Editing Palaeography (section)

{{Short description|Study of handwriting and manuscripts}}
{{Distinguish|Palaeogeography}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
[[File:Shakespeare-Testament.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|right|[[Shakespeare's will|William Shakespeare's will]], written in [[secretary hand]]<ref>''Cardenio, Or, the Second Maiden's Tragedy'', pp. 131–3: By William Shakespeare, Charles Hamilton, John Fletcher (Glenbridge Publishing Ltd., 1994) {{ISBN|0-944435-24-6}}</ref>]]

'''Palaeography''' ([[American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe|UK]]) or '''paleography''' ([[American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe|US]]) (ultimately from {{langx|grc|{{linktext|παλαιός}}}}, {{transliteration|grc|palaiós}}, 'old', and {{lang|grc|{{linktext|γράφειν}}}}, {{transliteration|grc|gráphein}}, 'to write') is the study and [[academic discipline]] of historical writing systems. It encompasses the historicity of manuscripts and texts, subsuming deciphering and dating of historical manuscripts, as well as the analysis of historic [[penmanship]], [[handwriting script]], signification, and [[printed media]]. It is primarily concerned with the forms, processes and relationships of writing and printing systems as evident in a text, document or manuscript; and analysis of the substantive textual content of documents is a secondary function. Included in the discipline is the practice of deciphering, reading, and dating manuscripts,<ref>{{OED|palaeography}}</ref> and the cultural context of writing, including the methods with which texts such as manuscripts, [[books]], [[codices]], [[Tract (literature)|tract]]s, and [[monographs]] were produced, and the history of [[scriptoria]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://civiceducationproject.org/legacy/projects/paleography/index.html |title=Latin Palaeography Network |publisher=Civiceducationproject.org |access-date=5 May 2013 |archive-date=25 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725173735/http://civiceducationproject.org/legacy/projects/paleography/index.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> This discipline is important for understanding, authenticating, and dating historical texts. However, in the absence of additional evidence, it cannot be used to pinpoint exact dates.

The discipline is one of the [[auxiliary sciences of history]], and is considered to have been founded by [[Jean Mabillon]]<ref>Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). [[wikisource:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Jean Mabillon|"Jean Mabillon"]] . ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]''. New York: Robert Appleton.</ref> with his 1681 work ''{{lang|la|De re diplomatica}}'', the first textbook to address the subject. The term ''palaeography'' was coined by [[Bernard de Montfaucon]]<ref>Bernard de Montfaucon et al., ''Palaeographia Graeca, sive, De ortu et progressu literarum graecarum'', Paris, Ludovicum Guerin (1708); André Vauchez, Richard Barrie Dobson, Adrian Walford, Michael Lapidge, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=om4olQhrE84C&pg=PA1070 Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages]'' (Routledge, 2000), Volume 2, p. 1070</ref> with the publication of his work on Greek palaeography, the ''Palaeographia Graeca,'' in 1708.<ref>Urry, William G.. [https://www.britannica.com/topic/paleography. "paleography"]. ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', 7 Aug. 2013. Accessed 15 November 2023.</ref>