On many of the older manuscripts I work with (13th, 14th century), there’s a certain kind of paper and certain kind of ink that one sees frequently, especially in legal or royal documents. The paper seems thinner, browner, and more brittle than usual, but what makes this particular combination unique is the ink. I don’t [...]
Posts Tagged ‘impossible handwriting’
Destructive Art
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged impossible handwriting, manuscripts, paleography, philly on July 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Abbreviations: A Cheater’s Tool
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged dead languages, impossible handwriting, manuscripts, pictures on July 9, 2008 | 4 Comments »
Despite having my Big Book o’ Latin Abbreviations (Cappelli’s Lexicon Abbreviaturarum) at hand, 8 times out of 10 I find myself hitting my head on my desk as I attempt to puzzle a real word out of an abbreviation. The 9th and 10th time I either find it in the Book o’ Abbreviations, or assume [...]
Documents
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged documents, impossible handwriting, manuscripts, paleography on June 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Cataloging documents, compared to codices, is not overly complicated in itself. The worst part is generally the secretarial hands are nearly completely illegible to anyone who is not the scribe. The handwriting is crisp and clear, the ink well-preserved on the vellum, and you can almost see some 14th century Italian scribe whipping through this [...]
