INTRODUCTION
The Terminology in English
This glossary is intended to be a practical tool for conservators, educators and other scholars working with Islamic manuscripts. As it was initiated by two conservators working with the English language, the basic list of terms (as found in the index) is compiled in English, and the first publication of the glossary on-line is in English. With the help of TIMA and its comunity, the terms and definitions are being translated in Arabic, Persian and Turkish. However, this is a complicated process and, in addition, the interactive web-structure requires very precise linking of translated terms within the definitions. For that reason, it is not possible as yet to publish the terminology in any of these three languages.
Terminology specifically for Islamic manuscripts
This terminology is not an attempt to collect all Islamic manuscript-related terms. It focusses on bookbinding terms and conservation terms that are related directly to original Islamic manuscripts and bindings. Therefore, bookbinding terms that are used to describe specific Western book features are not included. In the event that an Islamic manuscript is resewn and rebound in a Western binding, it is suggested that Western bookbinding glossaries are consulted.
The organizational schema of the Terminology
The organizational schema of this glossary reflects a manuscript's structure and manufacture. In addition, a few categories have been added which are useful for conservators, such as condition issues.
The Manuscript
The Manuscript Codex
Conservation
Acknowledgements
In the process of writing, several sources with manuscript or bookbinding terms were consulted, in order to further define the terminology for describing Islamic manuscripts. These sources are:
- the Glossary of Bookbinding Terms: "The Language of Bindings Thesaurus" by Ligatus; the hard copy is forthcoming.
- Adam Gacek, "Arabic Manuscripts: A Vademecum for Readers", Leiden: Brill, 2009.
- Denis Muzerelle, "Vocabulaire codicologique du français", Paris: C.E.M.I., 1985.
The University Library of Leiden kindly gave permission to use the images Karin Scheper took of the manuscripts from the Oriental Collections. These images can be recongnised by the preceding UBL Or. and then the classnumber. We are also grateful to other institutions who allowed us the use of images taken by Paul Hepworth: the Mevlana Museum in Konya, the Yusuf Iyilik collection in Istanbul, the Vakif Eserleri Museum in Ankara, and the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore.
The authors would like to thank those colleagues who kindly read the list of definitions and made useful comments to it: Kristine Rose, John Mumford, Jake Benson, Muhammad Isa Waley and Nicholas Pickwoad.
Finally, the authors are grateful for all the work Femke Prinsen has done to create this website.
About the authors
The glossary is compiled by Paul Hepworth and Karin Scheper. They are responsible for the selection of terms and their subsequent definitions, the decisions regarding the structure of the glossary, and lastly, they have provided the images and drawings to illustrate the terms.
