- "Palaeography is the study of historic writing systems and the deciphering and dating of historical manuscripts, including the analysis of historic handwriting."
Studying the writing system used to record the dead language, including its development and different forms.
Cuneiform: It is one of the earliest writing systems in the world, developed by the Sumerians in Mesopotamia around 4,000 years ago, and it was used for writing on clay tablets.
Hieroglyphs: This is an ancient Egyptian writing system that used pictures to represent concepts or sounds. It was used for over 3,000 years in Egypt, and today, it is considered a dead language.
Linear B: An early form of the Greek language, used on the island of Crete and the Greek mainland in the second millennium BC.
Sanskrit: The ancient Indian language that was used as a literary and religious language in India for thousands of years.
Latin: The language of the ancient Roman Empire, and it was used throughout Europe until the late Middle Ages.
Phoenician: A script that was used in ancient Phoenicia, which is modern-day Lebanon, and it was the basis for many other scripts, including the Hebrew and Arabic alphabets.
Ogham: An ancient Irish alphabet that was inscribed on stones and wood, and it was used from the 4th to 7th century AD.
Runic: An ancient Germanic alphabet used by the Vikings, and it is still used today in some parts of Scandinavia.
Old English: Also known as Anglo-Saxon, it is the earliest form of the English language that was used from the 5th to the 11th century.
Mayan: The script used by the Maya people of Central America, and it was used for writing hieroglyphs from the 3rd century BC to the 16th century AD.
Etruscan: An ancient writing system used by the Etruscan people in what is now Italy.
Gothic: An ancient Germanic alphabet used by the Goths, and it was mainly used for religious purposes.
Kharosthi: An ancient script used in parts of modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan, and it was used to write the Gandhari language.
Pahlavi: An ancient script used in Persia, and it was used to write the Middle Persian language.
Ugaritic: An ancient cuneiform script used in the ancient city-state of Ugarit, which was located in modern-day Syria.
Sumero-Akkadian: A cuneiform script that was used by the Sumerians and the Akkadians in Mesopotamia.
Hittite: An ancient script used in the Hittite Empire, located in what is now Turkey, and it was used to write the Hittite language.
Eblaite: An ancient script used in the city of Ebla, located in modern-day Syria, and it was used to write the Eblaite language.
- "The term palaeography ultimately comes from the Greek words palaiós, meaning 'old', and gráphein, meaning 'to write'."
- "It is concerned with the forms and processes of writing; not the textual content of documents."
- "Included in the discipline is the practice of deciphering, reading, and dating manuscripts, and the cultural context of writing, including the methods with which writing and books were produced, and the history of scriptoria."
- "The discipline is one of the auxiliary sciences of history."
- "Palaeography is important for understanding, authenticating, and dating historic texts."
- "However, it generally cannot be used to pinpoint dates with high precision."
- "Palaeography is written as paleography in the US."
- "Palaeography focuses on the forms and processes of writing, while not considering the textual content of documents."
- "The main components include the deciphering, reading, and dating of manuscripts, as well as understanding the cultural context of writing and the history of scriptoria."
- "The Greek word palaiós means 'old'."
- "The Greek word gráphein means 'to write'."
- "It is important for understanding, authenticating, and dating historic texts."
- "However, it generally cannot be used to pinpoint dates with high precision."
- "Included in the discipline is the practice of deciphering, reading, and dating manuscripts, and the cultural context of writing, including the methods with which writing and books were produced, and the history of scriptoria."
- "Included in the discipline is the practice of deciphering, reading, and dating manuscripts, and the cultural context of writing, including the methods with which writing and books were produced, and the history of scriptoria."
- "The discipline is one of the auxiliary sciences of history."
- "It is concerned with the forms and processes of writing; not the textual content of documents."
- "Palaeography is important for understanding, authenticating, and dating historic texts."
- "However, it generally cannot be used to pinpoint dates with high precision."