Paleography

Translations

paleografia | Paléographie | Paläografie

Article

Paleography is the study of diachronic change in the shape of the glyphs of a writing system. As such, it pertains to the evolution of the graphic features of written signs, and not to their function.

In the philological study of ancient texts, paleography is a major criterion for establishing the date of a text, be it a copy or, far more i

Changes in a writing system that originate locally may occasionally spread to different traditions or areas, which is indicative of contact between scribal habits and/or of circulation of written materials, and can therefore support the identification of contacts between and circulation of languages in different regions.