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beginning of the Middle Ages, as the production of manuscripts moved ex- clusively to monasteries, very few classical or pagan texts were being copied: 12 out of 157 in the sixth century. The percentage of classical or pagan texts copied declined even further in the seventh century to 22 out of 198, even further still in the eighth century to 9 out of 834. The statistics for secular works remained fairly consistent at around 10% throughout the period stud- ied, with 12 out of 113 for the fifth century, 20 out of 157 for the sixth cen- tury, 22 out of 198 for the seventh century, and 91 out of 834 for the eighth century. Throughout the period, as we might expect, the vast majority of book production concerned theological works. From this we may conclude, along with L. D. Reynolds, that the basic arts of life continued; “education, law, medicine and the surveying necessary to administration and the levying of taxes still required manuals and works of reference, and these needs are duly reflected in the pattern of manuscript survival.”90.
From the graphic entitled “Origin of Codices,” we note that Italy, seat of the church, was responsible for the greatest number of codices: 502 out 1884, and its rate of production, based on surviving manuscripts, appears to have been relatively consistent throughout the period beginning in 350 CE. Fol- lowing Italy, production of manuscripts in France originated in the second half of the fifth century, and though it began slowly with the foundation of the first monasteries in Gaul, by the seventh century production increased to the point where France was second only to Italy, with 440 manuscripts surviving out of the 1884. These countries were followed by Germany where production began late, about 700 CE, and grew rapidly, with 335 manu- scripts surviving from the eighth century. Great Britain, from which only 148 codices survive, also began production late, in the mid-seventh century. Only 32 manuscripts survive from Spain, reflective of very small production beginning in the sixth century. Production in Ireland began in the sixth cen- tury but was low until the eighth; 81 Irish codices are recorded. Switzerland, with its small population but historically stable environment, did not begin production until the eighth century, from which 84 manuscripts survived.
90 Reynolds (ed.), Texts and Transmission: A Survey of the Latin Classics (1983]), p. xvi. 165