90096 - West Medieval Manuscript

Learning outcomes

The course focuses on the sudy of the latin and vernacular manuscript in its codicological and graphic features, between Classical Antiquity and Renaissance. At the end of the course students deeply know forms and shapes of West Medieval manuscript, and the specific methodologies of the palaeography and codicology. They acquire a critical knowledge of the writing history and they are also able to locate and date the manuscripts.

Course contents

The course aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the methodological issues and disciplinary content of latin codicology and paleography. The lectures will provide students with a historically contextualised survey of script and scribal conventions in western European Latin books and documents, starting from its origins (7th-6th century BCE) up to the mid-15th century. Specifically, the course will cover:

- The evolution of writing styles within Roman civilization, progressing from archaic capital scripts during the monarchic era to epigraphical capital scripts, early Roman cursive, and book capital scripts during the transition from the Republican era to the Principate.

- Writing manifestations in late antiquity and the advent of minuscule script in both books (encompassing primitive minuscule, uncial, and half-uncial) and documentary sources (featuring early Roman cursive or later Roman cursive).

- The phenomenon of ‘graphic particularism’ in the early medieval period, observed through national cursive scripts prevalent in continental manuscripts and charters and insular scripts in the British Isles.

- The Carolingian graphic reform and the development of Carolingian minuscule: an examination of its origin and contextual applications during the late 8th to 12th centuries, notably within scholastic environments.

- The written culture of the laity between the 12th and 13th centuries, exploring the nexus between universities, emerging professions during urban revitalization, and the concurrent rise of new professional cursive scripts.

- The scholarly response: an analysis of Petrarch and Boccaccio's semi-Gothic script.

- Finally, an exploration of humanistic scripts as exemplified by Salutati, Bracciolini, and Niccoli, serving as a pivotal conduit towards the advent of Gutenberg-style printing.

Readings/Bibliography

1. Textbooks:

– A. Petrucci, Breve storia della scrittura latina, Roma: il Bagatto, 1989 (Roma: il Bagatto, 1992: nuova edizione riveduta e aggiornata; Perugia-Verona, 2022: edizione elettronica a cura di M. Bassetti e A. Ciaralli [libero accesso su Virtuale])

– A. Petrucci, Prima lezione di paleografia, Roma-Bari: Editori Laterza, 2002 (Universale Laterza, 811)

** Non-attending students will replace these two reference texts with:

– P. Cherubini, A. Pratesi, Paleografia latina. L’avventura grafica del mondo occidentale, Città del Vaticano: Scuola Vaticana di Paleografia, Diplomatica e Archivistica, 2010 (Littera Antiqua, 16)

2. Further readings

** Any text from the following selection:

– Libri, editori e pubblico nel mondo antico. Guida storica e critica, a cura di G. Cavallo, Roma-Bari: Editori Laterza, 2002 (Biblioteca Universale Laterza, 297) [prima edizione: Roma-Bari, 1992]

– Libri, editori e pubblico nell'Europa moderna. Guida storica e critica, a cura di A. Petrucci, Roma-Bari: Editori Laterza, 2003 (Biblioteca Universale Laterza, 297) [prima edizione: Roma-Bari, 1989]

– Libri e lettori nel Medioevo. Guida storica e critica, a cura di G. Cavallo, Roma-Bari: Editori Laterza, 2016 (Biblioteca Universale Laterza, 296) [prima edizione: Roma-Bari, 1998]

– Le biblioteche nel mondo antico e medievale, a cura di G. Cavallo, Roma-Bari: Editori Laterza, 2023 (Biblioteca Universale Laterza, 250) [prima edizione: Roma-Bari, 1998]

– Storia della lettura nel mondo occidentale, a cura di G. Cavallo e R. Chartier, Roma-Bari: Editori Laterza, 2021 (Biblioteca Storica Laterza, 250) [prima edizione: Roma-Bari, 2009]

– L. Del Corso, Il libro nel mondo antico. Archeologia e storia (secoli VII a.C.-IV d.C.), Roma: Carocci Editore, 2022 (Frecce, 341)

– L. Buono, Medioevo monastico nello specchio dei libri, Spoleto: Fondazione CISAM, 2023 (I tascabili, 3)

Teaching methods

Frontal lessons; practice sessions: various types of handwritten sources from the 6th century BCE to the 15th century CE will be explored and interpreted.

Further study materials and additional resources can be accessed on the course's Virtual page, with the password available upon request from the teacher.

** For regularly attending students: The teacher may assign a project, which will be the initial topic discussed during the exam.

Assessment methods

Class attendance is recommended to achieve a good result. All those who cannot attend the course for demonstrable reasons of work are required to agree their syllabus in advance during the lecturer’s office hours.

The exam will be an oral discussion where students can choose a topic or discuss an assigned research project from class. Evaluation will consider how well students know and understand the topics covered in lectures and the recommended readings, their ability to communicate effectively using the specialized language of the discipline, their skills in summarizing and analyzing themes and concepts, and their overall critical, methodological, and interpretative abilities.

Any gaps in knowledge, the use of inappropriate language, or a lack of engagement with the course materials will be assessed negatively.

Teaching tools

Practical activities:

- Annotated projection of various types of handwritten sources spanning from the 6th century BCE to the 15th century CE.

- Annotated projection of specific case studies related to dated or datable manuscript codices within the relevant centuries.

- Annotated projection of specific case studies related to dated or datable manuscript charters within the relevant centuries.

In the 'Virtual teaching resources' section - which can be accessed with a password that the teacher will communicate at the beginning of the lessons - the basic teaching material will be available from the start of the course (exemplary and in-depth Power Points, links to videos and handouts provided by the teacher). Furthermore, the recordings (or the link to the recordings) of the first two actual lessons of the course (which will be held in the classroom) will be available on Virtuale, so that everyone (attending, non-attending, workers, etc.) will be able to retrieve the orientation information for the course.

Please note that initiatives (educational visits, seminars, conferences, book presentations...) indicated and/or organized by the teacher are to be considered supplementary to the teaching and will be recognized during the exam.

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All student who are affected by learning disability (DSA) and in need of special strategies to compensate it, are kindly requested to contact prof. Bassetti, in order to be referred to the colleagues in charge and get proper advice and instructions.

https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students

Office hours

See the website of Massimiliano Bassetti