Codex is a Latin term for a book; the term usually denotes a manuscript volume, but it also signifies a collection of legal texts (or statutes).
The Codex Amiatinus is a "pandect," or a manuscript of the Bible complete in one volume. This codex is one of three pandects made at Ceolfrith's order at Monkwearmouth-Jarrow before he set sail for Rome in 716. The manuscript is located in the Laurentian Library in Florence, Italy.
The size of the manuscript is most impressive. The pages measure 27 1/2" by 20 1/2". It consists of 1,030 folios or 2,060 pages. With its covers it is 10 inches thick and its weighs over 75 pounds; interestingly enough, the carrying case also survives, and it weighs 15 pounds, so the package leaving the monastery weighed 90 pounds--a hefty tome!
According to R.L S. Bruce-Mitford, "If you kill a calf and seek to prepare from its skin a piece of soft, unstained, undistorted vellum, suitable for a codex, only one skin of Amiatinus size... is to be obtainable from one animal." This is how we know that the production of some 1000 folios required 500 calves. Since Ceolfrith's monastery produced there such manuscripts, some 1,550 animals had to be slaughtered for the vellum. You can get an idea of the process needed to manufacture such books from several sources. One recent discussion is Barbara A. Shailor, the Medieval Book. (Toronto: U of Toronto P, 1991).
How does this codex compare to other famous books from the period, for example, the Book of Kells, in size and heft? The Book of Kells has been partially reproduced in several formats and you should have little difficulty locating a discussion in an art encyclopedia, or one of the standard sources we have used in writing SEAFARER, to get you started on your search for more information.
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