Continuing our series examining Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks, this week we’re profiling the Codex Arundel, which is considered by some to be second in importance out of all of Da Vinci’s manuscripts. (The first being the Codex Atlanticus, which we profiled last time.)
The Codex Arundel is similar to the Codex Leicester in that’s it’s a compilation of notes and diagrams. (We’re all to familiar with the Codex Leicester here at Paperblanks, having produced a collection of writing journals from its notes and sketches. Find out more about that collection here.) The Codex Arundel is comprised of 283 loose pages that Da Vinci described as “a collection without order, drawn from many papers, which I have copied here, hoping to arrange them later each in its place according to the subjects of which they treat.” It’s comprised of materials written throughout Da Vinci’s life on topics such as mechanics, astronomy, and hydraulics.
The Codex Arundel: An Overview
- Meaning of Name: The name comes from a former owner of the notebook, Thomas Howard, who, at the time, was the second earl of Arundel
- Dates: Individual pages originate from almost every period of Da Vinci’s life, but specifically between 1480 to 1518
- Topics: Mechanics (especially the topics of weights, levels, and equilibrium), optics, astronomy, geometry, cosmology, hydraulics.
- Page Count: 283 pages
- Present Location: The British Library
History of the Codex Arundel
1519: Leonardo da Vinci dies and leaves his favourite pupil, Francesco Melzi, his books and manuscripts. Melzi brings them back to Italy.
1579: Melzi dies and, over the next few years, his heirs begin to give sheets of the manuscripts away to collectors and friends.
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