Latin Book Research Articles

Философский диспут vs cостязание в навыках: к методам интерпретации латинской агиографии в древнеисландской «Саге о Клименте»

The Clemens saga is a biography of St. Clement of Rome, compiled in the 1220s from translations of two Latin hagiographical works, the Recogniciones and the Passio Sancti Climentis. The Old Norse author made the translation in accordance with the peculiarities of the “saga” style: he changed the narrative modus, added didactic comments on Latin book culture, and used motifs and elements from Scandinavian folk literature. In addition, the Clemens saga is almost devoid of the philosophical and dogmatic Christian discourses that characterize the Recollections. One of such episodes altered in content is the philosophical contest between Faustinianus and his three sons - Aquila, Nikita and Clement, touching upon important questions of being from a Christian position and refuting epistemological views. In the Clemens saga this plot takes the form of a contest in the Seven Liberal Arts between Faustinianus and Clement, caused by a misunderstanding of the consubstantial nature of the almighty God. Despite the fact that a contest in skills or a duel is a frequent plot in Scandinavian sagas and poetry, comparing their structure and literary motifs with the Clemens saga, we can conclude that the author, interpreting the original, does not rely on examples from his own popular culture. Instead, he turns to Latin secular literature, turning the philosophical disputation into a contest in the Seven Liberal Arts, which are rarely found in the saga corpus. By combining methods of interpretation with reliance on Latin secular and religious or Scandinavian folk literature, the scribe not only influences the structure and style of the text, but also its content.

Latin paraphrases of Old Testament books in verse in 16th century Hungary

AbstractA popular trend in 16th-century Hungarian Neo-Latin poetry was the transposition of biblical, especially Old Testament books and texts. Georg Purkircher (Georgius Purkircher) paraphrased the Book of Wisdom, Péter Laskai Csókás (Petrus C. Lascovius) the Song of Songs, János Bocatius (Johannes Bocatius) the Book of Sirach/Ecclesiasticus, and Leonhardus Mokoschinus (Leonhardus Mokoschinus) a part of the Old Testament books (from Genesis to II Kings) in Latin. Internationally, only Mokoschinus' paraphrase of the Old Testament is known to any extent. In the present paper I will attempt to outline the main similarities and differences between the paraphrases of the Old Testament in Germany and in Hungary by means of a detailed philological analysis of the domestic corpus of texts and by highlighting some related parallels in Germany.

Adaptations in the Polish Rites of the Sacrament of Marriage

One of the issues raised by the Second Vatican Council was the need to revise the liturgical books that had been used until that time. The ritual of the sacrament of marriage was the first to undergo this process. The editio typica was prepared, and, following the promulgation of the Code of Canon Law in 1983, the Holy See published the second model edition of the ritual in question. The Polish version of the rites of the sacrament of marriage was developed on the basis of the Latin book, using historical sets of liturgical books from the nation. By virtue of the authority granted by the legislator, the Polish Episcopal Conference incorporated liturgical adaptations relevant to Poland into the ritual. With adherence to the indications included in the editio typica, the formularies and ceremonies established domestically were taken into consideration.

ROMAN BOOKS AND THE PAPAL LIBRARY IN THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES

This paper offers a fresh appraisal of the problems of the existence, location and contents of the papal library, and the associated problems of Roman script and Roman book production in the early Middle Ages. The palaeography and codicology of books from Rome, and books possibly produced in Rome, between the sixth and the ninth centuries, are reassessed in the light of current scholarship. This includes a discussion of the possible loss of Roman books originally written on papyrus, and of books in both Latin and Greek. The current archaeological evidence relating to a Lateran library and its location is considered. The implications of the evidence relating to the papal scrinium, archive and library are discussed, with particular reference to the proceedings of the Lateran Council of 649. It is argued that these records actually provide important evidence for the contents and use of the Lateran library in the early Middle Ages. The paper proposes that the papal library had a crucial function as well as a symbolic role in the early Middle Ages as a repository of orthodox and authoritative texts.

Elegance (elegantia) of Elocution in the Coverage of Russian 18th Century Rhetorical Books in Latin

The subject of the research is the concept of elegance of style in the coverage of Russian handwritten rhetorical manuals of the 18th century in Latin. On the example of one of the most important requirements for eloquence, the peculiarities of ideas about style in Russian rhetoric of the 18th century are revealed. The texts of handwritten manuals compiled in Moscow, Kolomna, Nizhny Novgorod, Vologda, Ryazan, Smolensk are analyzed in the context of the New Latin rhetorical sources, among which the most important are the rhetorical treatises of Feofan Prokopovich and Johann Gottlieb Heineckius, dating back to the first half of the 18th century. Their influence on the formation of Russian rhetorical thought is traced. As a result of the study, conclusions were drawn about the sources of the concept of elegance of style as the most important quality of eloquence, various interpretations of the concept of elegance in separate manuals were considered, and the main components of this concept were identified. A special contribution of the author to the study of this topic is that the texts of educational handwritten books intended for teaching rhetoric in secular and religious educational institutions of Russia in the 18th century have become the material of scientific analysis. The results obtained shed light on the Latin stage of the formation of Russian rhetoric and can be used for further research in this area.

Irish Literature in Transition, 1700-1780, ed. Moyra Haslett

<i>Irish Literature in Transition, 1700-1780</i>, ed. Moyra Haslett

The Development of Education in Medieval Iceland

The Development of Education in Medieval Iceland

15. Multidisciplinary Status of Translation Sciences

At present the expressiveness of different cultures in the world is due to the presence of several languages. Which are being used as a source for new knowledge for representing the social and cultural needs. The knowledge evolving from some established countries is significant for the underprivileged and the down trodden nations. Hence, translation has to be done, to enlighten their culture and societies, for better interpretation of the knowledge being received. This process of the translation is not new at all. It all started from the Bible and the Gospel and then the Abbasids translated many Latin books into Arabic. These books on various topics help us to adopt ourselves amongst the varying trends. While praising the Latin Philosophical and other foreign literature we should not forget that Arabic literature is the basic foundation of our cultural heritage. So, when we assess the subjective importance of the translation, the reality appears in our mind that we cannot understand Quran in Arabic language. We need to translate it for perceiving its immortal contents. Urdu scholars have a common impression about the collection of literature that much of the literary collection is the legacy of foreign literature or we get benefit from its translated things. It is actually true but it should also be admitted that Urdu language is capable of transforming foreign literature into as its own. In this article it is admitted that certain foreign literature that get popular in some societies due to their translated versions have actually a great part of learning of literature in their own language as well. The literature which, now perhaps is not understood or spoken by many but thanks to the translations that such literature and knowledge are still being read and proving to be useful. It is also explained here that how many foreign literary pieces got introduced into our society after being translated that include pure knowledge based and religious topics and as well as unlimited literature pieces too which we received due to the influence of the foreign language. Lastly, the useful philosophical topics have also been analyzed here that got translated from Latin to Arabic, Arabic to English and ultimately into Urdu.

Latin Fragments and Catalan Verses: Printing Linguistic and Devotional Metonymy in La dolorosa passio del nostre redemptor Jesuchrist (Barcelona, 1518)

In sixteenth-century Barcelona, printing houses mainly produced books in Catalan, Castilian, and Latin. At times, imprints contained combinations of these languages. This analysis of a printed compilation of Passion-centered poetry employs metonymy to study the intersections of whole and partial texts within La dolorosa passio del nostre redemptor Jesuchrist (Barcelona, 1518) alongside the identities of its readers as individuals and as members of an ecclesiastical whole. I argue that the Latin fragments and Catalan verses in La dolorosa passió guided readers through individual and collective modes of Catholic devotion, including personal compassion for Christ’s suffering and remembrance of communal liturgical celebrations. A unique aspect of this printed book is that the printer, Pere Posa, was the one who inserted Latin phrases before and after the Catalan poems. His decision to mingle Latin fragments with Catalan poetry points to the existence of an early modern Iberian readership that performed personal and collective devotional practices in both languages. Mukul Saxena’s concept of lifestyle diglossia illustrates how lay Catholic readers tailored their use of Latin and Catalan on La dolorosa passió’s folios to match religious practices they as individuals and their society as a whole were cultivating. The presence of contiguous Latin fragments and Catalan verses demonstrates that, far from compartmentalizing their communal and individual religious experiences, early modern Iberian Catholics enacted overlapping collective and personal identities while reading printed devotional books. I contend that we can trace these intersections by putting content in dialogue with materiality using imprints like La dolorosa passió.

Hortus Malabaricus – A Treasure of Anukta dravya Practices

Objective: Hortus Malabaricus is a Latin book exploring the natural plant wealth of Malabar region of Kerala which contains detailed illustrations of 742 plants with their medicinal uses. This book contains details of unexplored Anukta Dravyas which was not mentioned in Samhitas and classical textbooks of Ayurveda. Thus the study was designed to explore the unexplored clinical practices of drugs mentioned in Hortus Malabaricus. Data Source: The data was collected from the twelve volumes of Hortus Malabaricus, related published journal articles, proceedings, and books. Review Method: The method of data collection includes literature review of Hortus Malabaricus and online literature search of journal articles and proceedings using Mesh terms. Conclusion: The results showed that Schagericottam, Karinjotta, Kattumayilellu, Neeruri, Mayilellu, Pavatta, Kurutu pala, Tindapariva, etc., explained in different volumes of Hortus Malabaricus had medicinal importance. These documented traditional knowledge practices in Hortus Malabaricus are to be scientifically evaluated for the betterment of public health.

Incunabula in Communities of Canonesses Regular and Tertiaries Related to the Devotio Moderna

Abstract This contribution discusses the hitherto overlooked ownership of the earliest printed books (incunabula) by Netherlandish female religious communities of tertiaries and canonesses regular connected to the religious reform movement of the Devotio moderna. Studies of book ownership and book collections in these communities have tended to focus on manuscripts. From the last decades of the fifteenth century onwards, however, these religious women increasingly came in contact with printed books, even though the involvement of the Devotio moderna with the printing press was limited. The discussion focuses on the channels via which tertiaries and canonesses acquired books produced by commercially operating printers, the ways in which incunabula affected what these (semi-)religious women read, as well as the ratio between printed books in Latin and the vernacular, and their function(s) within these communities. Thus the essay intends to sketch a preliminary image of the role of incunabula in female convents, and advocates a more inclusive approach of female religious book ownership.

ДЖЕРЕЛОЗНАВЧИЙ ПОТЕНЦІАЛ ІНВЕНТАРІВ БІБЛІОТЕК РИМО-КАТОЛИЦЬКИХ МОНАСТИРІВ ЛУЦЬКО-ЖИТОМИРСЬКОЇ ДІЄЦЕЗІЇ КІНЦЯ XVIII – ПОЧАТКУ ХІХ СТ.

Анотація. Інвентарі бібліотек римо-католицьких монастирів Луцько-Житомирської дієцезії є важливим історичним джерелом з історії інтелектуального життя ченців, монастирської культури, а також шкіл, які діяли при монастирях. Вони є складовою частиною монастирської візитації – універсального документу, що містив опис всього монастирського комплексу та його майна. Мета статті – дослідити джерелознавчий потенціал бібліотечних інвентарів римо-католицьких монастирів Луцько-Житомирської дієцезії кінця XVIII – початку ХІХ ст. Методологія підпорядкована принципам науковості та історизму. Вона ґрунтується на методах джерелознавчого аналізу та синтезу. Акцент зроблено на методі критичного аналізу документального матеріалу. Наукова новизна. Вперше проаналізовано джерелознавчий потенціал інвентарів бібліотек одинадцяти монастирів Луцько-Житомирської римо-католицької дієцезії, що є складовою частиною візитацій, датованих кінцем XVIII – початком ХІХ ст. та збережених у фондах Державного архіву Житомирської області. Особи, які проводили візитацію, не керувалися визначеними вимогами щодо складання інвентаря бібліотеки. Віднайдені нами в архівних фондах інвентарі мають різну інформаційну наповненість. Деякі з них містять детальні відомості про наявні в бібліотеці монастиря книжки: автор/автори, назва книжки (повна чи скорочена), місце та рік друку, кількість наявних томів і примірників. Часто укладачі інвентарів записували лише назву книжки, її розмір, фізичний стан, кількість примірників. Зрідка зазначалися лише тематичні розділи книжкового фонду та кількість книжок у кожному з них. &#x0D; Одна з найбільших бібліотек належала Луцькому монастирю тринітаріїв, про що свідчать візитації цього монастиря за 1799 р, 1816 р. та 1819 р. Однак лише інвентар бібліотеки за 1799 р. є детальним (займає 45 аркушів). У ньому було записано назву книжки, рік та місце виходу. Вивчення усіх трьох інвентарів дає змогу прослідкувати динаміку книжкового фонду бібліотеки: у 1799 р. він налічував 2177 книг, у 1816 р. – 2578, а у 1819 р. – 2368. Зменшення кількості книг у 1819 р. могло бути пов’язане з передачею начальної літератури для потреб парафіяльної школи, яка діяла при монастирі. &#x0D; У 1799 р. монастир тринітаріїв у містечку Шумбар Кременецького повіту мав всього 19 книг, а основний бібліотечний фонд був перевезений до монастиря в Берестечку, де місцеві отці-тринітарії утримували школу. Станом на 1816 р. в їхньому розпорядженні було близько півтори тисячі книг, але інвентарний опис цієї книгозбірні дає можливість лише визначити її жанровий репертуар та вказати особу бібліотекара. Ним був отець Норберт Підвисоцький.&#x0D; Велику бібліотеку (близько тисячі книжок) згромадили реформати у селі Дедеркали біля Кременця. Наявність детального інвентаря дає змогу визначити її тематичну наповненість, час і місце друку творів. Найбільше з книг походили з друкарень Венеції, Львова, Варшави та Кракова. &#x0D; У візитації монастиря піарів у Дубровиці Рівненського повіту 1818 р. книгозбірня поділялась на костельну, монастирську, парафіяльної школи та колегіуму (повітової школи), які функціонували при монастирі. Найбільше книжок налічувала бібліотека колегіуму: у розпорядженні учнів та учителів закладу було 2087 творів, виданих у XVI – на початку ХІХ століття. &#x0D; Візитації двох францисканських монастирів (у Межирічі Острозькому і Кременці) за 1819 р., в яких вміщені невеликі інвентарні описи книгозбірень, засвідчують, що францисканці зібрали порівняно небагато книжок (близько трьохсот), головним чином, твори, необхідні для проповідницької діяльності. &#x0D; Висновки. Проаналізовані інвентарі монастирських бібліотек подібні між собою кількома рисами: поділом на тематичні розділи (хоча інколи по-різному названі), чисельною перевагою латиномовних книжок, домінуванням серед творів польською мовою проповідницької і навчальної літератури, відсутністю інкунабул, збереженістю книг, виданих переважно у XVIII столітті.&#x0D; Ключові слова: інвентар бібліотеки, монастирська бібліотека, церковна візитація, стародруки, римо-католицькі монастирі, Луцько-Житомирська дієцезія, Волинська губернія.

ЛИКИ УНИВЕРСИТЕТСКОЙ ИСПАНИИ В БИБЛИОТЕКЕ СТРОГАНОВА: ИСПАНСКИЙ ГУМАНИСТ ЭРНАНДО НУНЬЕС ДЕ ГУСМАН

The Spanish collection of the Stroganov Library reveals Spain as a country with a rich cultural heritage. The last owner of the family library, G.A. Stroganov, was the Russian ambassador to Spain, and his interest in Spanish subjects was reflected in the book collection. One of the most valuable publications is a series of engraved portraits of outstanding Spaniards, published from 1791 to 1819. As a cultural time-specific project of the Enlightenment era, this series reveals the value priorities of Spanish society, which allows us to understand its socio-cultural guidelines over a long historical period. An impressive share of the persons selected by the Spaniards among their outstanding representatives belongs to university figures. This speaks not only about the influence of the Age of Enlightenment, but also about the rich history of university tradition in Spain. The subject of our study is the figure of the Spanish humanist H. Núñez de Guzman (1475-1553). In his youth, he studied with Nebrija. In the College of St. Clement in Bologna he started studying the culture of classical Greece. After returning to Spain, he studied Hebrew and Arabic in Granada. He was invited by Cisneros to the University of Alcala to work on a project to create a multilingual Bible. At this university, which became an important center of Spanish humanism, he taught rhetoric and Greek. In 1524, he received a chair of Greek at the University of Salamanca, where he also taught Latin, rhetoric, and lectured on the "Natural History" of Pliny. In Salamanca, Núñez published commentaries on the works of Seneca (1529), Mela (1543) and Pliny (1544); he prepared a collection of proverbs in the Castilian language, which was published in 1555. A deep connoisseur of Latin and Greek, Núñez is considered the patriarch of the Spanish Hellenists. They were a cohort of humanists who, on Spanish soil, combined in their worldview the features of the outgoing Middle Ages and the ideas of the Renaissance. Núñez played a significant role in the development of the Greek language as a subject of study in Spanish universities. The Greek language, the knowledge of which nourished and developed humanistic upbringing and education, gets its spread in Spain during the life and activity of Núñez. In the series of portraits of outstanding Spaniards, the portrait of Núñez is placed in the fourteenth notebook, published in 1802.The engraved portrait is made by Esquivel according to the drawing of Engidanos. Núñez is depicted sitting in nature with an open book in his hands. In the biography attached to the portrait, it is noted that "few have more reason to be included in the list of outstanding people than Fernando Núñez de Guzman. His character, his erudition and behavior are an example of the highest honor." Núñez donated his valuable collection of books in Latin and Greek to the University of Salamanca. Núñez remains interesting for researchers today. The image and selfless devotion of the erudite continue to evoke deep respect, and the legacy left – gratitude.

Printing and Old Romanian Books in the European Cultural Heritage

Printing and Old Romanian Books (1508-1830) gained a well-established position in the European Cultural Heritage by the beginning of the 16th century, with the introduction of imprints in Cyrillic typeface, ahead of many European states. The first printing press was introduced in Wallachia in 1508, when hieromonk Macarie issued several religious books in Slavonic at Târgoviște, for Romanian Orthodox Christians and Slavonic people of Europe. Prints in Romanian would enter the cultural circuit as early as the fifth decennium of the 16th century. Transylvanian typographies started their activity by printing books in Latin and German. In 1535 Johan Honterus of Brașov (1498–1549) set a typography, thus establishing the city as one of the centres for the Lutheran believe in Transylvania. In 1544, the Romanian Catechism was published at Sibiu, a text that aimed to promote the Lutheran theology amongst Romanians. Between 1535 and 1557 over 50 works were published in Latin, Greek and German in the typography of Brașov, which then spread across many European countries. After deacon Coresi came to Brașov in the second half of the 16th century, several books were published with Cyrillic typeface in Slavonic, Romanian and bilingual editions for Orthodox Christians. The Romanian printing activity came to a standstill that lasted from the last decennium of the 16th century until the fourth decennium of the 17th century. The activity restarted during the reign of Matei Basarab in Wallachia (1632-1654) and Vasile Lupu in Moldavia (1634-1653). Printing was introduced in Moldavia in 1642 and, in comparison with Wallachia and Transylvania, Romanian was used as main language. Books in Greek, intended for the Orthodox faithful within the Ottoman Empire, were also printed. After 1812, the eastern part of Moldavia was annexed by Tsarist Russia. In 1814, a printing house that provided literature for the churches of the eparchy was set up in Chișinău, the capital city of the province. Some of the books would reach countries of Central and Western Europe or even cultural centres in Ukraine and Russia. In conclusion, books printed within the Romanian countries were mainly for religious purposes. Sets were issued in Romanian, Slavonic, Latin, German and Greek, for the use of Christians throughout both Western and Eastern Europe.

The relationship between capital structure and business cycle in companies listed on Tehran Stock Exchange

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the business cycle and capital structure of the company is listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. Methodology: In this study, data collection and information you need, the library and documentary methods used Accordingly, theory and literature of Latin books and professional journals and selected explanatory notes Companies, CDs, video archives and statistical Tehran Stock Exchange Persian be collected. Results: Then the data necessary to test hypotheses by reference to the financial statements, website, stock securities and other related databases and software management of the mining process. Mansour to the relationship between the variables of the software Eviews is used. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the business cycle and the capital structure of listed companies in Tehran Stock Exchange is significant.

The Old Latin book of Esther: An English translation

In recent decades, a lively debate on the Hebrew and Greek versions of Esther story has developed, focusing on their text-historical and theological relationship. The discussion is enriched further by taking into account the Old Latin Esther, fully edited some 10 years ago by Jean-Claude Haelewyck as part of the Beuron Vetus Latina series. The extant Latin text likely dates back to 330–50 CE and represents an older, now-lost Greek Vorlage. Its numerous peculiarities substantially widen our understanding of ancient Esther traditions. The English translation presented here aims to elicit a broader interest in the Old Latin Esther and to facilitate a fresh discussion of its significance.

FUTURE TENSE IN THE PORTUGUESE LINGUISTIC TRADITION

The paper deals with the concept of the Future tense found in the Portuguese linguistic tradition. As the Portuguese linguistics appeared in the context of the European linguistic tradition, the first part of the article features the main views on the Future tense from the Antiquity to the Renaissance. The second part of the article is devoted to the Future tense in the Portuguese linguistics in XVI – early XX century, namely Latin and Portuguese grammar books, as well as those on other European and some non-European languages. The present research has shown that the Renaissance scholars already raised the questions that remain topical in the current linguistics. Those included the problems of relative tenses, the tense distance, the differences of the Future tense expression in languages with different structures, the tense as a complex functional semantic category that is not limited by the verb features, the close connection between the Future tense and the modality. Linguists of the subsequent epochs contributed to the investigation of these issues: the descriptions made in the early XX century are very close to the modern ones.

The Library of Rudolf Steiner: The Books in English

The New Age philosopher, Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), was the most prolific and arguably the most influential philosopher of his era. He assembled a substantial library, of approximately 9,000 items, which has been preserved intact since his death. Most of Rudolf Steiner’s books are in German, his native language however there are books in other languages, including English, French, Italian, Swedish, Sanskrit and Latin. His library hosts more books in English than in any other foreign language. Steiner esteemed English as “a universal world language”. The present paper identifies 327 books in English in Rudolf Steiner’s personal library. Fifty percent of the English-language books identified are categorized as Theosophy (n=164). Rudolf Steiner was the General Secretary of the German branch of the Theosophy Society from 1902, and he hived off his own Anthroposophy Society in 1912. The present study reveals that Steiner maintained his interest in theosophy throughout his life as he stayed up to date with the proliferating portfolio of Theosophy publications. The publication dates of Steiner’s Theosophy collection range from 1877 to 1923. The leading exponents of Theosophy in his day are well represented in Steiner’s collection, including Annie Besant (n=61), Charles Lead beater (n=13), William Westcott (n=13) and Helena Blavatsky (n=10). Of the other 50% of the Anglo-books identified, 20% are in the category of Religion (n=67), 10% are Social Science (n=33), 6% are Philosophy (n=21), 4% are Science (n=13), and 3% each are Anthroposophy (n=11), History (n=9) and Arts (n=9). The publication dates of Steiner’s Anglo-books span the period 1659 to 1925. This demonstrates that Steiner was acquiring Anglo-books right to the end of his life. Steiner’s library throws light on the development of the thoughts of this remarkable individual and the present paper reveals Steiner’s engagement throughout his life with the world of Anglo-publishing and thought.

Buchdruck und Reformation in Genf (1478-1600): Ein Überblick

This article links profits from the rich literature in the fields of Reformation history and book-history in order to analyse the relation between printing and the Reformation in Geneva from 1478 to 1600 in a general historian’s perspective. Although various genres of religious and literary (illustrated) books have been printed for a local market since 1478, texts with evangelical tendency have not been produced in Geneva before 1536. Therefore, the ideas of Reformation were rather introduced by evangelical preachers than by the printing press. But after that Geneva became the centre of protestant or better: Calvinist printed propaganda in French (and Latin) until the early 1560s. Because of changing political contexts – French wars of Religion and the comeback of the Duke of Savoy as a neighbour – and the emerging of reformed printing in France forced Geneva to redirect their production towards more learned and non-religious books in Latin (humanism, classical authors, science). Nether the less, the production of (Genevan) Bibles and texts of Calvin and his followers and successors did not cease.

Layout measures for writer identification in mediaeval documents

Paleography aims to study ancient documents, with the identification of the writer hands being one of the most important problems. Over the years, experienced palaeographers have devised many methodological approaches to writer identification. These methodologies are based on traditional palaeographical tools to measure quantities such as letter heights and widths, distances between characters and angles of inclination. In this paper we present a novel approach in which basic layout measures are used for identifying the writers of a single medieval Latin book. The proposed measures take into account some general properties related to the organization of the whole page (such as margins, distance between columns, etc.), and some specific properties characterizing the ability of the writer to exploit the available space and to distribute the text in each row. The experimental results, performed on a set of digital images from a Latin copy of the whole Bible of the XII century, confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed method. We have also tested our approach on another bible obtaining similar results.