How long did it take to produce an Old Polish manuscript?

Abstract

The author attempts to describe in detail the time needed for a manuscript to be produced. He refers to the issues of manuscript production, influencing its functioning in the Old Polish period. Referring to a few examples of rewriting "Roczniki" [Annals] by Jan Długosz, he proves that the time of manuscript production can differ, depending on many factors related firstly to the form, function, and mechanism of production of manuscript books. Copying time of luxury manuscripts of approx. 1000 pages and large folio format amounted to approx. 18 months, while a simple internal codex of approx. 1200 pages required approx. 3 months of scribe's work.