The Palaeography of Gothic Manuscript Books: From the Twelfth to the Early Sixteenth Century

by Albert Derolez

Albert Derolez has developed new terminology for describing the different scripts in this detailed study of handwriting in manuscript books produced in western and central Europe from c.1100 to c.1530. This makes Derolez's survey unique and an ideal tool for all interested in late-medieval book and handwriting culture. The text is illustrated with 600 drawings of letter-forms and 160 photographs of parts of manuscripts reproduced to actual-size.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval, Palaeography

326 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 2003

About the author

Albert Derolez is Emeritus Professor at the Free Universities of Brussels; he was formerly Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books at the Library of the State University of Ghent. He is the author of The Palaeography of Gothic Manuscript Books from the Twelfth to the Early Sixteenth Century (2003) and other books, and he is Past President of the Comité international de paléographie latine. He holds the Kenneth and Shirley Rendell Chair in Manuscript Studies at Rare Book School.

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really good and clearly written, taking you through, chapter by chapter, the different kinds of handwriting with plenty of examples of images on every page.

[Benjamin Fry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This can be a confusing text for those without a prior knowledge of palaeography. This is particularly true when Derolez attempts to redefine and add to the Lieftinck system of categorisation. Nevertheless this book is an essential text for those interested in the subject.

One of the stand out elements of this book is the numerous illustrations of gothic texts that Dereloz offers towards the end of the book. These illustrations aid the reader in seeing the changes in the gothic script that took place over a 400 year period.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is especially good for later paleography and cursive hands, although his terminology for the various cursive hands can get confusing.

[AskHistorians]

Most medieval manuscripts are written in some variation of Gothic, and it's possibly the most difficult hand to decipher. Derolez helps. A lot.