Paleography Essentials: Reading and Analyzing Historical Manuscripts

Deciphering historical manuscripts and understanding past handwriting styles can seem daunting without a structured guide. This course provides a clear, beginner-friendly approach to mastering key paleographic concepts and historical script analysis. You will build a strong foundation in reading early handwriting styles, recognizing scribal shortcuts, and dating historical documents for research or academic preparation. What you will learn: Understand core paleographic terminology, writing surfaces, and script classification; Identify major script evolutions, including ustav, polustav, and cursive handwriting styles; Decode scribal abbreviations, ligatures, titlo marks, and numerical notation systems; Analyze paper characteristics and watermarks to assist in document dating; Apply systematic transcription guidelines to decipher handwritten texts; Discover how digital manuscript archives and text recovery tools are applied in research. The course opens with essential terminology and physical manuscript materials before guiding you through script evolution and practical transcription techniques. Ideal for students preparing for historical exams, aspiring archivists, and manuscript enthusiasts, this text-based course requires no prior background. Begin your journey into reading primary historical sources with clarity and confidence.