B031121 - PALEOGRAPHY AND CODICOLOGY

Italian

The course consists of two modules (36 hours, 6 CFU each), the first is preparatory to the second.
First module: 1) Foundations of paleography and codicology. 2) History of Latin script and history of the book in Italy from the 12th to the 15th century.

Second module: Sixteenth-century writing masters and their treatises

First module:
- E. Casamassima, Tradizione corsiva e tradizione libraria nella scrittura latina del Medioevo, Roma, 1988, pp. 131-140
- G. Cencetti, Paleografia latina, Roma, 1978, pp. 156-166
- T. De Robertis, Humanistic Script: Origins e Humanistic Script: Italy, in The Oxford Handbook of Latin Palaeography, ed. by F. Coulson and R. Babcock, Oxford, OUP, 2021, pp. 511-521 e 522-552
- M. Maniaci, Breve storia del libro manoscritto, Roma, 2019, pp. 61-89
- J. Mallon, Paléographie romaine, Madrid, 1952, pp. 21-29
- S. Zamponi, Gothic Script in Italy e Late Gothic: Italy (XIVth-XVIth Centuries), in The Oxford Handbook of Latin Palaeography, ed. by F. Coulson and R. Babcock, Oxford, OUP, 2021, pp. 411-428 e 429-444
- S. Zamponi, Struttura, esecuzione, stile. Ripensando il protocollo Mallon, in Librorum studiosus. Miscellanea Palaeographica et codicologica Alberto Derolez dicata, eds. L. Reynhout – B. Victor, Turnhout, 2018, pp. 361-382

Second module:
E. Casamassima, Trattati di scrittura del Cinquecento italiano, Milano, 1966

The first module aims to provide students with: the conceptual and lexical tools of palaeographical and codicological work; an overview of the history of Latin script and of the book in Italy from the 12th to the 15th century; basic codicology and cataloguing. At the end of the course, students will be able to: 1) transcribe, describe, date and give historical interpretation to the book and documentary hands from the 12th to the 15th century; 2) give historical interpretation to the typologies of books produced between the 12th and the 15th century; 3) read and comment various models of codicological descriptions, from the modern age to the online catalogues.

The second module is seminar-based. The topic of sixteenth-century writing masters and their treatises will be discussed.

First module: theorethical and practical lessons. All the teaching materials (presentations, plates, transcriptions, exercises) will be available on Moodle. In consideration of the practical nature of the course students are advised to actively participate.

Second module: the second module is seminar-based and requires the active participation of students. All the teaching materials (presentations, plates, transcriptions, exercises) will be available on Moodle.

Students should have a very good knowledge of written and spoken Italian, of Medieval and Renaissance history and cultural history, and a basic knowledge of Latin. During the second lesson students will have to take a test to verify previous knowledge of paleography and codicology.

NO

First module. Assessment is divided into three parts:
1) Written exam. Before the oral exam, students are required to take a written exam, which will be assigned to each of them by email at the end of the course, and which has to be sent by email (irene.ceccherini@unifi.it) at least one week before the date of the oral exam. The written exam consists of three questions: a transcription of a short handwritten text in Latin; a short palaeographical description; a question about the description of manuscripts. In view of the written exam, some practical exercises will be discussed in class, and more exercises will be available on Moodle.
2) Oral exam. Reading test. Students will be required to read some of the plates presented during the lessons.
3) Oral exam. Discussion of the topics treated in class and of the bibliography.
The final evaluation of the first module (30/30) consists of the sum of the three parts:
1) Written exam: 10/30
2) Reading test: 10/30
3) Discussion of the topics treated in class and of the bibliography: 10/30

Second module. Assessment consists of a short essay (about 3,500 words) about the topic treated in class. Essays will be assigned to students at the end of the course and have to be sent by email (irene.ceccherini@unifi.it) at least one week before the date of the oral exam.

The final assessment for students of both modules (30/30) will consider the assessment of the first and of the second module.

First module. Foundations of paleography and codicology: Introduction to the study of written sources. Definitions and historical foundations of Palaeography and Codicology (research fields, methods, goals). Libraries and archives. Writing tools and materials. The making and shaping of the book. Principles of codicological description. Principles and methods of palaeographical analysis. Medieval abbreviations. Principles of transcription. Chronology. History of Latin script and history of the book in Italy from the 12th to the 15th century: Latin script before the 12th century. The transition between late Caroline minuscule and Gothic script. Gothic script. The (re)birth of cursive script. The Italian types of cursive script: cancelleresca and mercantesca. The transfer of cursive scripts from documents to books. Humanistic script, formal and cursive. The main typologies of books from the 12th to the 15th century.

The second module is seminar-based. The topic of sixteenth-century writing masters and their treatises will be discussed. Students will be assigned a short essay about the topic.