Editing Palaeography (section)

=== Minuscule cursive writing ===
[[File:Chronica archiepiscoporum Magdeburgensium 1r 25-C-4 (16764) Hs Kynžvart 91.jpg|thumb|Page from the [[Magdeburg]]'s ''Chronica archiepiscoporum'']]

==== Early minuscule cursive ====
In the ancient cursive writing, from the 1st century onward, there are symptoms of transformation in the form of certain letters, the shape and proportions of which correspond more closely to the definition of minuscule writing than to that of majuscule. Rare and irregular at first, they gradually become more numerous and more constant and by degrees supplant the majuscule forms, so that in the history of the Roman cursive there is no precise boundary between the majuscule and minuscule periods.

The oldest example of minuscule cursive writing that has been discovered is a letter on papyrus, found in Egypt, dating from the 4th century.<ref>Cf. ''Archiv für Urkundenforschung'', iii, pl. i.</ref> This marks a highly important date in the history of Latin writing, for with only one known exception, not yet adequately explained—two fragments of imperial rescripts of the 5th century<ref>Cf. [[Theodor Mommsen]], ''Fragmente zweier Kaiserrescripte'' in ''Jahrbuch des gemeinen deutschen Rechts'', vi, 398; Preisigke in ''Schriften der wissensch. Gesellsch. in Strassburg'', xxx; ''Pal. Soc., cit.'', pl. 30.</ref>—the minuscule cursive was consequently the only ''scriptura epistolaris'' of the Roman world. The ensuing succession of documents<ref>For example, a certificate of AD 400 in Wessely, ''Studien, cit.'', xiv, pl. xiii; a letter of AD 444 in Wessely, ''Schrifttafeln, cit.'', pl. xii, No. 19.</ref> show a continuous improvement in this form of writing, characterised by the boldness of the strokes and by the elimination of the last lingering majuscule forms. The [[Ravenna]] deeds of the 5th and 6th centuries<ref>Cf. Gaetano Marini, [https://books.google.com/books?id=UBF4CR_Ax1kC ''I Papiri diplomatici''], Lightning Source UK Ltd, repr. 2012.</ref> exhibit this hand at its perfection.

At this period, the minuscule cursive made its appearance as a ''[[book hand]]'', first as marginal notes, and later for the complete books themselves. The only difference between the book-hand and that used for documents is that the principal strokes are shorter and the characters thicker. This form of the hand is usually called ''[[Semi-cursive script|semi-cursive]]''.<ref name="Bouar" />

==== National hands ====
The fall of the Empire and the establishment of the barbarians within its former boundaries did not interrupt the use of the Roman minuscule cursive hand, which was adopted by the newcomers. But for gaps of over a century in the chronological series of documents which have been preserved, it would be possible to follow the evolution of the Roman cursive into the so-called "national hands", forms of minuscule writing which flourished after the barbarian invasions in [[Italy]], [[France]], [[Spain]], [[England]] and [[Ireland]], and which are still known as [[Lombardic language|Lombardic]], [[Merovingian script|Merovingian]], [[Visigothic script|Visigothic]], [[Old English|Anglo-Saxon]] and [[Insular script|Irish]]. These names came into use at a time when the various national hands were believed to have been invented by the peoples who used them, but their connotation is merely geographical. Nevertheless, in spite of a close resemblance which betrays their common origin, these hands are specifically different, perhaps because the Roman cursive was developed by each nation in accordance with its artistic tradition.<ref>Cf. Luigi Schiapparelli, ''Note paleografiche'' in ''Archivio storico italiano'', lxxiv, p. 55; also his [https://archive.org/details/lascritturalatin00schi ''La scrittura latina nell' età romana (note paleografiche)''] (with 32 facsimiles), Como, 1921.</ref>

;''Lombardic writing''
[[File:Origo gentis Langobardorum.jpg|thumb|left|A 10th-century [[codex]] of ''Origo gentis Langobardorum'' from [[Reims]]]]
In Italy, after the close of the Roman and Byzantine periods, the writing is known as [[Lombardic capitals|Lombardic]], a generic term which comprises several local varieties. These may be classified under four principal types: two for the ''scriptura epistolaris'', the old Italian cursive and the [[pope|papal]] [[chancery hand]], or ''littera romana'', and two for the ''libraria'', the old Italian book-hand and Lombardic in the narrow sense, sometimes known as ''Beneventana'' because it flourished in the principality of [[Benevento]].

The oldest preserved documents written in the old Italian cursive show all the essential characteristics of the Roman cursive of the 6th century.<ref>Cf. Giuseppe Bonelli,[https://books.google.com/books?id=bEiYQAAACAAJ ''Codice paleografico lombardo'']{{Dead link|date=September 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Hoepli, 1908; [https://archive.org/details/bullettino0102archuoft ''Archivio paleografico italiano, cit.''], i, iii, vii.</ref> In northern Italy, this hand began in the 9th century to be influenced by a minuscule book-hand which developed, as will be seen later, in the time of [[Charlemagne]]; under this influence it gradually disappeared, and ceased to exist in the course of the 12th century. In southern Italy, it persisted far on into the [[later Middle Ages]].<ref>Cf. Michele Russi, [https://archive.org/details/paleografiaedip00russgoog ''Paleografia e diplomatica de' documenti delle Province napolitane''], Naples, 1883.</ref> The papal chancery hand, a variety of Lombardic peculiar to the vicinity of [[Rome]] and principally used in papal documents, is distinguished by the formation of the letters ''a, e, q, t''. It is formal in appearance at first, but is gradually simplified, under the influence of the [[Carolingian minuscule]], which finally prevailed in the [[papal bull|bulls]] of [[Honorius II]] (1124–1130). The [[notaries public]] in Rome continued to use the papal chancery hand until the beginning of the 13th century. The old Italian book-hand is simply a semi-cursive of the type already described as in use in the 6th century. The principal examples are derived from ''[[scriptoria]]'' in northern Italy, where it was displaced by the Carolingian minuscule during the 9th century. In southern Italy, this hand persisted, developing into a [[calligraphy|calligraphic form]] of writing, and in the 10th century took on a very artistic angular appearance.<ref>Cf. Elias Avery Lowe, [[iarchive:beneventanscript00loweuoft|''Beneventan Script'']], Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1914; [[facsimile]]s in O. Piscicelli Taeggi, ''Paleografia artistica di Monte Cassino'', [[Montecassino]], 1876–83.</ref> The [[Exultet roll|''Exultet'' rolls]] provide the finest examples.{{According to whom|date=April 2013}} In the 9th century, it was introduced in [[Dalmatia]] by the [[Benedictine monks]] and developed there, as in [[Apulia]], on the basis of the [[archetype]], culminating in a rounded ''[[Beneventan script|Beneventana]]'' known as the ''Bari type''.<ref>Cf. Viktor Novak, [https://books.google.com/books?id=RWhzXwAACAAJ ''Scriptura Beneventana''], [[Zagreb]], 1920.</ref>

;''Merovingian''
[[File:Merov.jpg|left|thumb|8th-century [[Merovingian script]]]]
The offshoot of the Roman cursive which developed in [[Gaul]] under the first dynasty of kings is called [[Merovingian script|Merovingian writing]]. It is represented by thirty-eight royal diplomas,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lauer |first1=P. |last2=Samaran |first2=C. |oclc=461176420 |title=Les diplômes originaux des Mérovingiens: fac-similés phototypiques avec notices et transcriptions |location=Paris |publisher=E. Leroux |year=1908}}</ref> a number of private charters<ref>Cf. Jules Tardif, [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/12953061 ''Fac-similé de chartes et diplômes mérovingiens et carlovingiens: sur papyrus et sur parchemin compris dans l'inventaire des Monuments historiques''], Paris: J. Claye, 1866.</ref> and the authenticating documents of relics.<ref>Cf. Maurice Prou, ''Manuel de paléographie: Recueil de fac-similés d'écritures du Ve au XVIIe siècle'', Paris: A. Picard et fils, 1904, pl. v.</ref>

Though less than a century intervenes between the Ravenna cursive and the oldest extant Merovingian document (AD 625), there is a great difference in appearance between the two writings. The facile flow of the former is replaced by a cramped style, in which the natural slope to the right gives way to an upright hand, and the letters, instead of being fully outlined, are compressed to such an extent that they modify the shape of other letters. Copyists of books used a cursive similar to that found in documents, except that the strokes are thicker, the forms more regular, and the heads and tails shorter.<ref>Cf. [http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/bec_0373-6237_1887_num_48_1_462552 ''Album paléographique de la Société de l'École des chartes''], pl. 12.</ref> The Merovingian cursive as used in books underwent simplification in some localities, undoubtedly through the influence of the minuscule book-hand of the period. The two principal centres of this reform were [[Luxeuil Abbey|Luxeuil]] and [[Corbie Abbey|Corbie]].<ref>Cf. Traube, ''Perrona Scottorum'' in ''Sitzungsberichte'' of the [[Munich Academy]], 1900; Liebart, ''Corbie Scriptorum'' in W.M. Lindsay's ''Palaeogr. Lat.'', i.</ref>

;''Visigothic''
[[File:AlfabetoVisigodo.png|thumb|left|Alphabet in [[Visigothic script]]]]
In Spain, after the Visigothic conquest, the Roman cursive gradually developed special characteristics. Some documents attributed to the 7th century display a transitional hand with straggling and rather uncouth forms.<ref>Cf. Ewald and Loewe, ''Exempla scripturae visigothicae'', pl. 3.</ref> The distinctive features of Visigothic writing, the most noticeable of which is certainly the q-shaped {{angbr|g}}, did not appear until later, in the book-hand. The book-hand became set at an early date. In the 8th century it appears as a sort of semi-cursive; the earliest example of certain date is [[manuscript|ms]] lxxxix in the [[Capitulary|Capitular]] [[Library]] in [[Verona]].<ref>Cf. Clark, ''Collectanea hispanica'', 63, pp. 129–130; Schiapparelli in ''Arch. stor. ital, cit.'', lxxxii, p. 106.</ref> From the 9th century the calligraphic forms become broader and more rounded until the 11th century, when they become slender and angular.<ref>Numerous reproductions exists in the literature, cf. ''int. al.'', Ewald and Loewe, ''Exempla, cit.''; Burnam, ''Paleogr. iberica''; Clark, ''Collectanea, cit.''; Garcia Villada, ''Paleogr. española''.</ref> The Visigothic minuscule appears in a cursive form in documents about the middle of the 9th century, and in the course of time grows more intricate and consequently less legible.<ref>Cf. Munoz, ''Paleogr. visigoda''; Garcia Villada, ''op. cit.''</ref> It soon came into competition with the Carolingian minuscule, which supplanted it as a result of the presence in Spain of French elements such as [[Cluniac monks]] and warriors engaged in the campaign against the [[Moors]].<ref>Cf. Hessel, ''Ausbreitung der karolingischen Minuskel'' in ''Archiv für Urkundenforschung'', vii, viii.</ref>

The Irish and Anglo-Saxon hands, which were not directly derived from the Roman minuscule cursive, will be discussed in a [[#Irish and Anglo-Saxon Writing|separate sub-section below]].