Paleographic Analysis Research Articles

Paleographic Style and the Forms and Functions of the Dead Sea Psalm Scrolls: A Hand Fitting for the Occasion?

Abstract In this article I apply stylistic paleographic analysis to the Dead Sea Psalm scrolls, proposing conventional usage registers for different types and levels of scripts. I argue that more formal scripts were normally used for large presentation copies of known versions of the Davidic psalter, while less formal scripts were frequently used for smaller, textually distinctive manuscripts. This observation aids in the interpretation of the forms and functions of the majority of Dead Sea Psalm scrolls that follow this pattern and highlights exceptional cases worthy of further investigation.

Quality control of digital representations of manuscript texts: proposal of a standards-based method

AbstractThis study aims to propose a quality control method for digitized versions of manuscript documents that will be relevant for paleographical and codicological analysis. The methodology applied consisted of a systematic review of papers related to automated analysis of the physical characteristics of handwritings and document supports in the field of digital paleography, as well as of the numerous standards that have been emerging in the field of image engineering for quality assessment in digital image recordings. We also worked with a sample of 275 digital representations of pages or double pages of manuscript documentation dating to between the 12th and 17th centuries. As a result of this study, we propose a taxonomy of physical attributes of the handwritings and of their documentary supports that must be represented in the digital image with a high level of fidelity and without any distortions that could lead scholars to erroneous interpretations of the physical and formal characteristics of the original documents. On the basis of this taxonomy, we identified a set of typical distortions caused by digitization processes that can affect the recording quality of the physical attributes previously proposed, as well as a set of parameters and metrics for measuring quality that can be used to create a sufficiently exhaustive quality model. We also detected a series of limitations which, if not properly managed, can compromise the effectiveness of these types of controls.

Interpretation of neume signs from the handwritten «Alphabet of the Singing»

The purpose of the article is to carrying out a paleographic description and identifying characteristic features in the formation of ABC interpretations in the XVIII-XIX centuries. The methodology includes system analysis, which contributed to the comprehension of handwritten singing alphabet interpretations. To determine the temporal and quantitative characteristics of the studied material, statistical, and chronological methods are used. The scientific novelty lies in the interpretation of simple, composed neume signs formed in groups in the direction of movement of the melody and rhythm. Conclusions. Paleographic analysis of the ABC of singing f. 301, No. 638 p, allowed to identify certain patterns, to find common features and differences with other handwritten ABCs. It is determined from the XVIII to the beginning of the XIX century. song alphabets have not only a list of neume but also their interpretation and division of neume signs into groups in the direction of movement of the melody and rhythm. As a result of the analysis of manuscript collections, it was established that the filling with alphabet of insignificant characters, both in the 16th century and in subsequent centuries, occurred in accordance with their use during singing practice. As a rule, those signs that were considered the most important in the performance of church hymns were introduced into the alphabet. During the study, five groups of neume signs located at the end of the song alphabet were analyzed. Their characteristic features are determined: sound hundreds are established, the number of sounds, and the melodic orientation of neume signs.

Deep learning for paleographic analysis of medieval Hebrew manuscripts

Our research project is part of the Visual Media Lab, headed by Professor Jihad El-Sana, the Department of Computer Science at BenGurion University of the Negev, Israel. In this interdisciplinary project we apply deep learning models to classify script types and sub-types in medieval Hebrew manuscripts. The model incorporates the the techniques and databases of Hebrew paleography and (with reservations) Hebrew codicology. Main theoretical base of our project is the SfarData dataset, that includes the full codicological descriptions and paleographical definitions of all dated medieval Hebrew manuscripts till the year 1540. In some exceptional cases, we go beyond this dataset framework. The major source of the data in terms of high definition photos of manuscripts is the Institute of Microfilmed Hebrew Manuscripts at the National Library of Israel that has undertaken the mission to collect copies of all extant Hebrew manuscripts from all over the world. We mostly use manuscripts from the National library of Israel, the British library, and the French National library. This multidisciplinary project brings together researchers from both fields, Humanities and Computer Science. Currently, one professor, one lecturer, one post-doc, and two doctoral students are participating in the project. This is a very exciting work in which there are no ready-made solutions for the various challenges. We collectively discuss ways to address these challenges and adapt our solution on the go. During the presentation, we will talk about how our project functions and how we strive to achieve a common result. The inevitable difficulties that we face during this collaboration include, inter alia, different research systems in Humanities and in Computer Sciences, lack of common terminology, different technical training, different requirements for publications and conferences, etc.

Prospects for discovery large amber-succinite deposits of in Ukraine

Amber and the deposits are represented by Eocene-Oligocene placers of the coastal-sea and lagoon delta genesis. as practice has shown, they have low industrial grade from 5-10 to 250 g/m3. Few studies have been carried out on the amber of the Dnieper basin. These are the eastern and south-western slopes of the Ukrainian Shield at the juncture of the Dnieper-Donetsk and Black Sea basin.The aim of this work, its scientific and practical significance, is to substantiate the forecast of industrial amber-succinitis placers in Ukraine, which are as good as the Baltic placers, where the concentration of gem per cubic metre is calculated not in grams but in kilograms (up to 2 kg/m3). To carry out this task, the authors conducted expedition work in a number of regions of Ukraine and described sections of boreholes, pits, pits, etc. The authors have processed a large amount of scientific information on the alluvial geology, described and analysed the well sections presented in reports on geological surveys of medium and large scale.The article substantiates the identification and conditions for the accumulation of primary biogenic-sedimentary deposits of the protoamber (primary sources of amber-succinitis placers), age and genesis of placers in the first intermediate reservoirs. The article provides a geological and paleographic analysis of the natural conditions of the Tractor Station and the shallow seas in the Eocene-Early Oligocene. At that time there was an accumulation of tar secretions and their transformation into fossil tars and brand-succinite. The forecast for detection of a new type of buried amber-succinitis placers in Ukraine, which are associated with the remote part of the shelf, fully determines the practical and scientific value of the research conducted by the authors, which is ultimately aimed at improving the quality of amber prospecting and exploration works.Keywords: amber-succinite, prognosis, deposits, fossil resins, placers

«Alphabet-Singer» from the Manuscript Collection of the XVIІth Century: Palogeographic Description and Comparative Analysis

The relevance of the study is associated with increasing attention to the historical past of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. An urgent need is a thorough study of collections of liturgical singing collections, the condition of which is getting worse every year. A significant part of liturgical singing compilations of the XVI–XVII centuries remains insufficiently studied, which, in turn, inhibits the movement in terms of deciphering neumatic notation.Main objectives of the article is a paleographic analysis of the song alphabet from a handwritten collection of the XVIІ century and the identification of the characteristic features of its formation.The methodology. The research methodology is based on a combination of various scientific methods. System analysis contributed to the comprehension of handwritten singing alphabet listings. To determine the temporal and quantitative characteristics of the studied material, statistical and chronological methods were used. A comparative analysis of alphabet transfers made it possible to establish logical patterns that affect their formation.Results and conclusions. A paleographic analysis of the alphabet made it possible to identify certain patterns, to find common features and differences with other singing alphabets. During the study, characteristic features were revealed: during the formation of the song alphabet, as a rule, there was a certain sequence, when the name of the neumatic sign was put in the first place, and then its variety without repeating the name of the sign. Filling with neumatic signs the alphabet occurred in accordance with their use during singing practice. The alphabet introduced those signs that were considered the most important in the performance of church hymns.The presentation of characters in song alphabet in the XVII century becomes more streamlined, they are located in their groups, taking into account their pitch. The number of neumatic signs and feats in the song alphabet is gradually increasing, which allows you to more accurately record the height and rhythm of the melodies.

ФРАГМЕНТ ЛАТИНСКОГО МАНУСКРИПТА ИЗ МУЗЕЯ ИМЕНИ АНДРЕЯ РУБЛЕВА В МОСКВЕ

The article is dedicated to the new exhibit of the Andrey Rublev Museum in Moscow — a fragment of a Latin singing manuscript. Based on paleographic analysis and analysis of the manuscript content, comparing it with the repertoire of the oldest manuscripts and the Tridentine Breviary, the author confidently defines the type of manuscript and, with great care, its age and place of origin. Contents — chants of Matins for the feast of St. Paul the Apostle point to an antiphonarium, and the foliation suggests that the codex was a separate volume-sanctorale. The Romanesque origin of the document is evidenced by the square linear musical notation and the Rotunda text type. The singing repertoire of this fragment reveals closeness to a famous XIth century manuscript from Ivrea (Northern Italy), which makes it possible to specify the localization of this source. Musical notation and traces of a later singing repertoire (responsory to the text of St. Bernard of Clairvaux) determine the lower boundary of the manuscript's age — not earlier than the end of the XIIth century, and the differences from the Tridentine Breviary — the upper one: not later than the beginning of the XVIth century. True, the Rotunda font testifies rather to the XIIIth – XIVth century. In the future, a comparative analysis with a large number of reliable sources is required.

О второй стихотворной вставке в пушкинской «<Повести из римской жизни>» («Что с тобой, скажи мне, братец?..»)

Having performed the comprehensive paleographic analysis of the manuscript of Pushkinʼs poem «Chto s toboi, skaszhi mne, bratets?..», the author of the article has reconstructed the autographic and creative context of this draft, which was traditionally dated back to the year 1825. In fact, it is the second rhymed insertion for the «<Povest’ iz rimskoi zhizni>» («<A Tale of Roman Life>») and was written in early 1835, when Pushkin resumed his work on the story of the tragic fate of the Roman writer Petronius, the author of the satirical adventure novel Satyricon.

Uma montagem caligramática do século XIII: a Benedictio Fratri Leoni Data de Francisco de Assis

A Chartula di Assisi é uma relíquia de Francisco de Assis, pequeno fragmento de pergaminho com dois textos autógrafos, a Laudes dei Altissimi e a Benedictio Fratri Leoni data, ambos de 1224. Neste artigo, considerando a materialidade do pergaminho, consideramos o objeto como a conformação das linguagens textuais e visuais, que sugerem diferentes possibilidades de leitura que apresentamo mesmo sentido analógico. Através de análise codicológica, paleográfica, do texto e das imagens, propomos pensar a Benedictio Fratri Leoni data como uma montagem que faz uso de uma imagem-caligrama veiculando a bênção de modo não linear que considera a espacialidade do fragmento de pergaminho e dele faz uso.

Un codice di Federico Veterani alla Biblioteca Universitaria di Anversa

Un codice di Federico Veterani alla Biblioteca Universitaria di AnversaAntwerpen, Universiteitsbibliotheek, MAG-P 60.5 is the oldest manuscript held by the Special Collections department of the University of Antwerp. Because of its bibliographical value, specific attention has already been devoted to it in an article published in Scriptorium forty years ago. However, it failed to identify the scribe, the dedicatee and the occasion for which the manuscript had been created. Starting from a reconsideration of some neglected texts on the flyleaf of the manuscript and a fresh paleographical analysis, this article suggests to attribute it to the hand of Federico Veterani, a scribe for Federico da Montefeltro at the end of the fifteenth century.

БИТВА ПРИ КАДЕШЕ: ПАЛЕОГРАФИЧЕСКИЕ ЗАМЕТКИ К ПАПИРУСУ ПЕНТАУРЕТА

Цель. «Битва при Кадеше», литературно-историческое произведение об одном из эпизодов войн Рамсеса II (XIII-й век до н.э), известна из нескольких источников. Статья посвящена одному из них: иератическому папирусу Пентаурета. Сложившаяся практика переводов произведения на все современные языки не учитывает особенности изложения материала и варианты высказываний в различных редакциях. При этом почерк писца Пентаурета во многих местах разобран предыдущими издателями папируса недостаточно тщательно. Критика ошибок в общепризнанных публикациях должна показать необходимость его переиздания и подготовки отдельного перевода этой рукописи.Методология. Источниковедческая часть исследования основана на работе с подлинными документами, составленными на новоегипетском языке, а именно: иератическими рукописями и иероглифическими надписями, изданными в виде фотографий, факсимиле и прорисовок. Для сопоставительного палеографического анализа привлечены папирусы из нескольких архивов, и имеющие общее место происхождения.Результаты. Папирус Пентаурета является в этой группе источников единственным документом с зафиксированной датой записи. Для подтверждения датировки временем правления Меринптаха раскрывается причина случайного употребления эпитета «великий» в звании правителя врагов Рамсеса II. Палеографический анализ заключительного отрывка, устранил ошибки в ранее сделанных иероглифических транскрипциях зарубежных издателей, в результате колофон папируса переиздан в авторской иероглифической транскрипции, сопровождающейся переводом на русский язык.Область применения результатов. Статья адресована специалистам по политической истории и источниковедению древнего мира.

Lope de Vega in his Signatures

Although generally Lope de Vega’s signature is reproduced in one unique way, this author carried out different morphologies throughout his life, in most cases the different graphical modifications introduced each time revealed another aspect of his biography. So, besides his common signature that only offers us personal facts such as his name or last name, we can track down on other autograph forms of his signature other issues related to his love and religious life. The present paleographical analysis pretends to establish, in a critical manner, chronological facts and general conclusions that can be extracted of the said signatures and rubrics with regards to his biography through a rigorous graphical study.

Intertestamental, Apocrypha, NT Use: Qumran

Intertestamental, Apocrypha, NT UseQumran Christopher T. Begg, Michael W. Duggan, Gregory Y. Glazov, and William J. Urbrock 2267. [Qumran] Emma Abate, "Frammenti di un discorso magico: demononologia e divinazione a Qumran," Hen 39 (2017) 88-104. In this essay, I seek to analyze the meaning of certain of the prohibitions and beliefs regarding magic and demonology in ancient Judaism in light of various DSS. First, I provide a selective overview of Scrolls' passages pertaining to normative, exegetical, and ritual texts and containing prohibitions of necromancy, divinization, and incantatory practices. These practices, I note, are not forbidden in and of themselves, but only insofar as they are connected to such offenses as apostasy, blasphemy, breaches of secrets, and sexual transgressions. I then proceed to examine a number of recognized Qumranic rituals, whose purposes are divinatory, therapeutic, or antidemonic. On certain designated days, the maśkîlîm, the sages acknowledged by the community, and the community as a whole engaged in the performance of these rituals. In my final section, I attempt to elucidate the changes the above traditions underwent outside the Qumranic context at a later period by comparing features of one of the exorcistic formulas used by the community with a similar medieval text that was discovered among the Cairo Genizah manuscripts. [Adapted from published abstracted.—C.T.B.] 2268. [Tefillin Remains from Naḥal Seʾelim] Yonatan Adler, "Remains of Tefillin from Naḥal Seʾelim (Wadi Seiyal): A Leather Case and Two Inscribed Fragments (34 Se 1A-B) (with Paleographic Analysis by Aida Yardeni)," DSD 24 (2017) 112-37. A.'s study presents and analyzes the tefillin (phylactery) remains found in Cave 34 at Naḥal Seʾelim in the course of Yohanan Aharoni's first 1960 expedition to the Judean Desert. In particular, A.'s article introduces a leather tefillin case, never previously reported on, and two inscribed tefillin slips (34SePhylA and 34SePhylB), which have received only preliminary treatment hitherto. Very few close parallels to the slips in question are known from anywhere in the Judean Desert. Both the slips and the case appear quite compatible with rabbinic descriptions and prescriptions, although there is little reason to label these ritual objects as in some way or other "rabbinic." Paleographic analysis of the tefillin slips suggests that their texts were penned sometime in the 2nd half of the 1st cent. c.e. While a Bar Kokhba date for the deposit of the tefillin remains in Cave 34 is quite likely, an earlier dating—possibly during the First Revolt—should not be excluded. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 2269. [CD 9:2-8; 1QS 5:24–6:1; Lev 19:17-18] Kengo Akiyama, "Reproof in CD 9:2-8 and 1QS 5:24–6:1: A Note on a Curious Omission," DSD 24 (2017) 301-6. The Damascus Document (CD 9:2-8) and the Serekh (1QS 5:24–6:3) amplify Lev 19:17-18 and carefully spell out the legal procedure for open reproof. In so doing, however, they both omit the key phrase of Lev 19:18b, "you shall love your neighbor as yourself." A.'s short note suggests that the omission is deliberate and reflects a specific sectarian reading of Lev 19:17-18. In that reading, the sectarians construed this scriptural mandate as a legal command rather than as an exhortation as did the more mainstream Jewish reading of the text in the Second Temple period. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] [End Page 749] 2270. [11QPsa; Sir 43:11-19] Lindsey A. Askin, "The Qumran Psalms Scroll Debate and Ben Sira: Considering the Evidence of Textual Reuse in Sir 43:13-19," DSD 23 (2016) 27-50. This study explores the question of whether Ben Sira's textual use of the Psalms might shed light on the Qumran Psalms Scroll debate. The study proposes that Ben Sira's quotations of Psalms 104, 147, and 148 in Sir 43:11-19 could provide indications as to which Psalter he may have used, since these three psalms are found in close proximity to each other in 11QPsa and 4QPs...

Manuscript Evidence of the Genesis of Sermons by Peter of Zittau

ABSTRACTThe article deals with the sermon collection entitled Sermones de principalibus festis, by Peter of Zittau (d. 1339). The collection has survived in a single manuscript – codex Ms 434 at Leipzig University Library. Drawing on the results of paleographic, codicological and textual analysis of codex Ms 434, the authors explore what the manuscript record of the sermons reveals about the genesis of the texts and Peter of Zittau's working methods. Particular attention is paid to the numerous corrections which were added to the text of the sermons (as copied into the codex by a scribe) by a different contemporary hand. Based on an analysis of the nature of these corrections and a comparison of the handwriting with that of Peter of Zittau (as known from the autograph of the second book of his Chronica Aulae regiae), the paper tests the hypothesis that the author of the corrections in manuscript Ms 434 was Peter of Zittau himself.

Two Newly Discovered Fragments of the Renaut de Montauban

This paper gives a brief notice and transcription of two fragments discovered as binder’s waste of an unrecorded manuscript of the Old French chanson de geste Renaut de Montauban. Paleographical analysis places this manuscript in the middle or second half of the thirteenth century. Its shelfmark is Kalamazoo, Western Michigan University Library, MS 191.

Работа чиновников Томского губернского правления над выпуском губернских ведомостей

Purpose. The article discusses the process of creating of “Tomsk provincial Gazette” in the early years of the newspaper. Particular attention is paid to the formation of the texts of the official part of the newspaper, which had not previously been the subject of special consideration. The main source was the handwritten editorial copies of the official part of the newspaper for 1857–1858, 1863, stored in rare Books and Manuscripts Department of the Tomsk State University Research Library. Results. On the basis of paleographic analysis, copyists are identified, the methods of their work are described, and the editing process is shown. The main circle of Tomsk provincial government officials involved in the process of newspaper creation was reconstructed, their main duties were described. Conclusion. In general, the selected source allows answer all questions posed in the article.

Dos copistas en el siglo X: Gómez de Cardeña y Gómez de Albelda

Durante la primera mitad del siglo X se realiza en el monasterio de San Pedro de Cardeña un códice que contiene los Moralia in Iob de san Gregorio y en San Martín del Albelda se copia la obra de san Ildefonso De virginitate perpetua. Ambos manuscritos están realizado por un copista llamado Gómez. La crítica ha planteado en algunos trabajos la posibilidad de que ambos copistas fueran el mismo, sin embargo, el presente trabajo expone mediante un análisis paleográfico la mayor probabilidad de que se trate de dos copistas diferentes.

Fragments and Fakes: The Arbor consanguinitatis of the Fondation Martin Bodmer and a Contemporary Forgery

A tree of consanguinity (arbor consanguinitatis) contained in a manuscript published on e-codices (Cologny, Fondation Martin Bodmer, Cod. Bodmer 28), served as the model for a new class of forgery. An analysis of the Bodmer leaf in the context of other arbores consanguinitatis shows how the leaf relates to tradition; an examination of the leaf’s history and provenance reveals that the leaf was mutilated, probably in the mid-twentieth century. The forgery is proven to be such through a paleographical and content analysis of the script, and through an examination of the leaf’s method of composition. A second forgery is examined, a fragment of Jerome’s Epistle 53, fabricated from the first folio of another e-codices manuscript, Aarau, Aargauer Kantonsbibliothek MsWettF 11. The forgeries and their circulation provides the opportunity for an assessment of the changing role of manuscript fragments and fakes in the twenty-first century.

Fragments d’un dictionnaire oublié. Essai de datation du Parisinus arabicus 4235 de la BnF

[fr] Le manuscrit de Paris, BnF, arabe 4235 est une copie fragmentaire du dictionnaire al-Bāri‘ d’Abū ‘Alī l-Qālī (m. 356/967) ayant appartenu à un certain Ibrāhīm b. Ḥumām b. Aḥmad sur qui nous ne connaissons rien. En revanche, son père, Ḥumām b. Aḥmad al-Uṭrūš, a vécu à Cordoue de 357/968 à 421/1030. Il y enseignait, entre autres, la langue et la poésie et, en même temps, copiait des livres pour gagner sa vie pendant les dures années de la crise califale. Une glose au folio 22b, tirée d’un codex personnel d’Abū ‘Alī l-Qālī laisse penser que son transcripteur avait accès aux documents de celui-ci, et montre que le manuscrit parisien provient d’un milieu cordouan privilégié. Le soin orthographique et philologique accordé à cette copie ainsi que son style graphique singulier font d’elle plutôt l’oeuvre d’un maître de langue que le travail d’un copiste scrupuleux. Outre le contexte de sa production, des indices codicologiques et paléographiques militent en faveur d’une datation de la fin du IVe/Xe siècle voire du début du siècle suivant.

Suitability of X ray spectrometry to distinguish a handwritten 16th century real estate sales document from its copy

In this work the elemental composition of paper and ink belonging to two paper handwritten documents is compared using non-destructive Energy Dispersive X Ray Fluorescence. The two documents correspond to a real estate sales manuscript dating from 1555 and a more recent copy of the same transaction, of unknown origin. The findings obtained using this spectroscopic technique were confronted with the analysis of two paper samples using Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled to Energy Dispersive system, in order to further evaluate the presence of inclusions. Moreover, fiber identification was also pursued. The raw materials employed presented very similar between documents, however, elemental analysis of paper and ink have proven efficient in distinguishing both paper documents and both inks. The obtained results on the characterization of the materials are consistent with the paleographic analysis and watermark identification previously attempted that dated the copy document from the first half of the 18th century.