This comprehensive handbook provides an authoritative introduction to codicology, examining the physical and structural evolution of the handwritten book within the Greek, Byzantine, and Latin traditions. Bridging the gap between traditional palaeography, textual philology, and material history, the volume establishes a rigorous methodology for analyzing manuscripts as complex cultural and artisanal artifacts. Detailed chapters systematically cover writing materials—including papyrus, parchment, and paper—alongside quire construction, ruling, layout mechanics, scriptoria practices, binding, and illumination. Furthermore, the work incorporates modern scientific methodologies, integrating analytical laboratory techniques, quantitative and statistical approaches, and comparative codicology to trace patterns of production, circulation, and library history. Functioning as both a pedagogical manual and a fundamental reference, this text offers scholars and students essential analytical frameworks and precise terminology to systematically describe, contextualize, and preserve ancient, medieval, and Renaissance manuscript heritage.