A Writing Master’s Sheet from the Low Countries

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During a research project in the Streekarchivariaat Noordwest-Veluwe in Harderwijk in 2013, a writing master’s sheet was found in a large group of maculature manuscript sheets. The parchment sheet has been used as a cover since 1595 and became damaged. The scripts on the sheet indicate that it was produced in the second half of the sixteenth century, and the use of both the French and Dutch language implies that it was made in the Low Countries. No other writing master’s sheets from the Low Countries survive. The text fragments on the sheet suggest that it was probably an advertisement poster used to attract students, who might learn the French language and perhaps other skills as well, such as the art of writing.