2017/12/21 by François Déroche · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Archaeology and Historical Studies #Historical and Linguistic Studies #Islamic Studies and History
paper · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190498931.003.0003
openalex publication_date 2017/12/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
This is a study of two major Umayyad Qur’an manuscripts: the Codex of Fustat and Codex of Damascus, which survive as fragments scattered between different collections. The growing formality represented by their script, their degree of orthographic notation, the approach of their scribes to layout, and the varying quality of their illumination will be analyzed, serving as a basis for a reflection about the processes that led to their production at both the levels of scribes and patrons. The new form given to manuscripts of the Qur’an in this period, it will be argued, reflects emerging concerns about its visual and aesthetical dimensions, but also a drive towards increased control by the authorities over the Qur’anic text and its transmission.