Palaeographers

Palaeographers are scholars who study handwriting and the forms of writing used in historical sources to read, date, and interpret manuscripts and inscriptions. The field covers scripts from ancient papyrus and stone inscriptions to medieval manuscripts and early modern printed books, and extends to inscriptions on metal and other durable media.

They identify script types, such as majuscule and minuscule forms in Latin, as well as Greek, Arabic, Syriac, Coptic, and other traditions. They analyze letter shapes, ligatures, abbreviations, punctuation, and page layouts. By comparing features with dated examples, palaeographers estimate when and where a text was produced and by whom it may have been copied. They also attempt to reconstruct damaged or illegible texts, understand scribal practices, and study the transmission history of texts and the material clues of provenance.

Work is conducted in libraries, archives, monasteries, and research institutes, often in collaboration with codicologists, philologists, and historians. Training typically requires expertise in relevant languages, paleography across periods, and knowledge of historical book production, as well as skills in palaeographic description and dating.

Modern palaeography has a digital dimension: high-resolution imaging, multispectral photography, and computational methods for handwriting analysis aid decipherment, dating, and accessibility. The discipline supports critical editions, textual criticism, provenance studies, and the preservation of cultural heritage.