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Paleography

Code: 100374 ECTS Credits: 6
2024/2025
Degree Type Year
2500501 History OB 2

Contact

Name:
Josep Antoni Iglesias Fonseca
Email:
toni.iglesias@uab.cat

Teachers

Josep Antoni Iglesias Fonseca

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

A minimum knowledge of Latin is advisable. It is recommended to read an elementary Latin grammar, corresponding, at least, to a high school level.


Objectives and Contextualisation

Paleography, despite being an autonomous discipline, is a fundamental tool for all studies of Philology and History, as it provides the basis for the correct interpretation of the written sources of any age. Therefore, the aim of the course is to train students to read and interpret all kinds of written documents, codices, diplomas and inscriptions in the Latin alphabet, within a chronological arc that goes from antiquity to this day. The classes will have an eminently practical character. Previously, however, the basic theoretical notions necessary for the technical reading and critical editing of the texts, as well as for the understanding of the evolution of Latin writing, will be given. The possibility of orienting the subject towards a certain chronological period will be taken into account, depending on the specialty and homogeneity of the groups.


Competences

  • Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
  • Mastering the methodology of the palaeographic work for the several historical periods.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Applying the necessary abilities in order to assess and spread historical knowledge.
  2. Communicating in your mother tongue or other language both in oral and written form by using specific terminology and techniques of Historiography.
  3. Identifying the main and secondary ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
  4. Reading and interpreting manuscripts, inscriptions and diplomas of the antiquity and Middle, Modern and Contemporary Ages.
  5. Recognising various types of written Latin according to the periods and regions in which the use of the Latin alphabet was extended.
  6. Solving problems autonomously.

Content

Subject program:

Historical - and also philological - research in any of its epochs requires the researcher to be able to read and interpret manuscript texts, whether they are of a literary or paraliterary nature, which requires direct consultation of the sources of 'History and Philology information for each of its periods. Only in this way will it be possible to be critical of the interpretations that the various historiographical schools make today or have made in the past, and to be able at the same time to formulate their own scientific judgment and rigorously grounded.

The subject of Paleography is therefore intended to enable the reading of literary and paraliterary texts, both in Latin and in any other language that uses its alphabet from any period.

Themes:
- Concept of Paleography and main old and current schools
- The origin of the Latin alphabet and first witnesses
- Latin writing in classical antiquity. The various types and the birth of lowercase writing
- The pre-Carolingian writings: the Visigothic; the Benevento; the Merovingian and the insular in its main variants
- The new continental writing: the tiny carolina
- Gothic writings
- Humanistic writing


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Transcription Work 50 2 1, 2, 3

The subject will have an essentially practical orientation, based on the transcription and commentary of handwritten documentation. You will be taught to read each of the various writings of the Latin alphabet used throughout history and, in particular, the typologies that are most abundant in the archives and libraries of Catalonia.

Consultation of original documentation and, where appropriate, internships in archives and libraries, mainly with which the UAB Seminar on Paleography, Codicology and Diplomacy has signed collaboration agreements.

The content of the subject will be sensitive, as far as possible, to aspects related to the gender perspective (for example, with the exhibition of female graphic manifestations, the role of women in the transmission of written culture, the libraries, female readers and readings).

Given that numerous scientific studies have shown that reading on paper improves comprehension and memorisation of content, facilitating critical reflection, it is strongly recommended that all the materials available on the Virtual Campus be printed and that activities and exercices are always worked on paper.

On the other hand, the use of digital devices (tablets or computers) and mobile phones in the classroom will be restricted to teaching activities.

Once the quarter of an academic hour has elapsed, students are advised not to enter the classroom and will not be able to leave early, unless they have previously notified the teacher.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
1st written test 35% 1.5 0.06 2, 4, 5, 6
2nd written test 35% 1.5 0.06 2, 4, 5, 6
Attendance 10% 47 1.88 2, 3
courseword 20% 50 2 1, 2, 4, 5, 6

Continuous assessment:

In the case of continuous assessment, students must take two written tests throughout the course (35% + 35% of the total subject)

It will also be essential to carry out a course work, which will consist of the transcription of unpublished handwritten documentation (20%).

Regular class attendance (10%) will also be valued through the score of attendance at activities, presentations and oral debates, classroom practice, participation, etc.

At the time of carrying out / delivery of each evaluation activity, the teacher will inform (Moodle, SIA) of the procedure and date of review of the grades.

In the event that the tests or written work cannot be done in person, their format will be adapted (maintaining their weighting) to the possibilities offered by the UAB's virtual tools. Homework, activities and participation in class will be done through forums, wikis and / or discussion discussions through Moodle, Teams, BBCollaborate, etc. Teachers will ensure that the student can access it or offer alternative means that are available to them.

In the event that the student commits any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade of an assessment act, this assessment act will be graded with 0, regardless of the disciplinary process that may be instructed. In the event of several irregularities in the evaluation acts of the same subject, the final grade for this subject will be 0.

Examination-based Evaluation ('Avaluació Única') it is not contemplated.

"Not assessable" will be the grade received by students who do not pass the subject.

NB. As far as possible, and according to the academic calendar, the approximate evaluation dates will be indicated at the beginning of the course.

 

 


Bibliography

Web links:

  1. http://pares.culturaydeporte.gob.es/inicio.html
  2. http://arxiusenlinia.cultura.gencat.cat/ArxiusEnLinia/
  3. http://theleme.enc.sorbonne.fr

Basic bibliography:

4. The Oxford handbook of Latin Palaeography (Oxford, 2020).

5. Millares Carlo, A.: Tratado de Paleografía española. 3ª ed. (Madrid, 1983).

6. Bischoff, B.: Paléographie de l’Antiquité romaine et du moyen âge occidental (París, 1985) [l’obra original és en llengua alemanya, i hi ha traduccions en llengua italiana i anglesa].

7. Mallon, J.: Paléographie romaine (Madrid, 1952).

 

 


Software

None


Language list

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 2 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 2 Catalan first semester morning-mixed