Papyrus (P.BM EA 10591recto column IX, beginning of lines 13–17)
Papyrus (/pəˈpaɪrəs/pə-PY-rəs) is a material similar to thickpaper that was used in ancient times as awriting surface. It was made from thepith of the papyrus plant,Cyperus papyrus, a wetlandsedge.[1]Papyrus (plural:papyri orpapyruses[2]) can also refer to a document written on sheets of such material, joined side by side and rolled up into ascroll, an early form of a book.
An official letter on a papyrus of the 3rd century BCE
For multiple millennia, papyrus was commonly rolled intoscrolls as a form of storage. However, at some point late in its history, papyrus began being collected together in the form ofcodices akin to the modern book.[8] This may have been mimicking the book-form of codices created withparchment.[citation needed]Early Christian writers soon adopted the codex form, and in the Greco-Roman world, it became common to cut sheets from papyrus rolls to form codices. Codices were an improvement on the papyrus scroll, as the papyrus was not pliable enough to fold without cracking, and a long roll, or scroll, was required to create large-volume texts. Papyrus had the advantage of being relatively cheap and easy to produce, but it was fragile and susceptible to both moisture and excessive dryness. Unless the papyrus was of perfect quality, the writing surface was irregular, and the range of media that could be used was also limited.[citation needed]
Papyrus was gradually overtaken in Europe by a rival writing surface that rose in prominence known asparchment, which was made fromanimal skins. By the beginning of the fourth century A.D., the most important books began to be manufactured in parchment, and works worth preserving were transferred from papyrus to parchment.[9] Parchment had significant advantages over papyrus, including higher durability in moist climates and being more conducive to writing on both sides of the surface.[9] The main advantage of papyrus had been its cheaper raw material — the papyrus plant is easy to cultivate in a suitable climate and produces more writing material than animal hides (the most expensive books, made from foetalvellum would take up to dozens of bovine fetuses to produce). However, as trade networks declined, the availability of papyrus outside the range of the papyrus plant became limited and it thus lost its cost advantage.
Papyrus' last appearance in theMerovingian chancery was with a document from 692 A.D., though it was known inGaul until the middle of the following century. The latest certain dates for the use of papyrus in Europe are 1057 for a papal decree (typically conservative, allpapal bulls were on papyrus until 1022), underPope Victor II,[10] and 1087 for an Arabic document. Its use in Egypt continued until it was replaced by less expensivepaper introduced by theIslamic world, which originally learned of it from the Chinese. By the 12th century, parchment and paper were in use in theByzantine Empire, but papyrus was still an option.[11]
Until the middle of the 19th century, only some isolated documents written on papyrus were known, and museums simply showed them as curiosities.[12] They did not contain literary works.[13] The first modern discovery of papyri rolls was made atHerculaneum in 1752. Until then, the only papyri known had been a few surviving from medieval times.[14][15] Scholarly investigations began with the Dutch historianCaspar Jacob Christiaan Reuvens (1793–1835). He wrote about the content of theLeyden papyrus, published in 1830. The first publication has been credited to the British scholarCharles Wycliffe Goodwin (1817–1878), who published for theCambridge Antiquarian Society one of thePapyri Graecae Magicae V, translated into English with commentary in 1853.[12]
Papyrus was made in several qualities and prices.Pliny the Elder andIsidore of Seville described six variations of papyrus that were sold in the Roman market of the day. These were graded by quality based on how fine, firm, white, and smooth the writing surface was. Grades ranged from the superfine Augustan, which was produced in sheets of 13 digits (10 inches) wide, to the least expensive and most coarse, measuring six digits (four inches) wide. Materials deemed unusable for writing or less than six digits were considered commercial quality and were pasted edge to edge to be used only for wrapping.[16]
TheEnglish word "papyrus" derives, viaLatin, fromGreek πάπυρος (papyros),[17] a loanword of unknown (perhapsPre-Greek) origin.[18] Greek has a second word for it, βύβλος (byblos),[19] said to derive from the name of thePhoenician city ofByblos. The Greek writerTheophrastus, who flourished during the 4th century BCE, usespapyros when referring to the plant used as a foodstuff andbyblos for the same plant when used for nonfood products, such as cordage, basketry, or writing surfaces. The more specific term βίβλοςbiblos, which finds its way into English in such words as 'bibliography', 'bibliophile', and 'bible', refers to the inner bark of the papyrus plant.Papyrus is also theetymon of 'paper', a similar substance.
In theEgyptian language, papyrus was calledwadj (w3ḏ),tjufy (ṯwfy)[8]: 5 , ordjet (ḏt).
Bill of sale for a donkey inGreek, 126 AD; papyrus; 19.3 by 7.2 cm, MS Gr SM2223, Houghton Library, Harvard University
The word for the material papyrus is also used to designate documents written on sheets of it, often rolled up into scrolls. The plural for such documents is papyri. Historical papyri are given identifying names – generally the name of the discoverer, first owner, or institution where they are kept – and numbered, such as "Papyrus Harris I". Often an abbreviated form is used, such as "pHarris I". These documents provide important information on ancient writings; they give us the only extant copy ofMenander, the EgyptianBook of the Dead, Egyptian treatises on medicine (theEbers Papyrus) and on surgery (theEdwin Smith papyrus), Egyptian mathematical treatises (theRhind papyrus), and Egyptian folk tales (theWestcar Papyrus). When, in the 18th century, a library of ancient papyri was found inHerculaneum, ripples of expectation spread among the learned men of the time. However, since these papyri were badly charred, their unscrolling and deciphering are still going on today.
Men splitting papyrus,Tomb of Puyemré; Metropolitan Museum of ArtDifferent ways of cutting papyrus stem and making of papyrus sheetPapyrus plants nearSyracuse, SicilyDrawing of a greater bird of paradise and the papyrus plant
Papyrus was made from the stem of the papyrus plant,Cyperus papyrus. The outer rind was first removed, and the sticky fibrous innerpith is cut lengthwise into thin strips about 40 cm (16 in) long. The strips were then placed side by side on a hard surface with their edges slightly overlapping, and then another layer of strips is laid on top at right angles. The strips may have been soaked in water long enough fordecomposition to begin, perhaps increasing adhesion, but this is not certain. The two layers possibly were glued together.[20] While still moist, the two layers were hammered together, mashing the layers into a single sheet. The sheet was then dried under pressure. After drying, the sheet was polished with a rounded object, possibly a stone,seashell, or round hardwood.[21]
Sheets, or Mollema, could be cut to fit the obligatory size or glued together to create a longer roll. The point where the Mollema are joined with glue is called the kollesis. A wooden stick would be attached to the last sheet in a roll, making it easier to handle.[22] To form the long strip scrolls required, several such sheets were united and placed so all the horizontal fibres parallel with the roll's length were on one side and all the vertical fibres on the other. Normally, texts were first written on therecto, the lines following the fibres, parallel to the long edges of the scroll. Secondarily, papyrus was often reused, writing across the fibres on theverso.[6]
One source used for determining the method by which papyrus was created in antiquity is through the examination of tombs in the ancient Egyptian city ofThebes, which housed anecropolis containing many murals displaying the process of papyrus-making. The Roman commanderPliny the Elder also describes the methods of preparing papyrus in hisNaturalis Historia.[9]: 5
In a dryclimate, like that of Egypt, papyrus is stable, formed as it is of highly rot-resistantcellulose, but storage in humid conditions can result inmolds attacking and destroying the material. Library papyrus rolls were stored in wooden boxes and chests made in the form of statues. Papyrus scrolls were organized according to subject or author and identified with clay labels that specified their contents without having to unroll the scroll.[23] In European conditions, papyrus seems to have lasted only a matter of decades; a 200-year-old papyrus was considered extraordinary. Imported papyrus once commonplace inGreece andItaly has since deteriorated beyond repair, but papyri are still being found in Egypt; extraordinary examples include theElephantine papyri and the famous finds atOxyrhynchus andNag Hammadi. TheVilla of the Papyri atHerculaneum, containing the library ofLucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus,Julius Caesar's father-in-law, was preserved by the eruption ofMount Vesuvius but has only been partially excavated.
Sporadic attempts to revive the manufacture of papyrus have been made since the mid-18th century.Scottish explorerJames Bruce experimented in the late 18th century with papyrus plants fromSudan, for papyrus had become extinct in Egypt. Also in the 18th century,Sicilian Saverio Landolina manufactured papyrus atSyracuse, where papyrus plants had continued to grow in the wild. During the 1920s, when EgyptologistBattiscombe Gunn lived inMaadi, outside Cairo, he experimented with the manufacture of papyrus, growing the plant in his garden. He beat the sliced papyrus stalks between two layers of linen and produced successful examples of papyrus, one of which was exhibited in theEgyptian Museum in Cairo.[24][25] The modern technique of papyrus production used in Egypt for the tourist trade was developed in 1962 by the Egyptian engineer Hassan Ragab using plants that had been reintroduced into Egypt in 1872 from France. Both Sicily and Egypt have centres of limited papyrus production.
Papyrus is still used by communities living in the vicinity of swamps, to the extent that rural householders derive up to 75% of their income from swamp goods.[26] Particularly in East and Central Africa, people harvest papyrus, which is used to manufacture items that are sold or used locally. Examples include baskets, hats, fish traps, trays or winnowing mats, and floor mats.[27] Papyrus is also used to make roofs, ceilings, rope, and fences. Although alternatives, such aseucalyptus, are increasingly available, papyrus is still used as fuel.[26]
Bodmer Papyri: this collection was purchased byMartin Bodmer in 1955–1956. Currently, it is housed in theBibliotheca Bodmeriana inCologny. It includes Greek andCoptic documents, classical texts, biblical books, and writing of the early churches.
TheHeroninos Archive: a collection of around a thousand papyrus documents, dealing with the management of a large Roman estate, dating to the third century CE, found at the very end of the 19th century atKasr El Harit, the site of ancientTheadelphia [de], in theFaiyum area of Egypt by Bernard Pyne Grenfell and Arthur Surridge Hunt. It is spread over many collections throughout the world.
Papiri della Società Italiana (PSI): a series, still in progress, published by the Società per la ricerca dei Papiri greci e latini in Egitto and from 1927 onwards by the succeeding Istituto Papirologico "G. Vitelli" inFlorence. These papyri are situated at the institute itself and in theBiblioteca Laurenziana.
Washington University Papyri Collection: includes 445 manuscript fragments, dating from the first century BCE to the eighth century AD. Housed at theWashington University Libraries.
Yale Papyrus Collection: housed by theBeinecke Library, it contains over six thousand inventoried items. It is cataloged, digitally scanned, and accessible online.[34]
Brooklyn Papyrus: this papyrus focuses mainly on snakebites and their remedies. It speaks of remedial methods for poisons obtained from snakes, scorpions, and tarantulas. TheBrooklyn Papyrus currently resides in theBrooklyn Museum.[35]
Saite Oracle Papyrus: this papyrus located at theBrooklyn Museum records the petition of a man named Pemou on behalf of his father, Harsiese to ask their god for permission to change temples.
^abcMetzger, Bruce (2005).The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration (4th ed.).Oxford University Press. p. 8.
^David Diringer,The Book before Printing: Ancient, Medieval and Oriental, Dover Publications, New York 1982, p. 166.
^Bompaire, Jacques and Jean Irigoin.La paleographie grecque et byzantine, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1977, 389 n. 6, cited inAlice-Mary Talbot (ed.).Holy women of Byzantium, Dumbarton Oaks, 1996, p. 227.ISBN0-88402-248-X.
^βύβλος, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott,A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
^ Introduction to Greek and Latin Palaeography, Maunde Thompson.archive. org
^Bierbrier, Morris Leonard, ed. 1986.Papyrus: Structure and Usage. British Museum Occasional Papers 60, ser. ed. Anne Marriott. London: British Museum Press.
^Lyons, Martyn (2011).Books: A Living History. Los Angeles, California: Getty Publications. p. 21.ISBN978-1-60606-083-4.
Leach, Bridget, and William John Tait. 2000. "Papyrus". InAncient Egyptian Materials and Technology, edited by Paul T. Nicholson and Ian Shaw. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 227–253. Thorough technical discussion with extensive bibliography.
Leach, Bridget, and William John Tait. 2001. "Papyrus". InThe Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, edited by Donald Bruce Redford. Vol. 3 of 3 vols. Oxford, New York, and Cairo: Oxford University Press and The American University in Cairo Press. 22–24.
Parkinson, Richard Bruce, and Stephen G. J. Quirke. 1995.Papyrus. Egyptian Bookshelf. London: British Museum Press. General overview for a popular reading audience.
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