London Palaeography Summer School

London Palaeography Summer School: 23-26 June 2008

The London Palaeography Summer School is a series of intensive day-
or half-day classes in Palaeography and Diplomatic given by experts
in their respective fields from a wide range of institutions.
Subject areas include Anglo-Saxon palaeography, electronic resources
for manuscript studies, medieval scientific manuscripts, Latin
palaeography, German palaeography, Papal diplomatic, illuminated
manuscripts and manuscript book making (western and Ethiopic).
Courses available during the period Monday 23 to Thursday 26 June
2008 are listed below.  Further information and application forms
are available from:

 <URL:http://ies.sas.ac.uk/cmps/events/courses/SummerSchool/index.htm>

Monday 23 June, 2008

    Introduction to Latin Palaeography
    Dr Marigold Norbye (University College London)
    Full day

    This course will provide a brief overview of the main elements
    of Latin palaeography, concentrating on scripts of the later
    medieval period (1100-1500).  Whilst showing the most common
    abbreviation symbols and the evolution of letter forms, the
    course will consist of practical exercises, transcribing several
    different types of script.  Participants must have at least
    elementary Latin in order to benefit from the course.  It would
    be useful if they could indicate whether they have any previous
    experience of palaeography when applying.

    Books of Hours
    Dr Jenny Stratford (Institute of Historical Research and Royal
    Holloway, University of London)
    Full day

    Books of Hours have survived in great numbers. They contained
    the most important texts for the private devotions of the laity
    and were often richly illuminated. The course will look at how
    Books of Hours developed, at their main textual contents and how
    they were decorated. Some outstanding manuscripts, such as the
    Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux, the Bedford Hours and the Tres Riches
    Heures of duke John of Berry will be the focus of one session.
    Questions of localisation (liturgical Use), and of ownership
    will also be considered.

Tuesday 24 June, 2008

    Anglo-Saxon Palaeography
    Dr Debby Banham (Birkbeck college and Cambridge)
    Full day

    This session will focus on manuscripts made in England before
    the Norman Conquest, with a brief excursus beyond 1066 to look
    at further developments in English vernacular writing. The main
    emphasis will be on script, and on books written in Old English,
    although Latin ones will not be neglected entirely. We'll look
    at the development of handwriting in Anglo-Saxon England, its
    relationship with book decoration and other aspects of
    manuscript production, the use of different scripts for
    different purposes, and the connections with cultural and
    intellectual developments in pre-Conquest England. Different
    practices in Latin and Old English will be covered, finishing
    with the afterlife of vernacular usages in Middle English.

    Electronic Resources for Manuscript Studies
    Ms Mura Ghosh (Senate House Library)
    Half day morning

    This is a practical course exploring resources and search
    techniques for accessing descriptions and images of medieval
    manuscripts in electronic databases and manuscript catalogues.
    Online tools for reading medieval manuscripts will be examined.
    Bibliographic, full text resources, periodical databases and
    electronic journals for systematic literature searching and
    research in manuscript studies will also be discussed.
    Participants will have the opportunity to gain hands-on
    experience during the course therefore a basic understanding of
    web resources would be an advantage.

    Western Scientific Manuscripts
    Professor Charles Burnett (Warburg Institute)
    Half day afternoon

    This course will examine manuscripts of texts on arithmetic,
    geometry, astrology, astronomy, divination and medicine (using
    facsimiles), showing how scribes dealt with the representation
    of numbers and the setting out of tables and diagrams.   Also to
    be explored is the didactic use of illustrations (e.g. in
    surgery), and the adaptation of the manuscript book, parchment
    and paper to practical exigencies (e.g. the use of paper dials,
    medical and astrological vade mecums, and scraps of writing
    paper for sketching horoscopes).   More generally, the role of
    the book in medieval science will be discussed.

Wednesday 25 June, 2008

    Papal Diplomatic
    Professor David d'Avray (University College London)
    Full day

    The course will be a brief introduction to medieval papal
    diplomatic, understood as the analysis of formal structures of
    papal documents, and of the settings in life that one needs to
    know to understand them.  Thus some thought about the nature of
    medieval papal government will be involved.  The course will
    also be the occasion for some general discussion of Diplomatic
    as a method for medievalists.  There will be a certain emphasis
    on the twelfth to fifteenth centuries. Some Latin is needed for
    this course.

    How Manuscripts Were Made
    Ms Patricia Lovett (Calligraphy and Lettering Arts Society)
    Full day

    This course will consider the ways in which Western manuscripts
    were made.

    From examples of medieval manuscripts together with
    demonstrations, the tools and materials used in manuscript
    production will be considered: quills and quill cutting, vellum
    and parchment qualities and preparation, pigments and the use of
    gold.  The techniques of creating the various letter-forms in
    scripts from 600-1500 and the ways in which medieval miniatures
    were illuminated and painted will be shown.

Thursday 26 June, 2008

    German Palaeography
    Dr Dorothea McEwan and Dr des Claudia Wedepohl (Warburg
    Institute)
    Full day

    This German Palaeography class is a reading class. Its aim is to
    familiarize students with a number of different handwritings. A
    variety of texts (in photocopies) will be examined and read:
    private correspondence, official correspondence of German courts
    and the Habsburg monarchy, petitions by individuals, replies by
    authorities, appeals, etc., from the 17th to the 20th centuries.
    The course will be flexible in as much as it will be possible to
    present documents from different centuries and handwriting
    styles in order to suit the needs of the participants. It is
    therefore important to state on the Registration Form which
    particular research interests the applicant is pursuing.

    Manuscript Book Making in Ethiopia: the survival of ancient
    techniques
    John Mellors and Anne Parsons
    Full day

    The course will start by giving a brief introduction to the
    history of bookmaking in Ethiopia, its connections to the
    Ethiopian Orthodox Church (one of the oldest of all Orthodox
    Churches) and how it appears that very early bookmaking
    techniques seem to have survived relatively unchanged in the
    country. Some of the influences on, and changes in, writing and
    decoration style over the centuries will also be discussed. The
    main emphasis of the course will be to describe the craft of
    bookmaking in Ethiopia as it is today with descriptions, slides
    and videos showing the techniques of parchment preparation, pen
    making, the production of ink and colours, writing, book
    decoration and binding. Some of the more recent influences on
    changes of styles and techniques will be outlined.  No previous
    knowledge of Ethiopia or bookmaking required.


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