{"title":"Palaeography Books","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"the-greatest-invention-a-history-of-the-world-in-nine-mysterious-scripts-9781529064780","title":"The Greatest Invention: A History of the World in","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘Ferrara’s book is an introduction to writing as a process of revelation, but it’s also a celebration of these things still undeciphered, and many other tantalising mysteries besides.‘ - \u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eSpectator\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis book tells the story of our greatest invention. Or, it almost does. Almost, because while the story has a beginning – in fact, it has many beginnings, not only in Mesopotamia, 3,100 years before the birth of Christ, but also in China, Egypt and Central America – and it certainly has a middle, one that snakes through the painted petroglyphs of Easter Island, through the great machines of empires and across the desks of inspired, brilliant scholars, the end of the story remains to be written.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe invention of writing allowed humans to create a record of their lives and to persist past the limits of their lifetimes. In the shadows and swirls of ancient inscriptions, we can decipher the stories they sought to record, but we can also tease out the timeless truths of human nature, of our ceaseless drive to connect, create and be remembered.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Greatest Invention\u003c\/i\u003e chronicles an uncharted journey, one filled with past flashes of brilliance, present-day scientific research and the faint, fleeting echo of writing’s future. Professor Silvia Ferrara, a modern-day adventurer who travels the world studying ancient texts, takes us along with her; we touch the knotted, coloured strings of the Incan khipu and consider the case of the Phaistos disk. Ferrara takes us to the cutting edge of decipherment, where high-powered laser scanners bring tears to an engineer’s eye, and further still, to gaze at the outline of writing’s future. \u003ci\u003eThe Greatest Invention \u003c\/i\u003elifts the words off every page and changes the contours of the world around us – just keep reading.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e‘The Greatest Invention\u003c\/i\u003e is a celebration not of achievements, but of moments of illumination and \u003ci\u003e“\u003c\/i\u003ethe most important thing in the world: our desire to be understood\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e”\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e.‘ - \u003ci\u003eTLS\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBrisk, simple to follow and unfussy – though the author has a way with a helpful metaphor, for which we non-experts are grateful . . . Ferrara’s book is an introduction to writing as a process of revelation, but it’s also a celebration of these things still undeciphered, and many other tantalising mysteries besides. -- Daniel Hahn * Spectator *\u003cbr\u003eIn Silvia Ferrara’s conception of it, writing is a fragile object, nurtured over many phases of human development . . . \u003ci\u003eThe Greatest Invention\u003c\/i\u003e is a celebration not of achievements, but of moments of illumination and 'the most important thing in the world: our desire to be understood.' -- Lydia Wilson * The Times Literary Supplement *\u003cbr\u003eFerrara says she wrote the book the way she talks to friends over dinner, and that’s exactly how it reads. Instead of telling a chronological history of writing, she moves freely from script to script, island to island . . . She is constantly by our side, prodding us with questions, offering speculations, reporting on exciting discoveries . . . . her book doubles as a manifesto for collaborative research. -- Martin Puchner * The New York Times Book Review *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e[An] intellectually stimulating, chattily written survey of the invention and significance of writing in both the ancient and modern world.\u003c\/p\u003e * Minerva magazine *\u003cbr\u003ePart reconnaissance, part time machine, part ode to our complex species, Ferrara's enchanting book unearths not only our writing systems but our humanity itself. -- Amanda Montell, author of \u003ci\u003eWordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom Crete to Easter Island, everywhere in between, and back again, Ferrara illuminates the sheer magic that the invention of writing actually was, while also sharing the pure joy of being a scientist. Plus, the translation is exquisite. -- John McWhorter, author of \u003ci\u003eWoke Racism: How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDeftly translated by Portnowitz, Ferrara’s book is more than a cook’s tour of the history, present, and future of writing . . . Ferrara capably conveys the sensory magic of writing: sound made visible and tangible. * Kirkus Reviews *\u003cbr\u003eSilvia Ferrara is enviably expert in an enviably attractive and important field - early scripts and their decipherment or (as cryptographers would have it) decoding. Dr Ferrara sheds swathes of light on how we developed writing systems throughout the world, and her own specialism, Cypro-Minoan, reveals that two islands, Cyprus and Crete, are critical to one truly \"great invention\", the advancement of human civilisation. -- \u003cfont face=\"verdana, tahoma\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePaul Cartledge, author of\u003ci\u003e Thebes: The Forgotten City of Ancient Greece\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Spartans\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Pan Macmillan","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47851995824471,"sku":"9781529064780","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781529064780.jpg?v=1710650657"},{"product_id":"hieroglyphs-9780192805027","title":"Hieroglyphs","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHieroglyphs were far more than a language. They were an omnipresent and all-powerful force in communicating the messages of ancient Egyptian culture for over three thousand years; used as monumental art, as a means of identifying Egyptianness, and for rarefied communication with the gods.In this exciting new study, Penelope Wilson explores the cultural significance of the script with an emphasis on previously neglected areas such as cryptography, the continuing decipherment into modern times, and examines the powerful fascination hieroglyphs still hold for us today. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1. The origins of writing in Egypt ; 2. Hieroglyphic script and the Egyptian language ; 3. Hieroglyphs and art ; 4. 'I Know You, I Know Your Names' ; 5. Scribes and everyday writing ; 6. The decipherment of Egyptian ; 7. Hieroglyphs in the modern world ; Notes ; Chronology ; Further Reading ; Index","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732589916503,"sku":"9780192805027","price":9.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780192805027.jpg?v=1719997554"},{"product_id":"the-oxford-handbook-of-latin-palaeography-9780197689707","title":"The Oxford Handbook of Latin Palaeography","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLatin books are among the most numerous surviving artifacts of the Late Antique, Mediaeval, and Renaissance periods in European history; written in a variety of formats and scripts, they preserve the literary, philosophical, scientific, and religious heritage of the West. The Oxford Handbook of Latin Palaeography surveys these books, with special emphasis on the variety of scripts in which they were written. Palaeography, in the strictest sense, examines how the changing styles of script and the fluctuating shapes of individual letters allow the date and the place of production of books to be determined. More broadly conceived, palaeography examines the totality of early book production, ownership, dissemination, and use. The Oxford Handbook of Latin Palaeography includes essays on major types of script (Uncial, Insular, Beneventan, Visigothic, Gothic, etc.), describing what defines these distinct script types, and outlining when and where they were used. It expands on previous handbooks of the subject by incorporating select essays on less well-studied periods and regions, in particular late mediaeval Eastern Europe. The Oxford Handbook of Latin Palaeography is also distinguished from prior handbooks by its extensive focus on codicology and on the cultural settings and contexts of mediaeval books. Essays treat of various important features, formats, styles, and genres of mediaeval books, and of representative mediaeval libraries as intellectual centers. Additional studies explore questions of orality and the written word, the book trade, glossing and glossaries, and manuscript cataloguing. The extensive plates and figures in the volume will provide readers wtih clear illustrations of the major points, and the succinct bibliographies in each essay will direct them to more detailed works in the field.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethis handbook will definitely be the standard work on palaeography for a long time to come. * Geoffrey D. Dunn, University of Pretoria, Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association *\u003cbr\u003eIn keeping with Leonard Boyle's conception of \"integral palaeography * the idea that the study of paleography is not an isolated discipline but rather is intimately entangled with other aspects of the handwritten bookthe volume moves beyond examinations of different script styles to wide-ranging discussions of everything from codicology and textual genres to the technical aspects of manuscript cataloguing.Lisa Fagin Davis, Manuscript Studies: A Journal of the Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies *\u003cbr\u003eSplendid and immensely useful ... Latin Palaeography tackles the major types of script, material embodiment and techniques of manuscripts, their cultural setting, selected scriptoria and libraries, and varieties of book usage in sixty-three chapters penned by an international team of experts. I see that the book is already out of stock * as sure a sign as any of the timeliness and need.Ivana Petrovic, Greece \u0026amp; Rome *\u003cbr\u003eThe Oxford Handbook of Latin Palaeography does exactly what it sets out to do, and more ... Written by an international \"Who's Who\" of Latin paleography, with smooth and expert translations from German, Italian, and French when necessary, the volume provides welcome introductions to Latin bookhands from late Antiquity to the Renaissance, with additional sections covering codicology, manuscript culture, and book history ... The Oxford Handbook of Latin Palaeography should quickly become a staple on bookshelves and in classrooms, and many of the essays will become instant classics. * Lisa Fagin Davis, Manuscript Studies *\u003cbr\u003eWe must be grateful to the editors, Coulson and Babcock, for their courage in organising this handbook. This impressive work will be of great value, both as an indispensable handbook of Latin palaeography and as a necessary starting point for research in palaeography, codicology and the cultural history of the Latin Middle Ages. * Paolo Eleuteri, The Classical Review *","brand":"Oxford University Press Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732675277143,"sku":"9780197689707","price":49.73,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780197689707.jpg?v=1791378671"},{"product_id":"scribes-and-scholars-9780199686339","title":"Scribes and Scholars","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne of the remarkable facts about the history of Western culture is that we are still in a position to read large amounts of the literature produced in classical Greece and Rome despite the fact that for at least a millennium and a half all copies had to be produced by hand and were subject to the hazards of fire, flood, and war. This book explains how the texts survived and gives an account of the reasons why it was thought worthwhile to spend the necessary effort to preserve them for future generations.In the second edition a section of notes was included, and a new chapter was added to deal with some aspects of scholarship since the Renaissance. In the third edition (1991), the authors responded to the urgent need to take account of the very large number of discoveries in this rapidly advancing field of knowledge by substantially revising or enlarging certain sections. The last two decades have seen further advances, and this revised edition is designed to take account of them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'For the third edition the authors have not only brought the bibliographical notes up to date but also made extensive amendments and additions, both small and large, throughout the text.'  James Diggle, Queens' College, Cambridge, The Classical Review\u003cbr\u003e'This is a very fine book indeed. The text is written with admirable lucidity, wit and charm. The book itself is a clearly printed and stout paperback, well worth the reommended retail price of $44.95, and of course, as befits a volume produced by the Oxford University Press on this topic above all, the text is flawless. Clearly I would recommend Scribes and Scholars as a valuable acquisition for a school library which could be consulted with profit by senior students ... this book, with its overwhelming proof of the centrality of Classics in the western tradition, is essential reading.'  M. Dyson, University of Queensland, Ancient History, 1992, No. 2\u003cbr\u003e'This enlarged version remains a valuable resource for both graduate student and scholar. Scribes and Scholars is a book which has done much good and will continue to do so.'  E. Christian Kopff, University of Colorado, Classical Bulletin (1992)\u003cbr\u003e'The third edition of this superb work has been carefully revised to reflect advances in classical scholarship since publication of the previous edition. The work is indispensable for classical students who have not read the previous edition, and recommended for those who want recent information on an essential subject.'  Gerald O'Sullivan, Stockton State College, Classical World\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePREFACE; ABBREVIATIONS; NOTES; INDEX OF MSS; GENERAL INDEX; NOTES TO THE PLATES; PLATES","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732884009303,"sku":"9780199686339","price":41.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780199686339.jpg?v=1719998809"},{"product_id":"adventures-of-inanaka-and-tuni-learning-to-write-in-ancient-babylonia-9781614911012","title":"Adventures of Inanaka and Tuni: Learning to Write","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJourney back in time 3,800 years to Nippur, a city in ancient Babylonia, as a girl sets out on a quest to become a scribe. Follow along as Inanaka learns how to make a tablet and write her name, solves the many puzzles of the cuneiform writing system, and prepares with her family for a festival, all with the help (some of the time, at least) of her dog, Tuni.","brand":"Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48740637671767,"sku":"9781614911012","price":7.61,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781614911012.jpg?v=1720055209"},{"product_id":"history-of-writing-9781789143492","title":"History of Writing","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom the earliest scratches on stone and bone to the languages of computers and the internet, A History of Writing offers an investigation into the origin and development of writing throughout the world. Illustrated with numerous examples, this book offers a global overview in a format that everyone can follow. Steven Roger Fischer also reveals his own discoveries made since the early 1980s, making it a useful reference for students and specialists as well as a delightful read for lovers of the written word everywhere.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"[An] authoritative account. . . . If you're intrigued by writing's past, Fischer's book is well worth a read. . . . Brilliant.\"-- \"New Scientist, on the first edition\" \"[It] is wonderful . . . to see a subject that embraces so much of human civilization handled with the wide knowledge and breadth of vision it deserves.\"-- \"Nature, on the first edition\"","brand":"Reaktion Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48741662032215,"sku":"9781789143492","price":14.25,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781789143492.jpg?v=1720058331"},{"product_id":"shady-characters-9780393349726","title":"Shady Characters","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“An absolutely fascinating blend of history, design, sociology, and cultural poetics—highly recommended.”—Maria Popova, \u003cem\u003eBrain Pickings\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"If \u003cem\u003eEats, Shoots \u0026amp; Leaves\u003c\/em\u003e whetted your appetite on the subject of punctuation, then you have a treat in store. \u003cem\u003eShady Characters\u003c\/em\u003e is an authoritative, witty, and fascinating tour of the history and rationale behind such lesser known marks as the ampersand, manicule, the pilcrow, and the interrobang. Keith Houston also explains the octothorpe—otherwise known as the hashtag—and and my final comment on his book is #awesome.\" -- Ben Yagoda, author of How to Not Write Bad\u003cbr\u003e\"Make no mistake: this is a book of secrets. With zeal and rigor, Keith Houston cracks open the \u0026amp;, the #, the † and more—all the little matryoshka dolls of meaning that make writing work. Inside, we meet novelists, publishers, scholars and scribes; we range from ancient Greeks to hashtagged tweets; and we see the weird and wonderful foundations of the most successful technology of all time.\" -- Robin Sloan, author of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore\u003cbr\u003e\"Funny, surprising, and, of course, geeky.\" -- Michael D. Schaffer and John Timpane - Philadelphia Inquirer\u003cbr\u003e\"Might make you look at books… in an entirely new way.\" -- Andrew Robinson - Nature\u003cbr\u003e\"Houston…is a tireless researcher and an amiable teacher.\" -- Jan Gardner - Boston Globe\u003cbr\u003e\"A pleasurable contribution to type history, particularly for readers who haven’t considered the ampersand in any detail.\" -- Carl W. Scarbrough - New Criterion\u003cbr\u003e\"Fascinating.\" -- Rob Kyff - The Courant\u003cbr\u003e\"An absolutely fascinating blend of history, design, sociology, and cultural poetics—highly recommended.\" -- Maria Popova - Brain Pickings\u003cbr\u003e\"For fans of Lynn Truss’s \u003cem\u003eEats, Shoots \u0026amp; Leaves\u003c\/em\u003e, this bestiary of lesser-known punctuation marks is a wonder.\" -- Publishers Weekly\u003cbr\u003e\"I'm a sucker for this stuff. The @ is called a \u003cem\u003echiocciola\u003c\/em\u003e (snail) in Italian! The \u0026amp; was once taught as a letter of the alphabet! The manicule has been with us for a millenium! Thank you, Keith Houston, for bringing these little mysteries out of the shadows of typographic history. \" -- Constance Hale, author of Sin and Syntax\u003cbr\u003e\"A mostly amusing, informative history of punctuation… Houston explores the roles a variety of punctuation marks have played in the popular imagination. The forgotten manicule, the modest dash and the ampersand all make appearances, as do intriguing characters from millennia past. The book is often engrossing… An unusual triumph of the human ability to find exaltation in the mundane.\" -- Kirkus Reviews\u003cbr\u003e\"This book has more in common with Malcolm Gladwell than with standard history writing.\" -- Library Journal","brand":"WW Norton \u0026 Co","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48864546488663,"sku":"9780393349726","price":14.24,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780393349726.jpg?v=1722272411"},{"product_id":"early-tamil-epigraphy-from-the-earliest-times-to-the-sixth-century-a-d-9780674012271","title":"Early Tamil Epigraphy from the Earliest Times to","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis book presents the earliest South Indian inscriptions (ca. second century B.C.E. to sixth century A.D.), written in Tamil in local derivations of the Ashokan Brahmi script. The work includes texts, transliteration, translation, detailed commentary, inscriptional glossary, and indexes.","brand":"Harvard University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48865474904407,"sku":"9780674012271","price":53.51,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780674012271.jpg?v=1722274142"},{"product_id":"write-your-own-egyptian-hieroglyphsnames-greetings-insults-sayings-9780714119762","title":"Write Your Own Egyptian HieroglyphsNames","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA handy and colourful illustrated guide to reading, writing and understanding ancient Egyptian names, epithets, titles and phrases.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1. The importance of names in Ancient Egypt; 2. People and their names: how Egyptian names are written and what they mean; 3. Gods' names and epithets; 4. The animal world: how animal names express the nature of the creature; 5. Secret names and names for posterity; 6. List of useful Egyptian words and phrases.","brand":"British Museum Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48865614463319,"sku":"9780714119762","price":8.54,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780714119762.jpg?v=1722274756"},{"product_id":"teach-yourself-palaeography-9780750998772","title":"Teach Yourself Palaeography","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf you want to learn to read and know about old handwriting, this is the only book you will need.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This educational guide will help you master the reading of old handwriting from the 19th Century back to the court hands of the 16th. It covers the terminology used when transcribing, but the main emphasis is on practical learning in order to decipher old documents, on the importance of ‘having a go’ and persisting.\"\u003c\/p\u003e * Family Tree magazine *","brand":"The History Press Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48865747468631,"sku":"9780750998772","price":16.19,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780750998772.jpg?v=1722275381"},{"product_id":"the-ancient-egyptian-coffin-texts-9780856687549","title":"The Ancient Egyptian Coffin Texts","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFaulkner's authoritative English translation of Middle Kingdom coffin texts is essential for all Egyptologists. This new edition reprints his whole work in one volume.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI can only highly recommend this title to everyone dealing with the difficult and sometimes tricky writings of ancient Egypt,'","brand":"Liverpool University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48866060992855,"sku":"9780856687549","price":109.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780856687549.jpg?v=1722276858"},{"product_id":"signature-9781501353345","title":"Signature","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eObject Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. Why do we sign our names? How can a squiggle both enslave and liberate? Signatures often require a witnessas if the scrawl itself is not enough. What other kinds of beliefs and longings justify our signing practices?  \u003ci\u003eSignature\u003c\/i\u003e addresses these questions as it roams from a roundtable on the Greek island of Syros, to a scene of handwriting analysis conducted in an English pub, from a wedding in Moscow, where guests sign the bride's body, to a San Franciscan tattoo parlor interested in arcane forms. The signature's history encompasses ancient handprints on cave walls, autograph hunters, the branding of slaves, metaphysical poetry, medical malpractice, hip-hop lyrics, legal challenges to electronic signatures, ice cores harvested from Greenland, and tales of forgery and autopens. Part cultural chronicle, part travelogue, \u003ci\u003eSignature\u003c\/i\u003e pursues the identifying marks made by pe\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is a true ‘essay film’ of a book, with multiple associative bridges flying out from its topic, into the air of pure insight. I’m thrilled to add my name to its covers. * Jonathan Lethem, author of The Fortress of Solitude *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1. The Dotted Line   2. S for Signature a. Real Fake b. On the Shores of Syros   3. Autograph Collecting a. “To Adam, from Big Daddy” b. A Victorian State of Mind c. Reading Character d. Criminal Signatures e. Autograph Fever   4. The Origins of Signature a. To Astuvansalmi b. There is Nothing Funny about Elk c. The Self, Extended d. Cave Signatures e. Seals and Signets   5. Signing the Body a. I Am You b. Erotic Inscription c. Autographic Skin   6 Digital Signatures, Signaling Digits a. Signing Machines i. Typewriter ii. Film iii. Gramophone b. Fingerprinting c. Electronic Signatures   7 Paw Prints \u0026amp; Ice Cores a. Doctrine of Signatures b. Animal Tracks c. Epigenetic Signatures d. Ice Cores   \u003ci\u003eEpilogue\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing Plc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48867342713175,"sku":"9781501353345","price":9.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781501353345.jpg?v=1722282883"},{"product_id":"the-dorset-rotulus-contextualizing-and-reconstructing-the-early-english-motet-9781783276189","title":"The Dorset Rotulus: Contextualizing and","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe exciting discovery of new music from the Middle Ages sheds new light on knowledge of the medieval motet.  From its origins in the thirteenth century, the Latin-texted motet in England and France became the most significant and diverse polyphonic genre of the fourteenth, a body of music important both for its texts and its variety of musical structures. However, although the motet in England plays a vital role in the music-historical narrative of the first decades of the 1300s, it has too often been overlooked in modern scholarship, due largely to its preservation in numerous but almost entirely fragmentary sources. In 2017, substantial new fragments of medieval polyphony came to light. They originated at the Benedictine monastery of Abbotsbury, a major institution located high above Chesil Beach on Dorset's Jurassic Coast. The two leaves once headed an imposing musical scroll, and preserve significant portions of four large-scale Latin-texted motets from early fourteenth-century England. Discovery of this source brings to the fore a massive seven-section motet on St Margaret, hitherto known only through highly fragmentary snippets of two of its four voices, as well as a unicum with extraordinary features addressed to the Virgin Mary and St Nicholas. When coupled with the remaining motets, one on the Ascension and the other on the Virgin Mary, the Dorset motets expand our understanding of how the English developed their own approaches to the genre, forging styles and techniques quite independently of the continental norms against which earlier scholarship has judged (and sometimes demeaned) them. This book introduces the manuscript and its provenance in Abbotsbury, relates it to other scrolls of late medieval music, contextualizes its motets within the larger corpus of contemporary Latin-texted motets, and analyses and reconstructs each of the motets, providing complete performable transcriptions of three of these compositions as well as three of its large-scale comparands. Spurred by the Dorset discovery, this monograph, the first in thirty-five years devoted to the medieval motet in England, offers a new evaluation of the richness of the English repertory in its own terms.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Dorset Rotulus is engagingly written, carefully argued, and lavishly illustrated. It will be a stimulating read for anyone interested in early musical culture and offers particular models for further analysis and reconstruction. * SPECULUM *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction 1. The Source and Its Contents 2. Contexts and Designs 3. Voice-Exchange Motets and Ascendenti sonet geminacio\/ Viri Galilei 4. Margareta pascens oves and Its Large-Scale Comparands 5. Rota versatilis: Towards a Reconstruction 6. The Curious Case of Regina preminencie\/ Gemma nitens\/ ...mater es intacta 7. Introducing Naufragantes visita\/ Navigatrix inclita\/ T. Aptatur\/ ...velox perpetrat 8. The Musical Rotulus: Artifact, Image, and Attributes 9. Epilogue: Conclusions and Speculation Appendix. Transcriptions, Texts, and Translations of the Four Dorset Motets             Ascendenti sonet geminacio\/ Viri Galilei             Margareta pascens oves              Regina preminencie\/ Gemma nitens\/ ...mater es intacta             Naufragantes visita\/ Navigatrix inclita\/ T. Aptatur\/ ...velox perpetrat Bibliography Index","brand":"Boydell \u0026 Brewer Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48868272308567,"sku":"9781783276189","price":108.19,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781783276189.jpg?v=1722287235"},{"product_id":"palaeography-for-family-and-local-historians-9781860776519","title":"Palaeography for Family and Local Historians","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFamily and Local Historians frequently encounter the challenge posed by the writing, and sometimes the translation, of the records which might most enable them to make further progress with their research.\u003c\/b\u003e Many pamphlets, booklets and even books have been produced over the past century to help with old handwriting and abbreviations, but this new work, written by an author who has for years run courses on the subject, is the most practical and comprehensive yet for family and local historians. Based on some fifty facsimile reproductions of documents of graduated difficulty, culled from many useful sources, it provides transcripts, and translations where appropriate, together with advice on methods of transcribing. The alphabet, with commentary, of the numerous types of letter to be found in the examples (many being in the secretary and court hands which so often cause problems), and illustrations of forms of abbreviation will greatly help to unravel the difficulties of reading. Many documents before 1733 were written in Latin and the author includes an outline of the differences between classical and medieval usage and a vocabulary to cover the section in Latin. There are examples, from the 1400s to the 1700s, of a wide range of hands found in the most usual categories of record used by family historians, such as parish registers, wills and court rolls, and in many others which disclose helpful information on families and localities. Those who use this book will not need to be persuaded of the great enjoyment to be derived from pursuing research into family or local history and the pleasures of piecing together evidence to throw new light on old times. They may also find great enjoyment in the deciphering of documents, the means to that end. For the solitary searcher or a member of a class or local society, this will be the standard work upon which to rely for many decades to come.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The History Press Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48868829528407,"sku":"9781860776519","price":20.25,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781860776519.jpg?v=1722289915"},{"product_id":"writing-as-material-practice-substance-surface-and-medium-9781909188242","title":"Writing as Material Practice: Substance, surface","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Ubiquity Press Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48868935008599,"sku":"9781909188242","price":45.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]},{"product_id":"writing-arabic-from-script-to-type-9789774162923","title":"Writing Arabic: From Script to Type","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis book, abundantly illustrated with examples of Arabic handwriting, calligraphy, and typography, clearly presents the development of Arabic writing styles, from the beginning with reed pens to twenty-first century computerized typesetting. The author explains the importance of writing instruments and the surfaces onto which letters are inscribed, including the particular challenges introduced with the innovation of the printing press, and later the computer. Arabic Writing will interest not only those interested in the extraordinary history of writing, but also graphic designers, calligraphers, and visual artists, enabling an understanding of the development of existing styles, and providing a foundation from which new logotypes and character fonts can be designed.","brand":"The American University in Cairo Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48869591351639,"sku":"9789774162923","price":16.1,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]},{"product_id":"the-story-of-writing-9780500286609","title":"The Story of Writing","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWriting is one of humanity's greatest inventions. Without it there would be no history and no civilization as we know it. But how, when and where did writing evolve? This book discusses the history of decipherment and major writing systems, from cuneiform and Egyptian and Mayan hieroglyphs to alphabets and the scripts of China and Japan.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'The most accessible and informative book available on the major writing systems of the world' - History Today\u003cbr\u003e'Excellent … Robinson covers so much ground in such short order that you feel he must have got something wrong or left out something important. He hasn’t' - Bookdealer\u003cbr\u003e'Delightful to read … difficult to put down once started' - Communication Arts\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eI. How Writing Works\u003c\/b\u003e 1. Reading the Rosetta Stone • 2. Sound, Symbol and Script • 3. Proto-Writing \u003cb\u003eII. Extinct Writing\u003c\/b\u003e • 4. Cuneiform • 5. Egyptian Hieroglyphs • 6. Linear B • 7. Mayan Glyphs • 8. Undeciphered Scripts \u003cb\u003eIII. Living Writing\u003c\/b\u003e 9. The First Alphabet • 10. New Alphabets from Old • 11. Chinese Writing • 12. Japanese Writing • 13. From Hieroglyphs to Alphabets – and Back? • Postscript in the New Millennium","brand":"Thames \u0026 Hudson Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48884158202199,"sku":"9780500286609","price":15.29,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780500286609.jpg?v=1722530708"},{"product_id":"towards-a-poetics-of-creative-writing-9781783093212","title":"Towards a Poetics of Creative Writing","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book offers an in-depth study of the poetics of creative writing as a subject in the dramatically changing context of practice as research, taking into account the importance of the subjectivity of the writer as researcher. It explores creative writing and theory while offering critical antecedents, theoretical directions and creative interchanges. The book narrows the focus on psychoanalysis, particularly with regard to Lacan and creative practice, and demonstrates that creative writing is research in its own right. The poetics at stake neither denotes the study or the techniques of poetry, but rather the means by which writers formulate and discuss attitudes to their work.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWithout Contraries is no progression, says William Blake. And Dominique Hecq agrees, demonstrating how she sets theory and creative practice into active, often disruptive but always productive relation. Hecq's meditations are at once personal and compendious - through their ultimately deeply pragmatic inquiries and insights, many readers will find, will begin to feel, a way forward, into more significant and thoughtful creative engagements.;Michael Theune, Illinois Wesleyan University, USA;How might we conceive of a poetics of creative writing? This study explores the possibilities of such a poetics with wide-ranging rigor, mobilising selected critical theory, philosophy, literature and the author's extensive knowledge of psychoanalysis to link the epistemologically-neglected subjective processes of creativity in the practice and research of creative writing. An impressive intervention, extending contemporary debates about creative writing research.;Marcelle Freiman, Macquarie University, Australia\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eAcknowledgements\u003cbr\u003e Introduction\u003cbr\u003e 1 What Poetics for Creative Writing?\u003cbr\u003e 2 Critical Antecedents, Theoretical Directions\u003cbr\u003e 3 Obituaries, Contestations, Proclamations: The Theory Question\u003cbr\u003e 4 Craft, Knowledge, Theory, and the Designing of Poetics\u003cbr\u003e 5 Styling the Subject of Creative Writing\u003cbr\u003e 6 The Ego in the Mirror\u003cbr\u003e 7 Between Thought and the Real in Creative Writing and Philosophy\u003cbr\u003e 8 Inking the In-between\u003cbr\u003e 9 On Experiential Knowing as Creative Writing Research Mode\u003cbr\u003e 10 Dramatic Encounters: Language, Craft, Theory\u003cbr\u003e 11 Food for Thought: Investigating Aesthetic Care\u003cbr\u003e 12 Poetics of Autogenesis: On Becoming and the Canon\u003cbr\u003e Afterword: Poetic (a)Topos\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Channel View Publications Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48887703437655,"sku":"9781783093212","price":999.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}]},{"product_id":"cuneiform-texts-from-the-ur-iii-period-in-the-oriental-institute-volume-2-drehem-administrative-documents-from-the-reign-of-amar-suena-9781885923240","title":"Cuneiform Texts from the Ur III Period in the","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA sequel to the author's Cuneiform Texts from the Ur III Period in the Oriental Institute, Volume 1: Drehem Administrative Documents from the Reign of Aulgi (OIP 115), this volume is the main publication of the 605 cuneiform tablets in the Asiatic Collection of the Oriental Institute Museum that were found at the site of the ancient administrative center Puzria-Dagan (Drehem) and date to the reign of Amar-Suena (2046-2038 b.c.), the third ruler of the Third Dynasty of Ur (2112-2004 b.c.). Presented in an arrangement based on both date and contents, these administrative documents are indispensable primary sources for socio-economic, political and religious history during the reign of Amar-Suena. The volume has an annotated typology of Drehem administrative records from the reign of Amar-Suena, detailed philological commentaries on individual texts and text groups, transliterations of all documents, a complete glossary, extensive analytical charts, as well as illustrations (hand copies and photographs) of selected cuneiform tablets. The sealing practice as attested on the sealed objects within this corpus is analyzed in an appendix by Clemens D Reichel.","brand":"Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48888266162519,"sku":"9781885923240","price":106.4,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781885923240.jpg?v=1791479182"},{"product_id":"visible-language-inventions-of-writing-in-the-ancient-middle-east-and-beyond-9781885923769","title":"Visible Language: Inventions of Writing in the","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWriting, the ability to make language visible and permanent, is one of humanity's greatest inventions. This book presents current perspectives on the origins and development of writing in Mesopotamia and Egypt, providing an overview of each writing system and its uses. Essays on writing in China and Mesoamerica complete coverage of the four pristine writing systems - inventions of writing in which there was no previous exposure to texts. The authors explore what writing is, and is not, and sections of the text are devoted to Anatolian hieroglyphs of Anatolia, and to the development of the alphabet in the Sinai Peninsula in the second millennium BC and its spread to Phoenicia where it spawned the Greek and Latin alphabets. This richly illustrated volume, issued in conjunction with an exhibit at the Oriental Institute, provides a current perspective on, and appreciation of, an invention that changed the course of history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVisible Language: The Earliest Writing Systems, Christopher Woods Iconography of Protoliterate Seals, Oya Topcuoglu The Earliest Mesopotamian Writing, Christopher Woods Adaptation of Cuneiform to Write Akkadian, Andrea R. Seri The Rise and Fall of Cuneiform Script in Hittite Anatolia, Theo van den Hout The Conception and Development of the Egyptian Writing System, Elise V. MacArthur The Earliest Egyptian Writing, Andreas Stauder Egyptian Hieroglyphic Writing, Janet H. Johnson Hieratic, Kathryn E. Bandy Demotic, Janet H. Johnson Ptolemaic Hieroglyphs, Francois Gaudard Coptic, T. G. Wilfong Invention and Development of the Alphabet, Joseph Lam The Beginnings of Writing in China, Edward L. Shaughnessy The Development of Maya Writing, Joel Palka Anatolian Hieroglyphic Writing, Ilya Yakubovich","brand":"Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48888267342167,"sku":"9781885923769","price":30.88,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781885923769.jpg?v=1791479184"},{"product_id":"the-correspondence-of-edward-hincks-v-1-1818-1849-9781904558705","title":"The Correspondence of Edward Hincks: v. 1:","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEdward Hincks (1792-1866), the Irish Assyriologist and one of the decipherers of Mesopotamian cuneiform, was born in Cork and spent forty years of his life at Killyleagh, Co. Down, where he was the Church of Ireland Rector. He was educated at Middleton College, Co. Cork and Trinity College, Dublin, where he was an exceptionally gifted student. With the decipherment of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs by Jean Francois Champollion in 1822, Hincks became one of that first group of scholars to contribute to the elucidation of the language, chronology and religion of ancient Egypt. But his most notable achievement was the decipherment of Akkadian, the language of Babylonia and Assyria, and its complicated cuneiform writing system. Between 1846 and 1852, Hincks published a series of highly significant papers by which he established for himself a reputation of the first order as a decipherer. Most of the letters in these volumes have not been previously published. Much of the correspondence relates to nineteenth-century archaeological and linguistic discoveries, but there are also letters concerned with ecclesiastical affairs, the Famine and the Hincks family. The letters in volume 1 cover the period from the 1820s when Hincks was a young clergyman and scholar, applying himself assiduously to his family and parish duties, and vigorously pursuing his study of the ancient Egyptian language, to the years 1846-9 during which he announced his epoch-making discoveries in the decipherment of Akkadian and its cuneiform writing system. There are dozens of letters from friends and colleagues, which include exchanges on a variety of subjects and offer a fascinating picture of scholarly and intellectual activity, as well as of the political and ecclesiastical events of the time. Hincks' unique research never diverted him from his religious and civic responsibilities, especially during times of crisis like the Famine. Amongst Hincks' correspondents were Samuel Birch, Franz Bopp, Friedrich Georg Grotefend, William Rowan Hamilton, Christian Lassen, Austen Henry Layard, Edwin Norris, George Cecil Renouard, and Peter le Page Renouf. Volumes 2 and 3 will be published in 2008 and 2009 respectively.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Man sagt nicht zu viel, wenn man ihn [Hincks] den eigentlichen Entzifferer der dritten Keilschriftgattung nennt.\" [translation] \"One is not saying too much, if one calls Hincks the true decipherer of Assyrian-Babylonian cuneiform.\"  Julius Wellhausen 1876  \"Hincks was a scholar of international significance in the nineteenth century. He was an expert on ancient Assyria and deciphered the Mesopotamian cuneiform script ... an assiduous letter writer and in this volume of letters from his youth he corresponded with friends and colleagues on ancient Egypt and his other concerns ... The clean, classical typography is equalled in the overall design and quality of binding.\"  Books Ireland Nov 2007  \"The letters in this volume date largely from his years in Killyleagh and it was from his rural fastness that Hincks developed his international reputation as an oriental scholar. Letters were sent to and received from scholars in Ireland, England and continental Europe. Among the Irish correspondents were the mathematician William Rowan Hamilton, the antiquary Isaac Cullimore and the Cork numismatist Richard Sainthill. There was correspondence with the editors of the Literary Gazette, the Athenaeum and the English Review as well as with English scholars such as the philologist George Cecil Renouard, Samuel Birch in the British Museum and the Coptic scholar Henry Tattam. From the continent cam communications - from the German philologist Georg Friedrich Grotefend, from Conrad Leemans in Leyden and from the Norwegian indologist Christian Lassen. The editor of this collection who is Emeritus Professor of Near Eastern Languages in University College Dublin, has gathered these letters from libraries and archives in Belfast, Berlin, Dublin, London, Oxford, Paris and Yale, has carefully edited them and has added interesting illustrations to accompany some of the more unusual texts.  Most of the letters are concerned with Hincks's studies of the ancient Egyptian language and his discoveries in the decipherment of Akkadian, the language of Babylonia and Assyria. But there is also Irish material: letters on Trinity College matters, on the Great Famine and on ecclesiastical affairs, in addition to letters to his daughters. But it is mostly the academic letters which catch the imagination for they emphasis - of such emphasis is needed - that in the 19th century, it was the letter which was the principal mode of communication. In an age when travel was difficult and electronic communication all but unknown, correspondence provided the vehicle for working out ideas among likeminded people and academic journals the medium for subsequently publishing them.  It is reassuring in an age when digitisation has reached almost cult status in archives, that there are still scholars who are able and willing to prepare printed editions of manuscript material and publishers who will take on such projects. This book exemplifies all the virtues of a printed edition: text which has been transcribed and is therefore easy to read; a succinct introduction which sets the scene; careful notes which explain and amplify the text; an index which opens up access to the contents and a bibliography to stimulate further reading. What more could anyone want?\"  Dr Raymond Refausse Department Church Body Library Irish Archives Winter 2008\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction by Kevin J. Cathcart; Letters 1818-1849; Appendix Marriage Settlement of The Reverend Edward Hincks with Miss Jane Boyd; Bibliography; Index.","brand":"University College Dublin Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48888361255255,"sku":"9781904558705","price":50.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}]},{"product_id":"the-correspondence-of-edward-hincks-v-2-1850-1856-9781904558712","title":"The Correspondence of Edward Hincks: v. 2:","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEdward Hincks (1792-1866), the Irish Assyriologist and decipherer of Mesopotamian cuneiform, was born in Cork and spent forty years of his life at Killyleagh, Co. Down, where he was the Church of Ireland Rector. He was educated at Midleton College, Co. Cork and Trinity College, Dublin, where he was an exceptionally gifted student. With the decipherment of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs by Jean Francois Champollion in 1822, Hincks became one of that first group of scholars to contribute to the elucidation of the language, chronology and religion of ancient Egypt. But his most notable achievement was the decipherment of Akkadian, the language of Babylonia and Assyria, and its complicated cuneiform writing system.Between 1846 and 1852 Hincks published a series of highly significant papers by which he established for himself a reputation of the first order as a decipherer. Most of the letters in these volumes have not been previously published. Much of the correspondence relates to nineteenth-century archaeological and linguistic discoveries, but there are also letters concerned with ecclesiastical affairs, the Famine and the Hincks family.Between 1850 and 1852 Edward Hincks completed the main steps in the decipherment of Akkadian. In 1851 he announced his sensational discovery of the name of the Biblical king Jehu 'son of Omri' on the famous Black Obelisk of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III, which Layard had discovered at Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). On other clay tablets he identified the names of the king Menahem of Samaria, the place Yadnan (Cyprus), and people referred to as 'Ionians'. His discoveries prompted Austen Henry Layard, the excavator of Nimrud (he thought it was Nineveh) to invite him to prepare translations of the inscriptions for his bestselling Discoveries in the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon.Layard was also instrumental in persuading the British Museum to employ Hincks for a year to transcribe and translate cuneiform texts. In 1856 Hincks began to correspond with Henry Fox Talbot, pioneer of photography, who was also interested in cuneiform. The variety and richness of the correspondence provides a unique insight into the world of Victorian intellectual and cultural life. Amongst Hincks' correspondents were Samuel Birch, Franz Bopp, Friedrich Georg Grotefend, William Rowan Hamilton, Christian Lassen, Austen Henry Layard, Edwin Norris, George Cecil Renouard, and Peter le Page Renouf. Volume I was published in 2007 and Volume III will be published in 2009.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Man sagt nicht zu viel, wenn man ihn [Hincks] den eigentlichen Entzifferer der dritten Keilschriftgattung nennt.\" [translation] \"One is not saying too much, if one calls Hincks the true decipherer of Assyrian-Babylonian cuneiform.\"  Julius Wellhausen 1876  \"Hincks was a scholar of international significance in the nineteenth century. He was an expert on ancient Assyria and deciphered the Mesopotamian cuneiform script ... an assiduous letter writer and in this volume of letters from his youth he corresponded with friends and colleagues on ancient Egypt and his other concerns ... The clean, classical typography is equalled in the overall design and quality of binding.\"  Books Ireland Nov 2007  \"The correspondence of an Irish Assyriologist and scholar covering the period in which he completed the main steps in the decipherment of Akkadian and discovered the name of the biblical king, Jehu, on the Black Obelisk of the Assyrian king, Shalmeneser III, and then went on to translate inscriptions found at Nimrud, Nineveh and Babylon. Among his correspondents were A. H. Layard, a noted archaeologist, and Henry Fox Talbot, the pioneer of photography. What is remarkable is that Hincks did all this while he was the Church of Ireland rector at Killyleagh, county Down, and that most of his work was done through letters which is why we have this important record of his work today. As usual, UCDP's typography and presswork are superb.\"  Books Ireland Dec 2008  \"The letters in this volume date largely from his years in Killyleagh and it was from his rural fastness that Hincks developed his international reputation as an oriental scholar. Letters were sent to and received from scholars in Ireland, England and continental Europe ... The editor of this collection who is Emeritus Professor of Near Eastern Languages in University College Dublin, has gathered these letters from libraries and archives in Belfast, Berlin, Dublin, London, Oxford, Paris and Yale, has carefully edited them and has added interesting illustrations to accompany some of the more unusual texts. Most of the letters are concerned with Hincks's studies of the ancient Egyptian language and his discoveries in the decipherment of Akkadian, the language of Babylonia and Assyria. ... But it is mostly the academic letters which catch the imagination for they emphasis - of such emphasis is needed - that in the 19th century, it was the letter which was the principal mode of communication. In an age when travel was difficult and electronic communication all but unknown, correspondence provided the vehicle for working out ideas among likeminded people and academic journals the medium for subsequently publishing them. It is reassuring in an age when digitisation has reached almost cult status in archives, that there are still scholars who are able and willing to prepare printed editions of manuscript material and publishers who will take on such projects. This book exemplifies all the virtues of a printed edition: text which has been transcribed and is therefore easy to read; a succinct introduction which sets the scene; careful notes which explain and amplify the text; an index which opens up access to the contents and a bibliography to stimulate further reading. What more could anyone want?\"  Dr Raymond Refausse Department Church Body Library Irish Archives Winter 2008  \"That Edward Hincks was a man of true genius to whom the basic decipherment of Akkadian cuneiform script and language should now be credited, is no longer in doubt. From much of his correspondence, deposited in the Griffith Institute in Oxford by his grandson, together with other letters tracked down in various institutions in London, Dublin, Paris and Berlin, a picture emerges of extraordinary mental energy and dedication in this Irish clergyman, with no lessening of drive and application as he grew older, a man who not only engaged with Egyptian hieroglyphs, Old Persian, Urartian and Akkadian cuneiform scripts and the languages they conveyed, but also found time for his parish duties - It still astonishes Assyriologists that he was able to work out both the polyphonic and the logographic nature of Akkadian cuneiform script as well as making great strides in understanding the language. We must hope that Cathcart's painstaking work, worthy of its admirable subject, will be used by future scholars who look into those exciting days of discovery, the struggles of decipherment, and the race for recognition.\"  Stephanie Dalley, University of Oxford Journal of Semitic Studies 54 (2) 2009  \"Hincks was a rector of the Church of Ireland for most of his life (1792-1866). His avocation and passion, however, was the decipherment of ancient texts - Cathcart covers Hincks's discoveries in cuneiform and his frustration in not being allowed access to materials, being constantly thwarted by a rival. The letters between Hincks and scholars in England and France detail both the joy of shared enthusiasms and the superficially polite ways in which ambitious scholars could back stab. The fine points of translation will be fascinating for Egyptian and Near Eastern scholars, although the politics will be distressingly familiar.\"  Book News Inc August 2009\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePreface; Letters 1850-1856; Bibliography; Index.","brand":"University College Dublin Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48888361288023,"sku":"9781904558712","price":45.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}]},{"product_id":"coping-with-obscurity-the-brown-workshop-on-earlier-egyptian-grammar-9781937040420","title":"Coping with Obscurity: The Brown Workshop on","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eCoping with Obscurity\u003c\/em\u003e publishes the papers discussed at the Brown University Workshop on Earlier Egyptian grammar in March, 2013. The workshop united ten scholars of differing viewpoints dealing with the central question of how to judge and interpret the grammatical value of the written evidence preserved in texts of the Old and Middle Kingdoms (ca. 2350-1650 BC). The nine papers in the volume present orthographic, lexical, morphological and syntactic approaches to the data and represent a significant step toward a new, pluralistic understanding of Earlier Egyptian grammar.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lockwood Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48888785600855,"sku":"9781937040420","price":74.1,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781937040420.jpg?v=1791479911"},{"product_id":"tocharian-indo-european-studies-volume-12-9788763536493","title":"Tocharian \u0026 Indo-European Studies: Volume 12","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTocharian and Indo-European Studies is an international scholarly journal dedicated to the study of two closely related Indo-European languages, Tocharian A and B, attested in Central Asian manuscripts from the second half of the first millennium AD. This volume contains 11 articles by some of the world''s leading specialists on Tocharian, as well as reviews of the most important publications in the field. The important article by Werner Winter was one of the last to be written by this outstanding scholar.","brand":"Museum Tusculanum Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48889825755479,"sku":"9788763536493","price":42.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9788763536493.jpg?v=1722556074"},{"product_id":"demotic-texts-from-the-collection-9788772891613","title":"Demotic Texts from the Collection","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Museum Tusculanum Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48889834406231,"sku":"9788772891613","price":45.04,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9788772891613.jpg?v=1791482794"},{"product_id":"inscriptions-9780876612194","title":"Inscriptions","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe three types of inscription from the Athenian Agora presented in this volume are all concerned with important civic matters. The three main sections of the book are followed by combined concordances and indices, with photographs of all stones not previously published.","brand":"American School of Classical Studies at Athens","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49083745239383,"sku":"9780876612194","price":80.75,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780876612194.jpg?v=1791468427"},{"product_id":"the-social-and-cultural-contexts-of-historic-writing-practices-9781789254785","title":"The Social and Cultural Contexts of Historic","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWriting is not just a set of systems for transcribing language and communicating meaning, but an important element of human practice, deeply embedded in the cultures where it is present and fundamentally interconnected with all other aspects of human life. The Social and Cultural Contexts of Historic Writing Practices explores these relationships in a number of different cultural contexts and from a range of disciplinary perspectives, including archaeological, anthropological and linguistic. It offers new ways of approaching the study of writing and integrating it into wider debates and discussions about culture, history and archaeology.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eList of contributors   Acknowledgements   Abbreviations   1. Introduction: writing practices in socio-cultural context   Philip J. Boyes, Philippa M. Steele and Natalia Elvira Astoreca    2. Towards a social archaeology of writing practices  Philip J. Boyes  3. The lives of inscribed commemorative objects: the transformation of private personal memory in Mesopotamian temple contexts   Nancy Highcock    4. A cognitive archaeology of writing: concepts, models, goals   Karenleigh A. Overmann    5. The materiality of the Cretan Hieroglyphic script: textile production-related referents to hieroglyphic signs on seals and sealings from Middle Bronze Age Crete   Marie-Louise Nosch and Agata Ulanowska     6. Visual dimensions of Maya hieroglyphic writing: meanings beyond the surface   Christian M. Prager    7. Visibility of runic writing and its relation to Viking Age Society   Sophie Heier    8. Words beyond writings: how to decrypt the secret writings of the masters of psalmody (Yunnan, China)?   Aurélie NévotContents  9. A script ‘good to drink’. The invention of writing systems among the Sora and other tribes of India   Cécile Guillaume-Pey   10. Why did people in medieval Java use so many different script variants?   A.J. West  11. Cultures of writing: rethinking the ‘spread’ and ‘development’ of writing systems in the Bronze Age Mediterranean   Theodore Nash  12. Script, image and culture in the Maya world: a southeastern perspective   Kathryn M. Hudson and John S. Henderson  13. Writing and elite status in the Bronze Age Aegean   Sarah Finlayson   14. Why με? Personhood and agency in the earliest Greek inscriptions (800–550 BCE)   James Whitley  15.  Names and authorship in the beginnings of Greek alphabetic writing   Natalia Elvira Astoreca  16. Marking identity through graphemes? A new look at the Sikel arrow-shaped alpha   Olga Tribulato and Valentina Mignosa  Bibliography","brand":"Oxbow Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49084407185751,"sku":"9781789254785","price":49.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781789254785.jpg?v=1725552054"},{"product_id":"dynamic-epigraphy-new-approaches-to-inscriptions-9781789257892","title":"Dynamic Epigraphy: New Approaches to Inscriptions","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis volume, with origins in a panel at the 2018 Celtic Conference in Classics, presents creative new approaches to epigraphic material, in an attempt to 'shake up' how we deal with inscriptions. Broad themes include the embodied experience of epigraphy, the unique capacities of epigraphic language as a genre, the visuality of inscriptions and the interplay of inscriptions with literary texts. Although each chapter focuses on specific objects and epigraphic landscapes, ranging from Republican Rome to early modern Scotland, the emphasis here is on using these case studies not as an end in themselves, but as a means of exploring broader methodological and theoretical issues to do with how we use inscriptions as evidence, both for the Greco-Roman world and for other time periods.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDrawing on conversations from fields such as archaeology and anthropology, philology, art history, linguistics and history, contributors also seek to push the boundaries of epigraphy as a discipline and to demonstrate the analytical fruits of interdisciplinary approaches to inscribed material. Methodologies such as phenomenology, translingualism, intertextuality and critical fabulation are deployed to offer new perspectives on the social functions of inscriptions as texts and objects and to open up new horizons for the use of inscriptions as evidence for past societies.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e[T]his volume presents creative new approaches to epigraphic material in an attempt to “shake up” how we deal with inscriptions. * New Testament Abstracts *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eList of figures  List of abbreviations  Editor’s acknowledgments  1. Introduction: Thoughts on the nature of inscriptions  \u003cem\u003eEleri H. Cousins\u003c\/em\u003e  2. Towards a theoretical model of the epigraphic landscape  \u003cem\u003eKelsey Jackson Williams\u003c\/em\u003e  3. Materializing epigraphy: Archaeological and sociolinguistic approaches to Roman inscribed spindle whorls  \u003cem\u003eAlex Mullen\u003c\/em\u003e  4. Written to be (un)read, written to be seen: Beyond Latin codes in Latin epigraphy  \u003cem\u003eM. Cristina de la Escosura Balbás, Elena Duce Pastor and David Serrano Lozano\u003c\/em\u003e  5. Epigraphic strategies of communication: The visual accusative of Roman Republican dedications of spoils  \u003cem\u003eFabio Luci\u003c\/em\u003e  6. Inscribing the artistic space: Blurred boundaries on Romano-British tombstones  \u003cem\u003eHanneke Salisbury \u003c\/em\u003e  7. When poetry comes to its senses: Inscribed Roman verse and the human sensorium  \u003cem\u003eChiara Cenati, Victoria González Berdús and Peter Kruschwitz\u003c\/em\u003e  8. \u003cem\u003eLassi viatores\u003c\/em\u003e: Poetic consumption between Martial’s \u003cem\u003eEpigrams\u003c\/em\u003e and the \u003cem\u003eCarmina Latina Epigraphica\u003c\/em\u003e  \u003cem\u003eAlessandra Tafaro\u003c\/em\u003e  9. Epigraphy and critical fabulation: Imagining narratives of Greco-Roman sexual slavery  \u003cem\u003eDeborah Kamen and Sarah Levin-Richardson\u003c\/em\u003e","brand":"Oxbow Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49084408234327,"sku":"9781789257892","price":36.1,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781789257892.jpg?v=1791477663"},{"product_id":"writing-around-the-ancient-mediterranean-practices-and-adaptations-9781789258509","title":"Writing Around the Ancient Mediterranean:","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWriting in the ancient Mediterranean existed against a backdrop of very high levels of interaction and contact. In the societies around its shores, writing was a dynamic practice that could serve many purposes – from a tool used by elites to control resources and establish their power bases to a symbol of local identity and a means of conveying complex information and ideas.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis volume brings together contributions by members of the Contexts of and Relations between Early Writing Systems (CREWS) research team and visiting fellows, offering a range of different perspectives and approaches to problems of writing in the ancient Mediterranean. Their focus is on \u003cem\u003epractices\u003c\/em\u003e, viewing writing as something that people do within a wider social and cultural context, and on \u003cem\u003eadaptations\u003c\/em\u003e, considering the ways in which writing changed and was changed by the people using it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e[T]his volume, as a contribution to the research output of the CREWS project, encapsulates how the research of the CREWS core team and wider family has revolved around questions of the contexts and relatedness of writing systems and traditions * New Testament Abstracts *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eApproaches to writing in the ancient Mediterranean and Near East  \u003cem\u003ePhilippa M. Steele\u003c\/em\u003e  Relations between script, writing material and layout: the case of the Anatolian Hieroglyphs  \u003cem\u003eWillemijn Waal\u003c\/em\u003e  Word division in Sicilian inscriptions  \u003cem\u003eRobert Crellin\u003c\/em\u003e  What is an Alphabet good for?  \u003cem\u003eCsaba La’da\u003c\/em\u003e  Measuring particularity and similarity in archaic Greek alphabets with NLP  \u003cem\u003eNatalia Elvira Astoreca\u003c\/em\u003e  Borrowing, invention, remodelling: Observations on the rare letters of the Phrygian alphabet and the problem of formation of Anatolian alphabets  \u003cem\u003eRostislav Oreshko\u003c\/em\u003e  Cypro-Minoan and its potmarks and vessel inscriptions as challenges to Aegean Scripts corpora  \u003cem\u003eCassandra Donnelly\u003c\/em\u003e  Ductus in Cypro-Minoan writing. Definition, purpose and distribution of stroke types  \u003cem\u003eMartina Polig\u003c\/em\u003e  The introduction of the Greek alphabet in Cyprus, a case study in material culture  \u003cem\u003eBeatrice Pestarino\u003c\/em\u003e  The death of alphabets at the end of the Bronze Age. How does the Deir ‘Alla alphabet fit the picture?  \u003cem\u003eMichel de Vreeze\u003c\/em\u003e  Early Egyptian writing from the perspective of the embodied practitioner  \u003cem\u003eKathryn Piquette\u003c\/em\u003e  The magic of writing  \u003cem\u003ePhilip J. Boyes\u003c\/em\u003e","brand":"Oxbow Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49084408365399,"sku":"9781789258509","price":45.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781789258509.jpg?v=1725552063"},{"product_id":"a-history-of-writing-9781861891679","title":"A History of Writing","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom the earliest scratches on stone and bone to the languages of computers and the internet, \"A History of Writing\" offers an investigation into the origin and development of writing throughout the world. Commencing with the first stages of information storage knot records, tally sticks, pictographic storytelling the book then focuses on the emergence of complete writing systems in Mesopotamia in the fourth millennium BC, and their diffusion to Egypt, the Indus Valley and points east, with special attention given to Semitic writing systems and their eventual spread to the Indian subcontinent. Also documented is the rise of Phoenician and its effect on the Greek alphabet, generating the many alphabetic scripts of the West. Chinese, Korean and Japanese writing systems and scripts are dealt with in depth, as is writing in pre-Colombian America. Also explored are Western Europe's medieval manuscripts and the history of printing, leading to the innovations in technology and spelling rules of the 19th and 20th centuries. Illustrated with numerous examples, this book offers a global overview in a form that everyone can follow.The author also reveals his own discoveries made since the early 1980s, making it a useful reference for both students and specialists as well as the general reader.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn authoritative account ... if you're intrigued with writing's past, Fischer's book is well worth a read ... a brilliant book New Scientist It is wonderful ... to see a subject that embraces so much of human civilisation handled with the wide knowledge and breadth of vision it deserves Nature","brand":"Reaktion Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49084577677655,"sku":"9781861891679","price":19.46,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781861891679.jpg?v=1725552639"},{"product_id":"latin-palaeography-antiquity-and-the-middle-ages-9780521367264","title":"Latin Palaeography Antiquity and the Middle Ages","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis work, by the greatest living authority on medieval palaeography, offers the most comprehensive and up-to-date account in any language of the history of Latin script. It also contains a detailed account of the role of the book in cultural history from antiquity to the Renaissance, which outlines the history of book illumination. Designed as a textbook, it contains a full and updated bibliography. Because the volume sets the development of Latin script in its cultural context, it also provides an unrivalled introduction to the nature of medieval Latin culture. It will be used extensively in the teaching of latin palaeography, and is unlikely to be superseded.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e' … the combination of new ideas, the comprehensive treatment, the rich notes and bibliography, all complemented by the extraordinary judgement which is the hallmark of Professor Bischoff's writing, make this handbook unequalled and unapproached in our present literature and a superb guide to further study.' Speculum\u003cbr\u003e'Latin palaeography has received its vade mecum from its foremost representative.' Eranos\u003cbr\u003e'I suspect that this may well be the last time that one scholar will be able to produce a survey of the state of the subject in a single volume on this scale, in which a wealth of material and discussion have been unified by the personal interpretation of one who has thought deeply and fruitfully about the subject for many years.' Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und Literatur\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eList of abbreviations; Preface; Introduction; Part I. Codicology: 1. Writing materials and writing tools; 2. The external characteristics of the written heritage; 3. Writing and copying; Part II. The History of Latin Script: 4. Latin script in antiquity; 5. Latin handwriting in the Middle Ages; 6. Supplement; Part III. The Manuscript in Cultural History: 7. Roman and Christian antiquity; Plates; Bibliography; Index of names and subjects.","brand":"Cambridge University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49396194443607,"sku":"9780521367264","price":26.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780521367264.jpg?v=1730415056"},{"product_id":"breaking-the-maya-code-9780500289556","title":"Breaking the Maya Code","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePresents the inside story of one of the major intellectual breakthroughs of our time - the great decipherment of an ancient Maya script revised with the advanced developments. This title features 113 illustrations that provide details about the people and texts that have enabled us to read the Maya script.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Coe’s thrilling account of the cracking of Mayan is like a detective story … great stuff' - Observer\u003cbr\u003e'A thrilling story of academic rivalry, bigotry, chewing gum and  -  wait for it  -  penis perforation' - Daily Mail\u003cbr\u003e'An entertaining, enlightening and even humorous history of the great searchers after the meaning that lies in the Maya inscriptions' - Anthony Burgess\u003cbr\u003e'Told with great vigour by Professor Michael Coe, who was himself involved; he offers an insider’s story with strong views of the personalities, competence and abilities of some colleagues' - History Today\u003cbr\u003e'A great story told clearly and passionately by a great Mayanist. It’s an inspiring example of the ultimate triumph of a truth in the knock-down, drag-out world of academic politics' - Science","brand":"Thames \u0026 Hudson Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49402758725975,"sku":"9780500289556","price":17.09,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780500289556.jpg?v=1730481429"},{"product_id":"ramesside-inscriptions-setnakht-ramesses-iii-and-contemporaries-9780631184317","title":"Ramesside Inscriptions Setnakht Ramesses III and","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBased on the hieroglyphic texts of the Ramesses Age of Ancient Egypt (c. 1300-1100 BC), the books in this series present a modern English translation of the vast majority of historical sources for this important epoch of Egyptian history. This volume covers a period of great change in the early twelfth century BC (c. 1185-1155 BC).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The present work, abbreviated here as \u003ci\u003eRITA\u003c\/i\u003e V, constitutes another highly anticipated and most welcome addition to Prof. Kitchen's series on translations of Ramesside inscriptions.” (\u003ci\u003eLingua Aegyptia\u003c\/i\u003e, May 2009)","brand":"John Wiley and Sons Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49403396424023,"sku":"9780631184317","price":299.65,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}]},{"product_id":"writing-9780712352536","title":"Writing","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis beautifully illustrated book, published to coincide with an interactive landmark British Library exhibition, celebrates the act of writing from across the globe and explores its complex and diverse history.","brand":"British Library Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49404059287895,"sku":"9780712352536","price":32.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780712352536.jpg?v=1730485308"},{"product_id":"the-alphabet-abecedarium-some-notes-on-letters-9780747552994","title":"The Alphabet Abecedarium Some Notes on Letters","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDrawing from mythology, cosmology, history, the Bible, literature, and esoteric and conventional sources, this book takes the reader on a tour of each of the twenty-six letters of the Roman alphabet. It also shows the history and development of each letter, and how its history, and meanings were reflected in myth, literature, science and religion.","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing PLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49404450865495,"sku":"9780747552994","price":7.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780747552994.jpg?v=1730486503"},{"product_id":"writing-the-dead-death-and-writing-strategies-in-the-western-tradition-figurae-reading-medieval-culture-9780804728591","title":"Writing the Dead Death and Writing Strategies in","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eWritten by one of the world's leading paleographers, this book poses two fundamental questions: When did human beings beginand why have they continuedto decide that a certain number of their dead had a right to a written death? What differences have existed in the practice of writing death from age to age and culture to culture? Drawing principally on testimonials intended for public display, such as monuments, tombstones, and grave markings, as well as on scrolls, books, manuscripts, newspapers, and posters, the author reconstructs the ways Western cultures have used writing to commemorate the dead, from the tombs of ancient Egypt to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe author argues that the relation between funereal remains and inscription is a profoundly political one. The recurring questionWho merits a written death?demands a multifaceted reply, one that intersects such modes of human cultural history as the relation between the living and the dead, the control of\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1. The tomb and its signs  2. From the sign to the text  3. The order of the text  4. The order of memory  5. The names and the crosses  6. Writing the great  7. The books and the stones  8. Monument and document  9. The body, knowledge, and money  10. Florence and Rome  11. From the stone to the page  12. The theaters of pain  13. Anglo-Americana  14. Ordering the corpses, ordering the writing  15. The middle class and its writing  Notes  Index of names.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Stanford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49405513662807,"sku":"9780804728591","price":48.6,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780804728591.jpg?v=1730492474"},{"product_id":"working-with-anglosaxon-manuscripts-9780859898416","title":"Working with AngloSaxon Manuscripts","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBringing together advice and information from a group of eminent scholars, this title aims to develop in the reader an informed and realistic approach to the mechanisms for accessing and handling manuscripts in what may be limited time. It is suitable for students and fledgling researchers in Anglo-Saxon history and literature.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA clear, reliable, practical and beautifully illustrated introduction to the subject. The book envisions an audience that ranges from advanced undergraduates all the way to established scholars and even graphic artists, and while the undergraduates have the most to gain from the book, there is something here that everyone can learn from. A common aim of all these chapters is to survey what for many will be recognisable territory, but every chapter embodies original research, and it is inescapably clear that the contributors to this volume have spent a lot of time with manuscripts. The book as a whole contains 115 well-chosen illustrations, many in colour, including a generous number of full-page reproductions from a wide range of Anglo-Saxon manuscripts. The quality of discussion and analysis in every single chapter is uniformly quite high, but it’s the illustrations that will ensure this book’s success as a teaching tool. This is a brilliantly conceived book, and just as brilliantly executed, and it should be required reading for all students of Anglo-Saxon England. The four pages of ‘Further reading’ at the end of the volume are a useful next step for students who have no prior experience with manuscript study. This is a valuable and well-produced book, and I plan to use it the next time I teach a seminar on Anglo-Saxon manuscripts.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eThomas N. Hall, \u003ci\u003eReview of English Studies\u003c\/i\u003e 61.252\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt a time when the history of the book is flourishing as an academic subject, this collection of introductory papers should find a ready market. The book is generously designed, its pages handsomely laid out, with good use made of wide margins. Each of the eight main chapters has its own introductory page and is equipped with apposite and well-explained illustrations, many in color, and minimalist and non intimidating footnotes. Gale Owen-Crocker is to be congratulated for putting together an interdisciplinary overview that should appeal to teachers and their students in medieval studies more generally.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSpeculum\u003c\/i\u003e, Vol. 86, No. 1\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWorking with Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts, edited by Gale R. Owen-Crocker, provides a set of beautifully illustrated discussions of key topics which will be of immense use to those starting out in the field.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eYears Work in English Studies\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOffers students, teachers, and scholars a valuable research tool.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eL. Chardonnens, \u003ci\u003eEnglish Studies\u003c\/i\u003e, Volume 93, No 4\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e1. Introduction\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e(Gale R. Owen-Crocker, Professor of Anglo-Saxon Culture at the University of Manchester, UK and Director of the AHRC-funded project 'The Lexis of Cloth and Clothing in Britain c. 700-1450' and Maria Carmela Cesario, Lecturer in Medieval English Language and Literature at Brasenose College, University of Oxford, UK);\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e2. The construction and writing of Anglo-Saxon manuscripts\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e(Alexander Rumble, Reader in Palaeography and Director of the Manchester Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies at the University of Manchester, UK)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e3. Manuscript sources of Old English prose\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e(Donald Scragg, Emeritus Professor of Anglo-Saxon Studies at the University of Manchester, UK\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e4. Manuscript sources of Old English poetry\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e(Elaine Treharne, Professor of Medieval Literature at Florida State University, USA and Co-Director of the AHRC-funded project 'The Production and Use of English Manuscripts 1060-1220')\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e5. A survey of Latin manuscripts\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e(Gernot Wieland, Professor of English at the University of British Columbia, Canada)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e6. Reading between (and beyond) the lines: glosses and notes in Anglo-Saxon manuscripts\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e(Timothy Graham, Associate Professor of History and Director of the Institute for Medieval Studies, University of New Mexico, USA)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e7. Manuscript art\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e(Catherine Karkov, Professor of Art History at the University of Leeds, UK)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e8. From manuscript to computer\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e(Stuart Lee, Acting Director of University Computing Services and a teaching member of the English Faculty at the University of Oxford, UK and Daniel O'Donnell, Associate Professor of English, Chair of the Text Encoding Initiative and Director of the Digital Medievalist Project, University of Lethbridge, Canada)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGlossary\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIndex of Manuscripts\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIndex\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Liverpool University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49406344626519,"sku":"9780859898416","price":37.31,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780859898416.jpg?v=1730495474"},{"product_id":"introducing-english-medieval-book-history-manuscripts-their-producers-and-their-readers-9780859898713","title":"Introducing English Medieval Book History","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis book is the first to address medieval book history for graduate students of medieval English literature. Ralph Hanna presents a history of the English medieval book through a series of examples centred on carefully chosen texts and their physical and cultural surrounds.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReviews'Scholarship in this work is superb. Quotations, translations, bibliography are spot on. Professor Hanna’s lifetime of intelligent work in the field glows at all points of discussion.'\u003cbr\u003e MS referee\u003cbr\u003e'This is a first-rate book from a scholar at the forefront of palaeographical and bibliographical study; it will have a wide readership. It will be an excellent partner for the recent Owen-Crocker volume 'Working with Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts.' \u003cbr\u003e Series Editors\u003cbr\u003e'This handsome volume teaches far more than the facts of book history, manuscript culture, and Middle English Literature. It is a model of how to sleuth, how to think critically, how to enter into a detective mindset 'in which every implicit assumption of knowledge [is] teased out, queried and productively qualified.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eArchiv für das Studium der neueren Sprachen und Literaturen\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIllustrations\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAbbreviations\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIntroduction\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOn the reproductions\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e1. Texts and their books: the case of 'Beowulf'\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e2. Medieval authors and texts: the Middle English 'Benjamin'\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAppendix: The manuscripts of 'Benjamin'\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e3. The history of a book: Bodleian Library, MS Rawlinson C.285\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e4. Shared exemplars: British Library, MS Cotton Galba E.ix and its relations\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e5. Scribal oeuvres: ‘Chaucer’s Scribe’ and his 'Canterbury Tales'\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e6. A book contract and its ‘set text’: John Forbor’s Psalter\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAppendix: The Slaithwaite indenture: a transcription, translation and notes\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e7. Provenances: some medieval libraries\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAppendix: Selections from medieval booklists\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJohn Erghome (OESA of York)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe lord Welles\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIndex of manuscripts cited\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIndex of scholars cited\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Liverpool University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49406344888663,"sku":"9780859898713","price":109.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780859898713.jpg?v=1730495474"},{"product_id":"writing-matters-9781350412514","title":"Writing Matters","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe epigraphy of 1st-millennium-BCE Italy has been studied for many years, but these studies have largely concentrated on the languages encoded in the inscriptions and their semantic meanings. \u003c\/b\u003eThis book takes a more holistic approach that looks not only at content, but also the archaeological contexts of the inscriptions and the materiality of their ''supports'': the artefacts and monuments on which the inscriptions occur.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The first writing in Italy was not a local invention, but was introduced by the Phoenicians and Greeks in the 9th8th centuries BCE. It was taken up by number of indigenous communities over the subsequent centuries to write their own languages, before these were eventually submerged by the spread of Latin.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In a series of theoretical, methodological and interpretative essays, Ruth Whitehouse explores what can be learned about how writing was used by these communities and what it meant to them. The bodies of data considered relate to Venetic an\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing PLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49407548129623,"sku":"9781350412514","price":80.75,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781350412514.jpg?v=1730499744"},{"product_id":"dialect-writing-and-the-north-of-england-9781474442565","title":"Dialect Writing and the North of England","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eInvestigates how dialect variation in the North of England is represented in writing.","brand":"Edinburgh University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49408858194263,"sku":"9781474442565","price":94.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781474442565.jpg?v=1730504465"},{"product_id":"a-new-workbook-of-cuneiform-signs-9781646021949","title":"A New Workbook of Cuneiform Signs","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eBased on Daniel C. Snell’s original workbook and informed by his decades of teaching, this new and improved textbook provides an introductory course in basic cuneiform signs. Using a method of repetition that asks the student to actively produce the signs as well as passively read them, it efficiently teaches more than one hundred basic signs in their Neo-Assyrian forms, all of which have been chosen for their recurrence and usefulness to the student. The workbook includes instructions and drills, frequent quizzes to reinforce retention, and notes that both provide context about the ancient cultures that used cuneiform and introduce modern scholarly conventions.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDesigned for beginning students of cuneiform languages and cultures, \u003ci\u003eA New Workbook of Cuneiform Signs \u003c\/i\u003eis an easy and intuitive way to learn cuneiform. It is a valuable resource for students and teachers alike.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pennsylvania State University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49411098345815,"sku":"9781646021949","price":19.76,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781646021949.jpg?v=1730512408"},{"product_id":"reading-and-shaping-medieval-cartularies-multi-scribe-manuscripts-and-their-patterns-of-growth-a-study-of-the-earliest-cartularies-of-glasgow-cathedral-and-lindores-abbey-9781783274789","title":"Reading and Shaping Medieval Cartularies:","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe physical nature of the medieval cartulary examined alongside its textual contents.  Medieval cartularies are one of the most significant sources for a historian of the Middle Ages. Once viewed as simply repositories of charters, cartularies are now regarded as carefully curated collections of texts whose contents and arrangement reflect the immediate concerns and archival environment of the communities that created them. One feature of the cartulary in particular that has not been studied so fully is its materiality: the fact that it is a manuscript. Consequently, it has not been recognised that many cartularies are multi-scribe manuscripts which \"grew\" for many decades after their initial creation, both physically and textually.  This book offers a new methodology which engages with multi-scribe contributions in two cartulary manuscripts: the oldest cartularies of Glasgow Cathedral and Lindores Abbey. It integrates the physical and textual features of the manuscripts in order to analyse how and why they grew in stages across time. Applying this methodology reveals two communities that took an active approach to reading and shaping their cartularies, treating these manuscripts as a shared space. This raises fundamental questions about the definition of cartularies and how they functioned, their relationship to archives of single-sheet documents, and as sources for institutional identity. It therefore takes a fresh look at the \"genre\" ofmedieval cartularies through the eyes of the manuscripts themselves, and what this can reveal about their medieval scribes and readers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction Cartulary studies Analysing a multi-scribe cartulary The creation and growth of the Glasgow RV The creation and growth of Lindores Caprington Understanding the patterns of growth in multi-scribe cartularies Conclusion Appendix Bibliography Index","brand":"Boydell \u0026 Brewer Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49412015194455,"sku":"9781783274789","price":85.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}]},{"product_id":"the-ashburnham-pentateuch-and-its-contexts-the-trinity-in-late-antiquity-and-the-early-middle-ages-9781783276844","title":"The Ashburnham Pentateuch and its Contexts: The","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA fresh interpretation of an enigmatic illumination and its contexts.  The Ashburnham Pentateuch is an early medieval manuscript of uncertain provenance, which  has puzzled and intrigued scholars since the nineteenth century. Its first image, which depicts the Genesis creation narrative, is itself a site of mystery; originally, it presented the Trinity as three men in various vignettes, but in the early ninth century, by which time the manuscript had come to the monastery at Tours, most of the figures were obscured by paint, leaving behind a single creator. In this sense, the manuscript serves as a kind of hinge between the late antique and early medieval periods. Why was the Ashburnham Pentateuch's anthropomorphic image of the Trinity acceptable in the sixth century, but not in the ninth?  This study examines the theological, political, and iconographic contexts of the production and later modification of the Ashburnham Pentateuch's creation image. The discussion focuses on materiality, the oft-contested relationship between image and word, and iconoclastic acts as \"embodied responses\". Ultimately, this book argues that the Carolingian-era reception and modification of the creation image is consistent with contemporaneous iconography, a concern for maintaining the absolute unity of the Trinity, as well as Carolingian image theory following the Byzantine iconoclastic controversy. Tracing the changes in Trinitarian theology and theories of the image offers us a better understanding of the mutual influences between art, theology, and politics during Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction: Losing and Finding the Ashburnham Pentateuch 1. Early Trinitarian Texts and Debates 2. The Trinity in Early Christian Images 3. Carolingian Conceptions of the Trinity 4. Carolingian Image Theory 5. The Carolingian Reception of the Ashburnham Pentateuch Conclusion: Possible Motivations for the Ashburnham Pentateuch Erasures[TS1]  Coda: The Afterlife [TS2] of the Ashburnham Pentateuch","brand":"Boydell \u0026 Brewer Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49412021518679,"sku":"9781783276844","price":76.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781783276844.jpg?v=1730515402"},{"product_id":"looking-at-medieval-books-learning-to-see-9781802078572","title":"Looking at Medieval Books: Learning to See","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUnlike books familiar to us from print culture, every medieval book is unique, the product of individual circumstances of planning, execution, and history. This is a fundamental difficulty for study, particularly for those beginning the investigation of texts in manuscript. There are two conventional ways of approaching this difficulty: explaining the series of processes by which a manuscript book is constructed and explaining how to construct a professional description of a manuscript book. Neither addresses a problem fundamental for beginners: what happens when a librarian presents you with a manuscript? How should you proceed? Fundamentally, this is a problem of visual examination, and taking its procedure from the grand M. R. James and M. B. Parkes, this book attempts to stimulate the visual and experiential. It attempts, in a heavily exemplified account, to explain what might be there in a manuscript to perceive and what it might mean. The argument follows a process of examination that begins with the physical bulk of what's in front of you (and its cover, or binding) and ends with traces of the book's history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003ePreface\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat's in front of you?  What's its shape?\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eHow big is it?\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eThe closed book: what do you see first?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOpening the book: what's it made of?\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eMembrane\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003ePaper\u003c\/p\u003eWhere's the first leaf?\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cp\u003eWhat does the first leaf look like?\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eHow come it looks so neat?\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eHow does the scribe write?\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eWhat texts does it contain?\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eHow's it been put together?\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eAre there other discontinuities?\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eWhere's it been all this time?\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e Looking at Cambridge, Queens' College, MS 10\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Liverpool University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49412883251543,"sku":"9781802078572","price":110.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781802078572.jpg?v=1730518425"},{"product_id":"fifty-mysterious-postcards-pitman-shorthand-messages-from-the-golden-age-of-the-postcard-9781803990460","title":"Fifty Mysterious Postcards: Pitman Shorthand","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe lines, circles, ticks, hooks, dots and dashes of Pitman shorthand used by some postcard writers during the early twentieth century are obscure to most people. \u003c\/b\u003eCould the mysterious messages contain scandalous gossip, tales of adventure or declarations of undying love?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eFifty Mysterious Postcards\u003c\/i\u003e presents fascinating examples from the ‘Golden Age’ of the postcard, each with a message written in the dying art of Pitman shorthand. The rules of Pitman have changed since the postcards were written and posted over 100 years ago, but careful transcription has unlocked their meaning to bring stories of penfriends, sweethearts, holidays and the First World War to life once more.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The format mostly features spreads with the postcards – beauty scenes, landmarks, cute animals – with the original name and address written longhand and the message in shorthand.” \u003c\/p\u003e * Best of British magazine *","brand":"The History Press Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49412958814551,"sku":"9781803990460","price":14.39,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781803990460.jpg?v=1730518669"},{"product_id":"the-disappearance-of-writing-systems-perspectives-on-literacy-and-communication-9781845530136","title":"The Disappearance of Writing Systems:","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis volume gathers papers from the first conference ever to be held on the disappearance of writing systems, in Oxford in March 2004. While the invention and decipherment of writing systems have long been focuses of research, their eclipse or replacement have been little studied. Because writing is so important in many cultures and civilizations, its disappearance - followed by a period without it or by replacement by a different writing system - is of almost equal significance to invention as a mark of radical change. Probably more writing systems have disappeared than survived in the last five thousand years. Case studies from the Old and New Worlds are presented, ranging over periods from the first millennium BC to the present. In order to address many types of transmission, the broadest possible definition of 'writing' is used, notably including Mexican pictography and the Andean khipu system.One chapter discusses the larger proportion of known human societies which have not possessed complex material codes like writing, offering an alternative perspective on the long-term transmission of socially salient subjects. A concluding essay draws out common themes and offers an initial synthesis of results. This volume offers a new perspective on approaches to writing that will be significant for the understanding of writing systems and their social functions, literacy, memory, and high-cultural communication systems in general.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1. John Bennet, Now You See It; Now You Don't! The Disappearance of the Linear A Script on Crete2. J. David Hawkins, The Disappearance of Writing Systems: Hieroglyphic Luwian3. Jeremy Black  , The Obsolescence and Demise of Cuneiform Writing in Elam 4. David Brown, Increasingly Redundant: The Growing Obsolescence of the Cuneiform Script in Babylonia from 539 BC\tPostscript: Jerrold Cooper, Redundancy Reconsidered: Reflections on David Brown's Thesis5. Kathryn Lomas, Script Obsolescence in Ancient Italy: From Pre-Roman to Roman Writing6. Richard Salomon, Whatever Happened to Kharoṣṭhi? The Fate of a Forgotten Indic Script7. Martin Andreas Stadler, On the Demise of Egyptian Writing: Working with a Problematic Source Basis8. Claude Rilly, The Last Traces of Meroitic? A Tentative Scenario for the Disappearance of the Meroitic Script9. M. C. A. Macdonald, The Phoenix of Phoinikcia: Alphabetic Reincarnation in Arabia10. Stephen D. Houston, The Small Deaths of Maya Writing11. Elizabeth Hill Boone, The Death of Mexican Pictography12. Frank Salomon, Late Khipu Use13. Giovanni Stary, Disappearance of Writing Systems: The Manchu Case14. John Monaghan, Revelatory Scripts, 'the Unlettered Genius', and the Appearance and Disappearance of Writing 15. Chris Gosden, History without Text16. John Baines, Writing and its Multiple Disappearances","brand":"Equinox Publishing Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49413544083799,"sku":"9781845530136","price":81.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781845530136.jpg?v=1730520557"},{"product_id":"scottish-handwriting-1150-1650-an-introduction-to-the-reading-of-documents-9781906566111","title":"Scottish Handwriting 1150-1650: An Introduction","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eReading original documents is the only way to achieve a sound basis in historical studies and to acquire a true perspective on cultural evolution. Much modern research has been applied to Scotland's history, but until this volume there has been no comprehensive study of the country's handwriting for nearly 250 years. The main body of this book consists of facsimile texts, each facing a detailed transcript and commentary.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eThe historical background of handwriting usage is surveyed in the introduction, with emphasis on changing fashions. There is also guidance on how to deal with early language and abbreviations. The principal aim is to assist research students, local historians, genealogists and calligraphers in their studies; but this work also recovers a lost chapter in the history of Scottish studies.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"John Donald Publishers Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49414270222679,"sku":"9781906566111","price":18.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781906566111.jpg?v=1730523040"},{"product_id":"constructing-history-across-the-norman-conquest-worcester-c-1050-c-1150-9781914049040","title":"Constructing History across the Norman Conquest:","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn investigation into the hugely significant works produced by the Worcester foundation at a period of turmoil and change.  From the mid-eleventh to the mid-twelfth century Worcester was a monastic community of unparalleled importance. Not only was it home to many of the most famous bishops and monks of the period, including Bishop Wulfstan II: it was also a centre of notable and ambitious scholarly production. Under Wulfstan's guidance, a number of Worcester brethren undertook historical research that resulted in the writing of such renowned texts as Hemming's Cartulary and the Worcester Chronica Chronicarum. Significantly, these historical endeavours spanned the political chasm of the Norman Conquest.  The essays collected here aim to shed new light on different aspects of the Worcester \"historical workshop\", whose literary ouput was, in several respects, pioneering in contemporary European scholarship. Several chapters address the different ways in which the monks organised and updated their archives of documents, both via their sequence of cartularies, with a special focus on the narrative parts of Hemming's Cartulary, and via an interesting (and previously unedited) prose account of the foundation of the see. Others focus on the famous Worcester Chronica Chronicarum, attributed both to Florence and to John, investigating the major model for its composition and structure (the work of Marianus Scotus), the stages in which it was completed, and its connections with Welsh chronicles, as well as the related and fascinating abbreviated version, written mostly in the hand of John himself, and known as the Chronicula. The volume thus elucidates how the Worcester monks navigated the period across the Conquest through the composition of different genres of texts, and how these texts shaped their own institutional memory.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe collection is a model of careful scholarship that is not afraid to be methodologically innovative... The essays could almost have been written by a single author. The collection contains only the bare minimum of repetition required to allow each essay to stand on its own. The editors have created a model that group studies of other centers of historical production would do well to follow. * SPECULUM *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1          Framing the Past: Charters and Chronicles at Worcester, c.1050-c.1150             - Francesca Tinti and D. A. Woodman 2          Identities in Community: Literary Culture and Memory at Worcester             - Thomas O'Donnell 3          Preserving Records and Writing History in Worcester's Conquest-Era Archives             - Jonathan Herold 4          Constructing Narrative in the Closing Folios of Hemming's Cartulary             - Francesca Tinti 5          Worcester's Own History: an Account of the Foundation of the See and a Summary of Benefactions, AD 680-1093             - Susan Kelly 6          Worcester and the English Reception of Marianus Scotus             C. Philipp E. Nothaft 7          History Books at Worcester, c.1050-1150, and the Making of the Worcester Chronicle             - Laura Cleaver 8          Poetry in the Worcester Chronicula (TCD MS 503)             - D. A. Woodman 9          Networks of Chronicle Writing in Western Britain: the Case of Worcester and Wales             - Georgia Henley","brand":"York Medieval Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49414623920471,"sku":"9781914049040","price":80.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781914049040.jpg?v=1730524307"},{"product_id":"re-using-manuscripts-in-late-medieval-england-repairing-recycling-sharing-9781914049064","title":"Re-using Manuscripts in Late Medieval England:","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA fresh appraisal of late medieval manuscript culture in England, examining the ways in which people sustained older books, exploring the practices and processes by which manuscripts were crafted, mended, protected, marked, gifted and shared.  During the \"long fifteenth century\" (here, 1375-1530), the demand for books in England flourished. The fast-developing book trade produced them in great quantity. Fragments of manuscripts were often repurposed, as flyleaves and other components such as palimpsests; and alongside the creation of new books, medieval manuscripts were also repaired, recycled and re-used.   This monograph examines the ways in which people sustained older books, exploring the practices and processes by which manuscripts were crafted, mended, protected, marked, gifted and shared. Drawing on the codicological evidence gathered from an extensive survey of extant manuscript collections, in conjunction with historical accounts, recipes and literary texts, it presents detailed case studies exploring parchment production and recycling, the re-use of margins, and second-hand exchanges of books. Its engagement with the evidence in - and inscribed on - surviving books enables a fresh appraisal of late medieval manuscript culture in England, looking at how people went about re-using books, and arguing that over the course of this period, books were made, used and re-used in a myriad of sustainable ways.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne is not likely to see parchment at the various stages of its life cycle in quite the same way after reading it... should be standard reading for students who wish to acquaint themselves with manuscript production and use. * STUDIES IN THE AGE OF CHAUCER *\u003cbr\u003eRe-using Manuscripts is an invitation to set aside the familiar restrictions of the reading room and to ask new questions...Fascinating study. * TLS *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eList of Illustrations Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Transcription Conventions Introduction 1. Making Parchment for Books 2. Re-using Parchment in Books 3. Making Marks on Books 4. Second-hand Books Conclusions Bibliography  Index","brand":"York Medieval Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49414623986007,"sku":"9781914049064","price":76.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781914049064.jpg?v=1730524307"},{"product_id":"writing-history-in-the-anglo-norman-world-manuscripts-makers-and-readers-c-1066-c-1250-9781914049118","title":"Writing History in the Anglo-Norman World:","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWho wrote about the past in the Middle Ages, who read about it, and how were these works disseminated and used?  History was a subject popular with authors and readers in the Anglo-Norman world. The volume and richness of historical writing in the lands controlled by the kings of England, particularly from the 12th century, has long attracted the attention of historians and literary scholars. This collection of essays returns to the processes involved in writing history, and in particular to the medieval manuscript sources in which the works of such historians survive. It explores the motivations of those writing about the past in the Middle Ages (such as Orderic Vitalis, John of Worcester, Symeon of Durham, William of Malmesbury, Gerald of Wales, Roger of Howden, and Matthew Paris), and the evidence provided by manuscripts for the circumstances in which copies were made.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis volume thus offers a rich variety of insights into the diversity and complexity of Anglo-Norman historical writing. . . . [It] achieves its goal of using manuscripts to add nuance to our understanding of Anglo-Norman historical writing. * MANUSCRIPT STUDIES *\u003cbr\u003eThe quality of the essays, and the originality of many of their findings, should, if nothing else, serve to spur other researchers into action. * FRANCIA *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction: Making and Reading History Books in the Anglo-Norman World Did the Purpose of History Change in England in the Twelfth Century? - Michael Staunton England's Place within Salvation History: An Extended Version of Peter of Poitiers' Compendium Historiae in London, British Library, Cotton MS Faustina B VII - Andrea Worm Computus and Chronology in Anglo-Norman England - Anne Lawrence-Mathers A Saint Petersburg Manuscript of Excerptio Roberti Herefordensis de Chronica Mariani Scotti - Gleb Schmidt Autograph History Books in the Twelfth Century - Laura Cleaver Paul the Deacon's Historia Langobardorum in Anglo-Norman England - Laura Pani Durham Cathedral Priory and its Library of History, c. 1090 - c. 1150 - Charles C. Rozier King John's Books and the Interdict in England and Wales - Stephen D. Church Artistic Patronage and the Early Anglo-Norman Abbots of St Albans - Kathryn Gerry Matthew Paris, Cecilia de Sanford and the Early Readership of the Vie de Seint Auban - Laura Slater New Readers, Old History: Gerald of Wales and the Anglo-Norman Invasion of Ireland - Caoimhe Whelan Bibliography","brand":"York Medieval Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49414624117079,"sku":"9781914049118","price":24.69,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781914049118.jpg?v=1730524309"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/collections\/palaeography.oembed?page=4","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}