Paleography - Studying Ancient Writings
Authenticating the Origins of Ancient Texts and Manuscripts
Mar 5, 2009
Paleographers use their knowledge of certain types of writing and materials to find out more about the ancient manuscripts they are studying. Some of the things they look at are the ink and mediums used, type of writing instruments, handwriting and illustrations.
Determining the Composition of the Ink
The history of ink is long and varied and paleographers need to know exactly how each type is made. The ink is examined for density and for its ingredients. The variety of ingredients is immense. Crushed insect nests, plant extracts, chemical compounds – the type of ingredients will let the paleographer determine what part of the world the
The Type and Origin of the Medium
The medium is the material that was actually written on. This includes papyrus, skin, parchment, leaf, wood and in some cases stone or wax. The type of medium used is very useful for determining the date of a manuscript and sometimes what area of the world it was from.
Types of Writing Instruments
Many different instruments have been used over the years including quill pens, stylus, and tools to chisel into stone. The type of writing instrument was, in most cases, determined by the type of medium the writer was using.
Performing a Handwriting Analysis
Dr. Timothy W. Seid from the Earlham School of Religion, provides a thorough over view of the techniques that paleographers use to analyze handwriting. This analysis includes the unique characteristics of the scribe’s style of writing. Paleographers look at the types of strokes, shape of letters, formation of letters, and angle of strokes. Writing styles change over the years and vary from place to place. By studying these characteristics, paleographers can determine the date and location where the manuscript was written. By looking at whether the letters and characters are all uniform they can see if there are different styles of handwriting within a text.
Style of Illustrations
Other things that paleographers look at are illustrations within a manuscript, drawings, maps, and illuminations.They compare these with other illustrations of this type from manuscripts known to be from the area around the time of the text to see if they are consistent with the style of the day.
The Work of Scribes
Often paleographers are trying to determine whether a manuscript is all done in the same handwriting. This is critical, since it can be the determining factor as to whether a text was prepared by a single author or multiple scribes. This is important in determining whether a work is an original document or a copy that has been made by a scribe. They can also tell if the writer was a trained scribe or an amateur. Paleographers can also help determine whether a specific person wrote a text by comparing a known sample of that person’s work with manuscript of uncertain origin.
Paleography is often used to authenticate documents, preserve and complete damaged texts, determine authorship. Often these studies can provide us with knowledge from the past and help fill holes in our history.
