Even the designation of book hands and document hands reflects usual convention rather than absolutes of classification, as scribes sometimes used scripts normally used for books in documents and vice versa. The hybridisation of book and document hands in the later middle ages led to a proliferation of script styles for a range of purposes. Anyway, the main point of this section is not to classify things, but to have a go at reading them.
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Clicking on the details link for each section will give you a longer and more comprehensive description of each example.
Old Roman scripts More details on the first two sections
- square capitals (carved Roman inscription, Latin)
- square capitals (4th century copy of Virgil)
- rustic capitals (8th century psalter, Latin)
- Old Roman cursive (2nd century purchase agreement, Latin)
New Roman scripts
- uncial (6th century gospel, Latin)
- uncial (8th century English psalter, Latin)
- half uncial (6th century religious commentary, Latin)
- New Roman cursive (4th century personal letter, Latin)
National Hands or Pre-Carolingian Scripts More details on this section
- insular
minuscule family
- insular half uncial (7th century gospel, Latin)
- insular minuscule (transitional) (9th century copy of Bede, Latin)
- pointed insular minuscule (9th century gloss, Old English)
- insular minuscule (10th century colophon, Old English)
- insular minuscule, Irish (12th century gospel, Latin)
- English, late (12th century royal charter, Old English)
- English, late document hand (12th century manumission of serfs, Old English)
- old Italian book hand (7th century homilies, Latin)
- Merovinigian minuscule (8th century Gallican missal, Latin)
- transitional Merovingian minuscule (8th century religious commentary, Latin)
- Germanic Minuscule (8th century annals, Latin)
- Visigothic minuscule (10th century liturgical work, Latin)
- Early Beneventan or Lombardic minuscule (8th century religious commentary, Latin)
- Beneventan minuscule (11th century exultet roll, Latin)
- Specialised
Early Book Hands
- Luxeuil minuscule (7th century lectionary, Latin)
- Corbie ab (9th century liturgical work, Latin)
- Early Document Hands
- Merovingian chancery script (8th century diploma, Latin)
- Early curialis (9th century papal bull, Latin)
- Later curialis (12th century papal bull, Latin)
Caroline minuscule More details on this section
- French book hand (9th century Vulgate Bible, Latin)
- French book hand (10th century chronicle, early French and German)
- English book hand, bold (10th century psalter, Latin)
- English book hand, small (11th century psalter, Latin)
- English document hand (12th century forged charter, Latin)
Gothic scripts
- Book hands
More details on this section
- protogothic
- book hand - French (12th century copy of Suetonius, Latin)
- book hand - English (12th century bestiary, Latin)
- book hand in a document (12th century royal charter, Latin)
- textura
- book hand (13th century breviary or psalter, Latin)
- small book hand (13th century bestiary, Latin)
- medium grade book hand (13th century song, English and Latin)
- small glossing script (13th century Bible, Latin)
- compressed book hand (13-14th century theological text, Latin)
- prescissa (14th century psalter, Latin)
- high quality book hand (15th century book of hours, Latin)
- moderately formal book hand (15th century book of hours, Latin)
- formal book hand (late 15th century book of hours, Dutch)
- informal book hand (15/16th century German psalter, Latin)
- as inscription (15th century brass funerary memorial, Latin)
- rotunda
- book hand from the Holy Land (12th century psalter, Latin)
- book hand from Italy (14th century copy of Dante, Italian)
- tiny semi-cursive book hand from Italy (14th century theological treatise, Latin)
- cursiva
- English (14th century poem, Middle English)
- Dutch or German (15/16th century book of hours, Dutch or German)
- French (15/16th century book of hours French)
- French (15/16th century bilingual psalter, Latin and French)
- bastarda
- English (15th century poem of Hoccleve, English)
- English (15th century Brut Chronicle, English)
- French bâtarde (15th century chronicle of Charlemagne, French)
- French bâtarde (late 15th century book of hours, Latin)
- Flemish bâtarde (another late 15th century book of hours, Latin)
- French bâtarde (15th century popular song, French)
- protogothic
- Document hands More details on this section
- very formal diploma hands
- papal minuscule (12th century papal bull, Latin)
- papal minuscule (12th century papal bull, Latin)
- diplomatic minuscule (12th century German imperial diploma, Latin)
- papal minuscule (13th century papal bull, Latin)
- papal minuscule (15th century papal bull, Latin)
- English protogothic
- charter hand (12th century private charter, Latin)
- charter hand (12th century private charter, Latin)
- chancery hand (12th century royal writ, Latin)
- very formal diploma hands
- English formal Gothic
- calligraphic charter (13th century private charter, Latin)
- ecclesiastical (13th century appeal to the Holy See, Latin)
- formal charter (early 16th century formal document, English)
- English chancery style cursive
- cursiva anglicana (13th century ecclesiastical charter, Latin)
- informal chancery hand (early 13th century royal writ, Latin)
- cursiva anglicana (13th century royal charter from Germany, Latin)
- charter hand (13th century ecclesiastical charter, Latin)
- cursiva anglicana (late 13th century royal letters patent, Latin)
- chancery hand (early 14th century royal writ, French)
- chancery hand (14th century chancery warrant, French)
- cursiva anglicana (14th century private letters patent, French)
- cursiva anglicana (private charter, Latin)
- cursive charter hand (15th century private charter, Latin)
- chancery hand (15th century petition, English)
- chancery hand (15th century petition, English)
- chancery hand (15th century petition, English)
- chancery hand (endorsement on 15th century petition above, English)
- chancery hand (15th century petition, French)
- chancery hand (endorsement on 15th century petition above, Latin)
- chancery hand (late 15th century chancery warrant, English)
- chancery hand (15th century recipe for ink, English)
- court hand (early 16th century plea roll, Latin and English)
- charter hand (16th century indenture, English)
- charter hand (late 16th century final concord, Latin)
- English personal, business and informal cursive
- formal personal cursives (14th and 15th century monastic pressmarks, Latin)
- informal cursive (15th century personal letter, English)
- personal cursive (late 15th century list of books, English)
- informal cursive (15th century petition, English)
- personal cursive (late 15/16th century genealogy, English)
- personal cursive (16th century confession of sins, Latin)
- personal cursive (early 16th century notes on a genealogy, English)
- business cursive (mid 16th century city corporation minutes, English)
- French chancery style cursive
- Secretary chancery hand (14th century royal letter close, French)
- French cursive
- document cursive (14th century acquittance, French)
- document cursive (14th century acquittance, French)
- document cursive (15th century land transaction, Latin)
- Italian cursive
- legal cursive (later 14th century court roll, Latin)
- notarial cursive (early 16th century legal document, Latin)
- book hands
- humanistic display script (15th century copy of Aristotle, Latin)
- humanistic display script (15th century book of hours, Latin)
- humanistic minuscule (15th century copy of St Augustine, Latin)
- humanistic minuscule (16th century book of hours, Latin)
and anything else we think of along the way.
What
is Paleography?If you are looking at this page without frames, there is more information about medieval writing to be found by going to the home page (framed) or the site map (no frames).
