Why read A Guide to Western Historical Scripts from Antiquity to 1600?

Book cover of A Guide to Western Historical Scripts from Antiquity to 1600

Book description

For readers who wish to trace the evolution of scripts in the West from antiquity to the early modern period, and who want to read the work of their scribes, this volume provides a wide-ranging collection of materials supported by 55 full-page illustrations from manuscripts. Brown provides a synopsis of…

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Why read it?

1 author picked A Guide to Western Historical Scripts from Antiquity to 1600 as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Hope Carolle

Author

If you’re going to visit the Middle Ages, it’s hugely important to understand the scripts of the time. You might be able to pick out a word or two, but most of it looks as difficult to read as hieroglyphics.

This is a useful book outlining the development of different scripts, tools, material, illustrations, and production of these rare books. In my book, Ellie Hartford is a professor of English Literature before 1525, and one of her skill sets was paleography, which identifies the source of the script and aids in understanding its origins. This is nerdy stuff, but fun!

From Hope's list on surviving and thriving in Medieval England.