Paleography

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌpalɪˈɒɡɹəfi/

Definitions

1. The study of ancient writing systems and the analysis of historical manuscripts involves the examination of script styles, inscriptions, and documentary evidence from various cultures
2. This field encompasses the exploration of handwritten texts, deciphering letterforms, and understanding the historical context of written communication
3. It includes the investigation of the evolution of writing throughout history, the techniques used to inscribe documents, and the preservation of ancient literary artifacts

Etymology: Palaeography was coined in the 1700s from two Greek elements: "palaios," meaning old, and "graphein," meaning to write. The Benedictine scholar Bernard de Montfaucon gave the field its classic form in his 1708 work on ancient writing, though the English word, along with the French "paléographie," follows the Latin "palaeographia" that scholars were already using. Its earliest sense was the study of old handwriting itself, the practice of reading and dating manuscripts. The word then widened. Scholars began applying the term to inscriptions carved in stone and metal, and to the wider documentary record of a culture, so that a paleographer might now compare the lettering on a Roman tombstone with a medieval charter. This is why the term carries more than one sense today, covering both the reading of historical scripts and the analysis of their styles.

Synonyms: ancient writing, script study