering the history of the book means interpreting, in the best possible manner, all the data provided by the codex related to the historical and cultural context that produced it. Only in this way will it be possible to fully grasp the complexity of the book and its various characteristics, primarily from a material, palaeographical, and textual perspective.