A Greek Paleographer's Struggle with the Identification of Greek Scripts, lecture by Daniele Bianconi (La Sapienza Università di Roma), American Academy in Rome, January 12, 2017, 6:30 pm

The palaeographical method is based on the formal comparison between scripts in order to propose dates and localizations for written records which are lacking such data. The deeper and the more systematic the critical reflection about the elements of graphical evaluation to be examined, the more reliable and objective the proposals will be. An essential element of this method is a sort of innate talent, which cannot be communicated or mediated, the so-called ‘paleographical eye’, that is to say the skill to identify particular handwritings. In this case, paleography becomes an expertise focusing on personal quirks, individual ‘tics’, para- and extra-graphical elements, which allow the palaeographer to distinguish one handwriting from the other. The identification of handwritings is not only a scholarly and virtuosic performace. In fact, it can have great implications for the history of texts, cultures, and societies. This is what we will try to demonstrate with some concrete examples of Greek handwritings ranging from the middle Byzantine period to the Western Renaissance and belonging to refined scholars, pious monks and greedy scribes.

Daniele Bianconi teaches at La Sapienza Università di Roma.

The lecture will be held in English. The event will be live streamed.