Il manoscritto 338 della Biblioteca Comunale presso il Sacro Convento in Assisi. Studio introduttivo

This study offers an in-depth codicological and palaeographical investigation of Manuscript 338 of the Biblioteca Comunale preserved at the Sacro Convento in Assisi, one of the most important early witnesses to the textual and liturgical tradition of the Franciscan Order. Combining close analysis of the manuscript’s composite structure with a systematic examination of its scripts, hands, and textual units, the authors reconstruct the complex processes of production, assembly, and use that shaped the codex between the mid-thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. Central to the study is the extensive visual and iconographic apparatus, which functions not merely as illustration but as an integral scholarly tool: high-quality reproductions of selected folios, initials, layouts, and graphic details allow the reader to verify palaeographical arguments, compare scribal practices, and observe material features that are otherwise inaccessible. The images document the coexistence of different writing traditions, the collaboration of multiple scribes, and the stratified nature of the manuscript, while also highlighting decorative and paratextual elements that contribute to its semantic density. Through the constant dialogue between text and image, the essay demonstrates how visual evidence is essential for understanding the manuscript as a dynamic artefact, situated at the intersection of Franciscan spirituality, institutional memory, and medieval book culture.