Latin Palaeography of Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages

or – why we write at all and how to read our oldest texts

Subject taught by: Prof. PhDr. Juraj Šedivý, MAS, PhD.

Form: Lecture with seminar (L:1 / S:1)

ECTS: 4

Objective:

Students will learn about the development of the field of palaeography, its subject of research and methods, terminology and nomenclature (names of scripts). After a brief overview of the development of writing (general palaeography), we will concentrate on the development of Latin writing (Latin palaeography). Students will be introduced to its development in the ancient period (ca -600 to 500), in the particularistic period (the so-called national scripts ca 600 to 1000/1200) and in the Carolingian period (ca 800 to 1200). At the same time, through practical demonstrations, students will learn how to read contemporary texts and acquire the skills of dating and critically assessing the written material presented on the basis of script analysis.

Brief outline:

Written culture and literality
Paleography as a science (subject, aims, methods, terminology) and the development of research
Writing materials, tools, inks
The origin of writing and its geographical ranges
Phoenician, Greek, Etruscan and Latin scripts
Latin scripts in antiquity (ca -600 to 500/700)
Latin scripts in the Particularism period (so-called national scripts ca. 600 to 1000/1200)
Latin scripts in the Carolingian period (ca. 800 to 1200).

Graduation Requirements:

Attendance - 3 hours may be missed without excuse,
completion of ongoing activities = 10% of the grade (consists of the student's activity in class, his/her ongoing homework for reading the inscriptions),
final assessment during the exam period = 90% (assessment of theoretical and practical knowledge in the form of a test).

Recommended reading:

KÉKI, Béla: 5000 let písma, Praha 1984.
ŠEDIVÝ, Juraj: Úvod do latinskej paleografie I, Bratislava 2019. = (Skriptá na www.Academia.edu)
https://www.gda.bayern.de/DigitaleSchriftkunde/index.html

Optional literature:

KRUPA, Viktor / GENZOR, Jozef: Písma sveta, Bratislava 1989 (2vyd. 1998?).
PÁTKOVÁ, Hana: Česká středověká paleografie, České Budějovice 2008.
HÚŠČAVA, Alexander: Dejiny a vývoj nášho písma, Bratislava 1951.
BISCHOFF, Bernhard: Paläographie des römischen Altertums und des abendländischen Mittelalters (=Grundlagen der Germanistik 24), 2 opr. vyd. Berlin 1986.
STIENNON, Jacques - HASENOHR, Geneviéve: Paléographie du moyen âge, Paris 1973.
PETRUCCI, Armando: Breve storia della scrittura latina, Roma ¹1989, ²1992.
Online: https://www.gda.bayern.de/DigitaleSchriftkunde/about.html