29-01-2016, 09:26 AM
One theory - I think it was originally advanced by Pelling back in the day - is that the manuscript was first drafted onto wax tablets (or similar) and then copied in ink onto the parchment.
The wax tablets would then be warmed to erase the drawings and a new page could be drafted onto it.
The technique is known to have been used in other MSS's.
Personally I tend towards the theory that the page numbers were added by a later owner of the book. It is generally accepted that some pages of the book are out of order (as evidenced by the drawings), but the numbering of the pages doesn't reflect this. Ergo, someone numbered the pages after they were put into the current order, not at the original time of manufacture.
The wax tablets would then be warmed to erase the drawings and a new page could be drafted onto it.
The technique is known to have been used in other MSS's.
Personally I tend towards the theory that the page numbers were added by a later owner of the book. It is generally accepted that some pages of the book are out of order (as evidenced by the drawings), but the numbering of the pages doesn't reflect this. Ergo, someone numbered the pages after they were put into the current order, not at the original time of manufacture.