Editing Beneventan script (section)

{{short description|Medieval script developed in southern Italy}}
[[Image:Beneventan.jpeg|thumb|right|Rule of St. Benedict, written at Monte Cassino in the late 11th century]]
The '''Beneventan script''' was a [[Middle Ages|medieval]] [[writing system|script]] that originated in the [[Duchy of Benevento]] in [[southern Italy]]. In the past it has  also been called ''Langobarda'', ''Longobarda'', ''Longobardisca'' (signifying its origins in the territories ruled by the [[Lombards]]), or sometimes ''Gothica''; it was first called ''Beneventan'' by [[palaeography|palaeographer]] [[Elias Avery Lowe|E. A. Lowe]].

It is mostly associated with Italy south of [[Rome]], but it was also used in Beneventan-influenced centres across the [[Adriatic Sea]] in [[Dalmatia]]. The script was used from approximately the mid-8th century until the 13th century, although there are examples from as late as the 16th century. There were two major centres of Beneventan usage: the monastery on [[Monte Cassino]], and [[Bari]]. The Bari type developed in the 10th century from the Monte Cassino type; both were based on [[Roman cursive]] as written by the Langobards. In general the script is very angular. According to Lowe, the perfected form of the script was used in the 11th century, while [[Pope Victor III|Desiderius]] was abbot of Monte Cassino, declining thereafter.