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A ''rotulus'' (plural ''rotuli'') or ''rotula'' (pl. ''rotulae''), often referred to as a "vertical roll," is a long and narrow strip of
writing material A writing material, also called a writing medium, is a surface that can be written on with suitable instruments, or used for symbolic or representational drawings. Building materials on which writings or drawings are produced are not included. ...
, historically
papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'' or ''papyruses'') can a ...
or
parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared Tanning (leather), untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves and goats. It has been used as a writing medium in West Asia and Europe for more than two millennia. By AD 400 ...
, that is wound around a wooden axle or rod. ''Rotuli'' are unwound vertically so that the writing runs parallel to the rod, unlike the other kind of roll, called a
scroll A scroll (from the Old French ''escroe'' or ''escroue''), also known as a roll, is a roll of papyrus, parchment, or paper containing writing. Structure A scroll is usually partitioned into pages, which are sometimes separate sheets of papyru ...
, whose writing runs perpendicular to the rod in multiple columns. ''Rotuli'' were used to house legal records in Europe (from which is still derived the title of the judicial functionary denominated the "
Master of the Rolls The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales)#Civil Division, Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales ...
") and in the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
. Papyrus 136 (𝔓136) is a rare example of a ''rotulus'' used, front and back, as a manuscript for a portion of the
New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
. ''Rotuli'' also have been used as
liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...
manuscripts, e.g., those used for chanting the '' Exultet''. Additionally, mortuary rolls, i.e., documents memorializing the names of all the deceased members of a monastery or other institution, which were banded together and circulated so that they could mutually pray for the repose of each other's decedents.


See also

*
Codex The codex (: codices ) was the historical ancestor format of the modern book. Technically, the vast majority of modern books use the codex format of a stack of pages bound at one edge, along the side of the text. But the term ''codex'' is now r ...
* History of scrolls * History of books


References

;Attribution The entry cites: * Léopold Victor Delisle, (Paris, 1866); *____, in , series II, vol. III; ; * Herbert Thurston, ''A Mediaeval Mortuary-card'' in '' The Month'' (London, Dec., 1896); * John Gough Nichols in Mem. Archaeolog. Institute (Norwich, 1847); * Auguste Molinier, (Paris, 1886); * Adalbert Ebner, (Freiburg, 1891); * Wilhelm Wattenbach, {{lang, de, Schriftwesen im Mittelalter (3rd ed., Leipzig), 150-74. Documents Manuscripts