The titles
This article is dedicated to the structural and stylistic analysis of the titles of Vat. copt. 57. Observing the graphic and decorative aspects of the titles of Vat. copt. 57-69, and of Vat. copt. 57 in particular, one can reasonably deduce that the scriptorium of Dayr al-Anbā Maqār involved the activity of different specialists of the making of the book, including persons charged with the specific task of the decoration . This impression is confirmed by internal and external evidence. The comparison with the, more or less coeval, codices of the White Monastery it is very striking. Not only are they much less elegant and accurate – like, on the other hand, the general aspect of the manuscripts, including the quality of parchment and its technical treatment –, but they are normally written with the same ink of the text, using a red pigment only to emphasise enlarged initials, paragraphs signs, etc. In addition, it should be observed that, very often, the script used for the titles is different from that used for the texts – and Vat. copt. 57 makes no exception in this respect –, which is another devise that confirms the attention reserved to the realization of the codices of this library.