From Scroll to Codex

Codicological Remarks on the Late-Antique Transmission of Aristotle’s Organon in Light of its Oldest Witnesses

Abstract

In this paper, I shall examine the available codicological evidence regarding the earliest transmissions
of Aristotle’s Organon, a compilation of logical works crafted during late antiquity. This in-depth
examination of the earliest extant manuscripts indicates that the Organon circulated in a two-volume
edition. Each volume contained almost the same amount of text: the first comprised Porphyry’s
Introduction, Aristotle’s Categories, On Interpretation, and the two Analytics, while the second
contained Aristotle’s Topics and Sophistical Refutations.