GREEK PALAEOGRAPHY

Academic year
2018/2019 Syllabus of previous years
Official course title
PALEOGRAFIA GRECA SP
Course code
FM0394 (AF:273221 AR:161454)
Modality
On campus classes
ECTS credits
6
Degree level
Master's Degree Programme (DM270)
Educational sector code
M-STO/09
Period
2nd Semester
Where
VENEZIA
The course of Greek Palaeography offers to the students of “Ancient Civilisations: Literature, History and Archaeology” and “History from the Middle Ages to Present” the essential training for reading Greek manuscripts and documents, and for using and analysing historical and literary sources in their original form.
By the end of the module, the students
• Will have a sound knowledge of Greek Palaeography (in particular minuscule bookhands and a general overview of the development of Greek handwriting)
• Will be able to select and apply sources and techniques required for the analysis of Greek manuscripts
Knowledge of classical Greek
History of Greek handwriting from antiquity to the first printed books.

Topics:
1. Introduction to Greek Palaeography
2. The Majuscule
3. Introduction to the Minuscule
4. Pure Minuscule, 9th-10th centuries
5. Minuscule ‘bouletée’, Perlschrift
6. Scripts from Southern Italy (Asso di Picche, Rossano, Reggio)
7. Scholarly Hands
8. Scholarly Hands
9. ‘Baroque style Epsilon-ny’ and Fettaugenmode
10. 12th-14th Palestine and Cyprus
11. Metochites style and τῶν Ὡδηγῶν
12. 15th-16th centuries
13. Ornamentation of Greek Manuscripts
14. The codex: introduction to codicology
15. Final Revision
Students are supposed to integrate the contents of the lectures with

Perria, L. (2011) Γραφίς: per una storia della scrittura greca libraria, secoli IV a.C.-XVI d.C (Rome and Vatican).
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Other warmly recommended books

• Agati, M. L. (2009) Il libro manoscritto. Da Oriente a Occidente per una codicologia comparata (Roma)
• Barbour, R. (1981) Greek Literary Hands A.D. 400-1600 (Oxford)
• Bausi, A. et al. (ed.) (2015) Comparative Oriental Manuscript Studies (Hamburg). Capitoli: “Greek manuscripts” e “Greek codicology” a cura di M. Maniaci; “Greek palaeography” a cura di D. Bianconi; and “Catalogues of Greek manuscripts” a cura di A. Binggeli
• Canart, P. et alii (1998) Facsimili di codici greci della Biblioteca Vaticana, I: Tavole (Città del Vaticano)
• Crisci, E. and P. Degni (2011) La scrittura greca dall’antichità all’epoca della stampa: una introduzione (Roma)
• Easterling, P. and C. Handley (eds.) (2001) Greek Scripts. An Illustrated Introduction (London)
• Follieri, E. (1969) Codices graeci Bibliothecae Vaticanae selecti (Città del Vaticano)
• Maniaci, M. 2002 (2005, prima ristampa) Archeologia del manoscritto. Metodi, problemi, bibliografia recente (Roma)
• Wilson, N. (1973) Mediaeval Greek Bookhands: Examples Selected from Greek Manuscripts in Oxford Libraries (Cambridge, Mass.)
• Wilson, N. (2008) “Palaeography,” in Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies (New York) 101-114


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MORE on MOODLE:
https://moodle.unive.it/
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Those students who will not be able to attend classes, can prepare the exam on:

1) Perria, L. (2011) Γραφίς: per una storia della scrittura greca libraria, secoli IV a.C.-XVI d.C (Rome and Vatican).
and
2) Crisci, E. and P. Degni (2011) La scrittura greca dall’antichità all’epoca della stampa: una introduzione (Roma).

Or in English:

• Barbour, R. (1981) Greek Literary Hands A.D. 400-1600 (Oxford)
• Easterling, P. and C. Handley (eds.) (2001) Greek Scripts. An Illustrated Introduction (London)
• Wilson, N. (1973) Mediaeval Greek Bookhands: Examples Selected from Greek Manuscripts in Oxford Libraries (Cambridge, Mass.)
• Wilson, N. (2008) “Palaeography,” in Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies (New York) 101-114

Moreover, students are expected to be able to transcribe samples of Greek minuscule bookhands, so they are adviced to practice using:
Follieri, E. (1969) Codices graeci Bibliothecae Vaticanae selecti (Città del Vaticano)

Written exam. Following palaeographic conventions (presented and explained during the module), students will be asked to produce a diplomatic transcription of 3 Greek scripts and propose a dating of the hands specifying the details that can be hints for the proposed date. Time allowed 3 hours.
Lectures and reading of manuscript reproductions. To learn how to read a manuscript it is essential to be always present during the course!

Every week the students will have the possibility to make a transcription at home that will be corrected by the teacher in order to prepare for the final examination.
English
Although the course will be taught in English, it will be taken into account the level of listening comprehension of the participants.

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Online Resources:

BIBLIOGRAPHY by Stratis Papaioannou:
https://byzbooks.wordpress.com/table-of-contents/

Byzantine Greek minuscule script - the alphabet & varied letter forms:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=21&v=A24NuGvK5cc

Latest News:
http://paleografia-greca.blogspot.it/

Some greatest hits:
http://pinakes.irht.cnrs.fr/
http://digi.vatlib.it/?ling=it
https://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/
http://teca.bmlonline.it/TecaRicerca/index.jsp
http://codicologia.irht.cnrs.fr/

Basic Journals:
Scriptorium (Brussels, 1946-). Contains the “Bulletin codicologique”, the only regularly updated bibliography specializing in palaeography and codicology (since 1959).
Revue d’histoire des textes (Paris, 1971-)
Gazette du livre medieval (Paris, 1982-)
Codices manuscripti (Vienna, 1975-)
Scrittura e Civiltà = S&C (Roma, 1977-)
Byzantinische Zeitschrift (Munich, 1892-) http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/byzs

Printed catalogs online:
https://manuscriptsonmicrofilm.wordpress.com/printed-catalogs-online/


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written
Definitive programme.
Last update of the programme: 06/06/2018