Codex

A codex (from the Latin caudex for "trunk of a tree" or block of wood, book; plural codices) is a book constructed of a number of sheets of paper, vellum, papyrus, or similar materials, with hand-written content. The book is usually bound by stacking the pages and fixing one edge, and using a cover thicker than the sheets. Some codices are continuously folded like a concertina. The alternative to paged codex format for a long document is the continuous scroll. Examples of folded codices include the Maya codices. Sometimes people use the term for a book-style format, including modern printed books but excluding folded books.

The Romans developed the form from wooden writing tablets. The codex's gradual replacement of the scroll—the dominant book form in the ancient world—has been called the most important advance in book making before the invention of printing. The codex transformed the shape of the book itself, and offered a form that lasted for centuries. The spread of the codex is often associated with the rise of Christianity, which adopted the format for use with the Bible early on. First described by the 1st-century AD Roman poet Martial, who praised its convenient use, the codex achieved numerical parity with the scroll around AD 300, and had completely replaced it throughout the now Christianised Greco-Roman world by the 6th century.

Codex (horse)

Codex (February 28, 1977 – August, 20, 1984) was an American thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1980 Preakness Stakes. He was foaled in Florida out of the Minnesota Mac mare, Roundup Rose, sired by the 1969 American Horse of the Year, Arts And Letters.

Triple Crown races

Trained by D. Wayne Lukas, Codex was considered the dominant 3-year-old colt in California after winning the 1980 Santa Anita Derby and Hollywood Derby. The horse's owner, John Nerud, believed Triple Crown races could harm a horse and did not allow Lukas to nominate Codex for the 1980 Kentucky Derby.

Lukas initially declined to nominate Codex for the 1980 Preakness Stakes but the horse was entered accidentally by Lukas' 22-year-old son, Jeff, who worked as the assistant trainer. Codex, ridden by Angel Cordero Jr., beat the Kentucky Derby-winning filly, Genuine Risk by 4³⁄₄ lengths in the 1980 Preakness Stakes, becoming Lukas' first Triple Crown-race winner. The victory was challenged by Genuine Risk's owners on grounds of deliberate interference by Cordero. Television replays showed Cordero swing Codex wide and possibly brush against Genuine Risk. One of Codex's lawyers, Arnold M. Weiner, displayed photos showing the horses almost feet apart in contrast to the television footage. After testimony by dozens of witnesses, the Maryland Racing Commission ruled that any contact was incidental and allowed the result to stand. The controversy increased media attention on the upcoming Belmont Stakes as a rivalry between Codex and Genuine Risk.

Codex (TV series)

Codex was a game show that aired on Channel 4 from 12 November 2006 to 15 December 2007 and was hosted by Tony Robinson.

Format

Series 1

In the first series, a single team of five explorers solve a series of games in order to win letters that may help them solve a 'codex', an encoded cryptic clue, at the end of the programme.

Before each round, Tony shows the team one or more historical artefacts and gives some background to the objects. The team is then asked to answer seven questions relating to the artefacts in three minutes. If they succeed then two of the symbols of the codex are replaced with the two letters they represent; this is shown to the viewers but not to the team until later in the programme.

Between each round (except after round two) there is a head-to-head challenge where the team is posed a question with a numerical answer. They are each given a numeric keypad, and the person who is furthest from the correct answer is eliminated.

At the end of the show the four people eliminated in the head-to-heads work together to try and decode the codex using the revealed letters. They have three minutes in which to do this, and when they have finished they should have revealed a cryptic clue.