Latin Palaeography
Antiquity and the Middle Ages

Bernhard Bischoff (Author), Daibhm O. Cróinin (Translated by), David Ganz (Translated by)

9780521367264, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 12 April 1990

302 pages
22.8 x 15.1 x 2.5 cm, 0.56 kg

'I suspect that this may well be the last time that one scholar will be able to produce a survey of the state of the subject in a single volume on this scale, in which a wealth of material and discussion have been unified by the personal interpretation of one who has thought deeply and fruitfully about the subject for many years.' Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und Literatur

This work, by the greatest living authority on medieval palaeography, offers the most comprehensive and up-to-date account in any language of the history of Latin script. It also contains a detailed account of the role of the book in cultural history from antiquity to the Renaissance, which outlines the history of book illumination. Designed as a textbook, it contains a full and updated bibliography. Because the volume sets the development of Latin script in its cultural context, it also provides an unrivalled introduction to the nature of medieval Latin culture. It will be used extensively in the teaching of latin palaeography, and is unlikely to be superseded.

List of abbreviations
Preface
Introduction
Part I. Codicology: 1. Writing materials and writing tools
2. The external characteristics of the written heritage
3. Writing and copying
Part II. The History of Latin Script: 4. Latin script in antiquity
5. Latin handwriting in the Middle Ages
6. Supplement
Part III. The Manuscript in Cultural History: 7. Roman and Christian antiquity
Plates
Bibliography
Index of names and subjects.

Subject Areas: Palaeography [history of writing CFL]