Do you ever have problems deciphering the intricate handwriting of historical documents? Don't we all! There are lots of online resources to help, and we've checked them out so you can find the right one for you. Some are MOOCS (massive open online courses) offered through universities; others are web-based self-paced tutorials. If none of these work for you, you should also check out the classic instructional guides (aka "books") on paleography we recommended in our earlier post.
Online Tutorials
InScribe: Palaeography, University of London, ongoing
Medievalists have always found it difficult to interact with primary sources from their period of study due to a lack of training in palaeography (and manuscript studies), that is to say, the reading and understanding of ancient documents. This course provides scholars and the general public interested in medieval books and documents with online training on the diverse areas found within palaeography. Topics covered include general palaeography, the history of medieval scripts, diplomatic, codicology and illumination.
InScribe: Palaeography Module 2 - Scripts, University of London, ongoing
Medievalists have always found it difficult to interact with primary sources from their period of study due to a lack of training in palaeography (and manuscript studies), that is to say, the reading and understanding of ancient documents. This course provides scholars and the general public interested in medieval books and documents with online training on the diverse areas found within palaeography. Topics covered include general palaeography, the history of medieval scripts, diplomatic, codicology and illumination.
English Handwriting 1500-1700: An Online Course, University of Cambridge, ongoing
This resource has been designed for students and scholars of early modern English letters, history, theology, and philosophy--for anyone whose research will embrace original English manuscript sources in this period. Drawing on the rich manuscript holdings of some of the older Cambridge colleges, it presents an extensive archive of manuscript images unparalleled in printed guides and introductions. Joined to this you will find a range of pedagogical materials--transcription conventions, tips on dating, a bibliography and list of links--suitable for beginners, but convenient also for continuing reference.
Palaeography: reading old handwriting 1500-1800, a practical online tutorial, The National Archives (UK), ongoing
This web tutorial will help you learn to read the handwriting found in documents written in English between 1500 and 1800.
At first glance, many documents written at this time look illegible to the modern reader. By reading the practical tips and working through the documents in the Tutorial in order of difficulty, you will find that it becomes much easier to read old handwriting.
Medieval Palaeography, West Sussex Records Council, ongoing
Early Modern Palaeography, West Sussex Records Council, ongoing
vHMML School (virtual Hill Museum & Manuscript Library), ongoing
The School teaches about scripts and manuscripts, introducing learners to the sciences of paleography and codicology.
Follow the development of scripts through the centuries. Lessons include simple exercises to help you grasp important concepts. Lessons on Latin Scripts do not necessarily require a knowledge of Latin.
Transcribing Manuscripts offers a chance to practice reading the scripts covered in the Scripts and Manuscripts lessons. Each transcription exercise includes an answer key. The lessons in Transcribing Latin or Syriac Manuscripts assume a knowledge of Latin or Syriac respectively.
Digital Resource and Database for Palaeography, Manuscript Studies and Diplomatic, King's College, London, ongoing
The project aims to bring digital technology to bear on scholarly discussion in new and innovative ways. It combines digital photographs of medieval handwriting with detailed descriptions and characterisations of the writing, as well as the text in which it is found, and the content and structure of the manuscript or document as a whole. It incorporates different ways of exploring and manipulating the information, such as annotated images, along with well as more conventional text-based browse and search. It therefore allows scholars to apply new developments in palaeographical method which have been discussed in theory but which have proven difficult or impossible to implement in practice.
Scottish Handwriting, Scottish Archive Network, ongoing
Online tuition in palaeography for historians, genealogists and other researchers who have problems reading manuscript historical records written in Scotland in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.
The emphasis of the website is on practical help to improve the palaeographical skills, rather than on the academic study of Scottish handwriting.
Spanish Paleography Digital Teaching and Learning Tool, CUNY Dominican Studies Institute, ongoing
The Spanish Paleography Digital Teaching and Learning Tool is an online interactive resource to assist users in the learning of the deciphering and reading of manuscripts written in Spanish during the early modern period, roughly from the late 15th to the 18th century.
French Renaissance Paleography, Newberry Library, ongoing
Paleography is the history and study of handwriting. Old scripts can be very beautiful, but sometimes difficult to read. This site presents over 100 carefully selected French manuscripts written between 1300 and 1700, with tools for deciphering them and learning about their social, cultural, and institutional settings.
Current and Upcoming Courses
Deciphering Secrets: The Illuminated Manuscripts of Medieval Europe, coursera, Spring 2018, ongoing
Perhaps no other relic of the European Middle Ages captures our imagination more than illuminated medieval manuscripts, or those documents decorated with images and colored pigments. Serving as windows unto a lost world of kings, ladies, faith, war, and culture, they communicate complex visual and textual narratives of Europe’s collective cultural heritage and patrimony. In this fashion, illuminated manuscripts are dynamic messages from our communal past that are still relevant today in fields like graphic design and typography. In this seven-week course, students will explore the material creation, content, and historical context of illuminated medieval European manuscripts. Students will acquire an introductory knowledge of their distinguishing characteristics, their cataloguing and periodization (when they were created), the methods utilized to produce them, and their historical context and value.
Keele Latin and Palaeography Summer School, Keele University, July 21-28, 2018
his summer school at Keele University (now in its 41st year) is for those wishing to acquire or improve their skills in reading and transcribing medieval and early modern documents in both Latin and English. Taken mostly from English archives (both national and local), the documents are chiefly those which are used by historians rather than literary texts.
If you need an introduction to medieval Latin or palaeography (the study of medieval and early modern handwriting), or wish to enhance the knowledge that you already have and want to meet others with the same interests, then the Keele school is designed for you, and one of its main benefits is that students are able to build up their knowledge and confidence during the week.
The school is taught in several small groups, but these are not in sessions at which students just listen to tutors and make notes. Rather, the emphasis is very much on learning the skills in reading and transcribing documents, and so involves a lot of active participation.
The approach is serious but friendly and attracts a wide range of people from both the UK and abroad: national, local, and family historians, along with archive students and postgraduate researchers. Many come back year after year, taking the opportunity to seek advice from tutors and fellow students on their own research interests and problems.
Medieval Institute Summer Study, University of Notre Dame, Summer 2018 and ongoing
Diplomatics: The Science of Reading Medieval Documents [open to graduate students only]
One of the most fascinating disciplines in Medieval Studies is Diplomatics. Though loosely connected with “diplomacy” through its Greek root diploma, the scholarly discipline of Diplomatics is in fact the science of reading medieval documents. Such documents, which include decrees, letters, and charters, are composed in Latin on parchment or paper (rarely, papyrus) and are written in specific formats by a chancery or notary. The discipline began in the seventeenth century in continental Europe in connection with paleography (though in the English-speaking world it has come to signify a history of British chanceries). This course presents the multifaceted Continental tradition of the discipline, including work on public and private documents, external and internal characteristics, chronology, seals, tradition, conservation, research, and Papal Diplomatics. Coursework will consist both of theoretical lessons and of practical exercises of reading and interpreting.
Introduction to Paleography, 800-1500, Rare Book School, University of Virginia, July 8-13, 2018
This course provides an introduction to the book-based scripts and the text typologies of the western European Middle Ages and the Renaissance from 800 to 1500, from Caroline minuscule through early print. The goal is to learn to read the texts (mainly in Latin); an integral part of this is the recognition of the main types of script according to various categories, by attention to letter forms, abbreviations, and decorative hierarchies. Students will work with digital images and a selection of actual materials; they will learn the basic tools for working with medieval codices; they will begin to assess areas that can provide information on localizing and dating the manuscripts. The main concentration of the course will consist of practical work sessions, both in oral reading and in written transcription in order to build a foundation for eventual advanced study in paleography. Course materials will be distributed electronically, and much of the classroom work will be based on electronic images, so students should bring their own laptops; homework, however, will be done via paper copies.
Advanced Seminar in Medieval Manuscript Studies, Rare Book School, University of Virginia (meets in New Haven, Connecticut), June 10-15
This advanced course in medieval manuscript studies will build upon the skills acquired in introductory classes in paleography, codicology, and the history of the hand-produced book; it is intended to deepen an individual’s understanding of the varied approaches to medieval and Renaissance manuscripts.
Primary working sessions will be hands-on analysis and discussion of fragments and codices (both complete and incomplete) in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library—one of the foremost collections in North America. Students will select a Yale manuscript to research and to describe in detail for a final oral presentation in the class.
In addition to practical sessions of transcribing difficult scripts from the later Middle Ages (c.1100–1500), there will be workshops by Yale conservators on inks and pigments, parchment, and paper, including watermark identification. There will also be a session on collating complex manuscripts and the importance of collation for understanding the production of medieval manuscripts.
The emphasis will be on research with medieval primary source materials and through PDFs of pertinent and specialized articles; digital images of comparative materials will be circulated to participants. Classes will be taught in the Beinecke Library, though students might also work on early materials from the Yale Law School special collections for their projects.
Introduction to Islamic Manuscripts, Rare Book School, University of Virginia (meets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), June 10-15, 2018
Though the arts of the manuscript book constitute one of the most vital forms of artistic creativity and practice within the Islamic world, they have received relatively little attention within the general field of manuscript studies in Europe and America. This course provides an introduction to the history of Islamic manuscripts and the constituent arts of calligraphy, illumination, illustration and binding from the origins of Islam in the seventh century through the early modern period (sixteenth and seventeenth centuries), encompassing the full range of historical cultures (Arab, Persian, Turkish and Indian). Within a chronological framework, course topics include: the codicology of Islamic manuscripts (materials and techniques); issues of text, style, iconography, meaning and aesthetics; and the human dimension of manuscript production (collaboration between artists of diverse crafts in a workshop setting, the role of patrons in supporting the bookmaking enterprise over the centuries). The course will be taught primarily through the rich (and little-known) collection of Islamic manuscripts at the Free Library of Philadelphia, with a field trip to Princeton University.
English Paleography, California Rare Book School, August 6-10, 2018
This one-week intensive course is designed for students with little to no paleographic training. The course focuses primarily on English script styles from the 15th century to the 18th century, with special attention paid to Secretary hands. We will devote some time to manuscripts produced on the continent, but no foreign language skill are necessary for taking this class. Students will also be introduced to the materials and mechanics of late-medieval/early modern writing, manuscript and book terminologies, and relevant bibliographic and online resources. Most class time will be dedicated to group reading and transcription experience. We will spend one day at The Huntington, where students will have the opportunity to work directly with late-medieval/early modern manuscripts. At the end of the course, participants should have the skills and confidence to embark upon their own archival research with manuscripts.
London International Palaeography Summer School, University of London, June 11-15, 2018
The London International Palaeography Summer School is a series of intensive courses in Palaeography and Manuscript Studies. Courses range from a half to two days duration and are given by experts in their respective fields from a wide range of institutions. Subject areas include Latin, Anglo-Saxon, Middle English, Early Modern English, German and Greek palaeography, illumination, illuminated manuscripts, codicology, diplomatic, manuscript editing and liturgical and devotional manuscripts.
Deadline for applications 1 June.
Past Courses
Deciphering Secrets: Unlocking the Manuscripts of Medieval Toledo (Spain), edX, Spring 2017
This course evaluates the medieval history of Toledo from the reign of King Alfonso “The Wise” (1252-1284) until the creation of the blood purity statutes in the 1450s.
This local history will concentrate on the relations of Jews, Old Christians, and converts to Christianity (conversos). We will study King Alfonso X’s efforts to characterize himself as the “king of three religions” via his legal codices, the creation of the Cantigas de Santa María, and his intellectual endeavor known as the Toledo School of Translators.
We evaluate the robust Jewish and converso noble families of the city and appreciate their intellectual, religious, and economic contributions to Castilian life. We will bear witness to the rise of anti-Jewish blood purity statutes, the creation of the Inquisition, and the expulsion of the Jews. We will virtually-tour the Cathedral of Toledo, El Transito Synagogue, Santa Maria la Blanca Synagogue, and several of its neighborhoods.
We also will study and transcribe manuscripts from the municipal, cathedral, and national historic nobility archives to make new scholarly breakthroughs.
No knowledge of Spanish is needed to participate in the course or in our transcription efforts.
Digging Deeper: Medieval Manuscripts, Stanford University, Spring 2015
Digging Deeper: Making Manuscripts introduces you to the study of early text technologies, focusing principally on the medieval book, but covering other textual objects, too, such as scrolls and diplomata. The Digging Deeper team of scholars from Stanford and Cambridge reveals how to investigate manuscripts within repository settings and through online resources, what to look out for when confronted with manuscript images, and how to exploit all the information a manuscript offers. You will learn major characteristics of book production, the terms and methods used by manuscript historians to describe the book, and key themes in early book history. Where were manuscripts made and who made them? What kinds of materials were used and what can those materials tell us? What kinds of texts were created and copied during these centuries? How did multilingualism matter in the medieval period? In pursuing these questions, you will study some of the most significant and beautiful books held by the university libraries of Cambridge and Stanford.
Digging Deeper is a six-week course, with each week featuring filmed sequences of experts with manuscripts, reading assignments, a short transcription, and self-testing quizzes. Assignments will help you develop a basic knowledge of how to access manuscripts in person and online, skills in codicology (the study of the medieval book and the physical make-up of manuscripts), palaeography (the describing and analysis of medieval scripts), and transcription (the reading and interpretation of writing in manuscripts). Participants who finish the course will earn a Stanford Statement of Accomplishment.
Digging Deeper: The Form and Function of Manuscripts, Stanford University, Spring 2015
Digging Deeper: The Form and Function of Manuscripts introduces you to the way medieval manuscripts are interpreted, conserved, and disseminated today. The Digging Deeper team of scholars from Stanford and Cambridge shows how to analyze the function of manuscripts, the methods by which they are conserved, and the digital means that are transforming the field of manuscript studies. We will look at the development of music, move beyond the European tradition to study non-Western manuscripts, and see how digital methods are allowing for new inquiry and posing new problems. In pursuing these studies, you will study some of the most significant and beautiful books held by the university libraries of Cambridge and Stanford.
Digging Deeper is a six-week course, with each week featuring filmed sequences of experts with manuscripts, reading assignments, a short transcription, and self-test quizzes. Assignments will help you further your knowledge of how to access manuscripts in person and online, skills in codicology (the study of the medieval book and the physical make-up of manuscripts), palaeography (the describing and analysis of medieval scripts), and transcription (the reading and interpretation of writing in manuscripts). Participants who finish the course will earn a Stanford Statement of Accomplishment.
Online Paleography Course, Medici Archive Project, Fall 2015-Spring 2016
The four-month course is designed to provide students with a broad understanding of archival research and paleographic studies. It will provide methodological skills to navigate early modern archives, as well as the cultural background necessary to appreciate the intricate social, historical and artistic context of early modern Italy.
The course is divided into 4 modules. The first three modules may be completed online, whereas the fourth module is an onsite seminar in Florence, Italy.
Module 1 will familiarize students with key methodological issues. In Module 2 students will be able to focus on broader themes relevant to the historical era of 1300-1700. During Module 3, each class will focus on specific areas of study in order to understand and create a clear connection between acquiring paleographic skills and making historical discoveries.
Students may choose to follow the online course with Module 4. The onsite seminar will allow students to work and study as part of of the academic community of the Medici Archive Project. During the two-week onsite seminar, participants will be able to put into practice the various research skills they have developed during the online course. This direct engagement with the texts, and the skills needed to interpret them, marks the culmination of the Medici Archive Project Online Paleography course and Onsite Archival Studies seminar.
If you're ready to try your hand at deciphering old handwriting, the collections on FromThePage are always looking for transcribers.
If you know of any that aren't listed here--especially if you've taken them and can recommend them--please let us know in the comments!
This post was updated May 2017. Check each course page for dates and applicable registration fees.
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If you’re German speaking, you can give http://palaeographie-online.de/ a try.