Customer Reviews

A Guide to Western Historical Scripts from Antiquity to 1600

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Michelle Brown's book is a must-have for the beginning student of paleography or codicology. It includes full-page (generally readable) photos of manuscripts which demonstrate characteristics of certain medieval scripts by country, region, and date - with facing page transcriptions and explanations. There are a few minor mistakes and questionable areas, such as her p. 26 transcription of the half-uncial (probably a typo), and p. 130 transcription of the humanistic book script (also probably a typo). The book is best utilized in conjunction with a course in either paleography, codicology, or both, and then mainly as a preliminary reference tool for rough-dating or localization. Pay attention to the details, for similar scripts (like the various gothics) can get tricky.

Michelle Brown has gathered examples from just about all of the Classical, Late Antique, and medieval Latin book-hands, from the extremely difficult-to-decipher Roman cursive to the all-too-clear Caroline Minuscule. Good introductions are offered for each script as well as copious notes on scribal errors/alterations, distinctive traits, and decorative elements. Each example displays a plate of a particular script on the right-hand page and a description/identification on the left. Also, there is a brief transcription (about 15-20 lines) on the left with all the words separated and the abbreviations expanded. Subject matter ranges from Virgil to biblical passages, with many things in-between. This is a must have for the student taking a paleography course or just interested in medieval book culture. Also recommended: Barbara Shailor, the Medieval Book.