Interactive Album of Mediaeval Palaeography
Collection of Transcription Exercises on Mediaeval Documents

Français: Français

menu

Interactive Album Home User manual
- by century 9th century 10th century 11th century 12th century 13th century 14th century 15th century 15th century Early Modern
- by language Latin French Italian Arabic Occitan
- by difficulty Facile Easy Moyen Average Difficile Difficult
Credits Scientific Committee Authors Images Technical information Contact

Introduction

Mediaeval Palaeography is a science in its own right, and a long learning process is necessary to master it. It is not only the art of reading writings of the past, but it also encompasses the history of writing, the analysis of forms and contexts of writing (material culture, social History, etc.). The purpose of this interactive album, consisting in a collection of transcription exercises, is not to be a substitute for a proper learning of this science, but simply to allow students or amateurs (genealogists, History enthusiasts, etc.) to train themselves in the practical aspect of palaeography, that is reading manuscript texts.
To go further, you can consult the "Paléographie" section on the French portal "Ménestrel", or the dossiers proposed by the Ecole nationale des chartes.
To learn how to use the exercises, you can read the help page.
Notice: this website is available in English for the most part. Only the introduction (short description) of each exercise is in French, although the text is short.
  • paléographie 15th c.
    The famous "cat paws" on commercial correspondence in the Dubrovnik State Archive: discover the text underneath the paws!
  • paléographie 13th c.
    Letter from saint Louis, making the gift of a relic to the abbey of Saint-Maurice-d'Agaune
  • paléographie14th c.
    Description of the surgeon in the The Moralized Game of Chess
  • paléographie 15th c.
    Sermones de tempore by James of Voragine
  • paléographie13th c.
    Excerpt of the Secretum secretorum

 

UMR 5648 - Histoire et Archéologie des Mondes Chrétiens et Musulmans MédiévauxWebsite for training in practical palaeographical skills proposed by the transversal Digital Humanities programme of the
UMR 5648 - Histoire, Archéologie, Littératures des Mondes Chrétiens et Musulmans Médiévaux
(Universités Lyon 2, Lyon 3, Avignon et Pays de Vaucluse; CNRS, EHESS, ENS Lyon)
Share |