TechnologyEurope
The codex replaces the scroll
You can finally look something up instead of unrolling
See it on the timeline →In depth
The codex is among the most underrated inventions: it makes *looking things up* possible, and with it cross-references, tables of contents and indexes — the whole infrastructure for finding your way through a text. That Christianity adopted it while classical works stayed on scrolls probably contributed to Christian texts surviving late antiquity better.
For children
Instead of long scrolls, people began sewing sheets into books with a spine. You could then turn straight to a place, write on both sides, and make something easy to carry. Christians adopted the form first.
Connects to
Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org