Greek Paleography 2023/2024

Paleografia greca, modulo A = Storia della scrittura greca, modulo B

Greek Paleography, mod. A = History of Greek handwriting, mod. B

Laurea in Lettere, a.a. 2023/2024

Inglese

PREREQUISITES:

No pre-requisites. A basic knowledge of ancient or modern Greek can be of use.

AIMS:

*** EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: A basic knowledge of Greek palaeography (ability to read, date and place in their historical context the manuscripts examined, recognizing their script-styles) and an elementary knowledge of Greek codicology, aimed at the critical evaluation of the state of conservation of ancient to early modern manuscripts and archival documents, and as a support to historical and philological research.

*** EXPECTED RESULTS:

In line with the educational objectives of the Study Program in "Lettere", this training activity aims to provide the student with the following knowledge and skills:

- KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: This course contributes to the acquisition of the palaeographcal knowledge necessary for a correct historical and philological evaluation of manuscripts and archival documents written on parchment, papyrus, paper, and other writing supports.

- APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: This course contributes to the acquisition of the abilities: i) to critically evaluate the historical, palaeographical, and historical-cultural aspects of a given manuscript or document dating from the Byzantine period; ii) to promote and support historical, archival, literary, codicological research on specific topics; iii) to evaluate the correctness – from a historical and palaeographical point of view – of conservation, restoration, and maintenance procedures applied to Byzantine manuscripts and documents.

- COMMUNICATION SKILLS: This course contributes to the acquisition of the ability to express in an effective and orderly manner one’s opinion about palaeographical, historical and conservative issues of ancient, medieval, and modern manuscripts or archival documents in Greek, using a correct and unambiguous palaeographiical terminology according to current international scientific standards.

PROGRAM:

GREEK PALAEOGRAPHY, MOD. A: «The history of Greek handwriting from the 4th to the mid-10th century AD»

The aim of the module is to provide basic information about the development of Greek handwriting until the mid-10th century, so as to enable students to read, date, and place in their historical context the manuscripts examined and to recognise their 'canons' and graphic 'styles' of reference as well as the main terms of Codicology.Classes include practical reading sessions images of medieval to early modern Greek manuscripts.

DIDACTIC METHODS:

Lectures, seminars. Palaeographical analysis and deciphering of texts from pictures of pages of Greek manuscripts.

METHODS AND CRITERIA FOR VERIFICATION OF LEARNING OUTCOMES

*** The oral examination will assess the student's command of the material studied in the course. The oral exam has two different parts: i) a palaeographical commentary and reading the text of selected pictures of pages taken from Greek manuscripts; and ii) questions assessing the student’s ability to summarise and critically discuss topics raised in the course, making use of the course tools and bibliography provided.

*** The assessment will thus consider the student's: i) competence in commenting on selected images of Greek manuscripts and in reading/deciphering their Greek texts; ii) knowledge and understanding of the relevant topics, and ability to summarise and analyse themes and concepts; iii) familiarity with the technical terminology associated with the subject and ability to use it effectively.

Assessment will be made following these principles:

- EXCELLENT (28-30): the student deciphers and reads the various Greek scripts brilliantly, and recognizes the various script types represented in the facsimiles, shows an overall excellent understanding of the topics discussed during the lectures, and displays a critical approach to the material and a confident and effective use of the appropriate terminology.

- AVERAGE (24-27): the student has memorized the main points of the course material, and reads/recognizes the various Greek scripts quite confidently, is able to summarise the main points quite satisfactorily and provide an effective critical commentary, and displays an average command of the appropriate terminology.

- BELOW AVERAGE (18-23): the student shows a superficial acquaintance with the material, and is barely able to decipher the various Greek scripts, is barely able to summarise and provide a general critical commentary, and displays a limited command of the appropriate terminology.

- FAILURE: the student displays significant errors in understanding of the material, cannot (or cannot adequately) read or recognize the various Greek script types, and displays no (or inadequate) command of the appropriate terminology.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

- L. PERRIA, "Graphis. Per una storia della scrittura greca libraria", Roma-Città del Vaticano 2011 (Quaderni di Nea Rhome, 1), pp. 1-87 [manual]

photographic reproductions of Greek manuscripts, taken from palaeographic albums such as:

- H. FOLLIERI, "Codices graeci Bibliothecae Vaticanae selecti", apud Bibliothecam Vaticanam 1969 (Exempla scripturarum, 4).

- P. CANART - A. JACOB - S. LUCÀ - L. PERRIA (a cura di), "Facsimili di codici greci della Biblioteca Vaticana", I: "Tavole", Città del Vaticano 1998.