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THE CAMPBELL COLLECTION
purchased with the aid of
The MacDonald-Stewart Foundation
and
The Canada Council
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CTIOX TO
GREEI(
AXD
LJ.tTIX
P ALAEOG }{,Ål>HY
BY
SIR ED"
ARD
IAUXDE TH03IPSOX
G.c. Boo I.S.O.
BOX. D.('.L.. OXl'ORD A
D DURHA": BOS. LJ..D.. ST. A
DREWS
HOX. UTT.D., '[A'CHE:>T.ER; HON. }".ELLO\\ OF LXn-.ERSITY COLLI:G.E
OXFORD; F.ELLO\\" OF TH.E RRrIISH ACAD.E
IY; CORRESI'OXDI....
'I.E'IBER 0'" TH.E I
SI"ITI TE OF '"RA'i"C.E, AXD OF TH.E ROYAL
I'Hi S..;,IAS" Al"ADE\IY OF Sl"I.EXl"E...;
O'IE'n'IE DIRECTOR AXD
PRI'i"CIPAL LIRRARIAX OF TH.E BRITISH 'II;"E(:'I
OXFORD
AT THE CLAREXDOX PRESS
IHl2
HENRY FROWDE, )I.A.
PUELISHER TO THE UXIYERSITY OF OXFORD
LONDON, EDINBURGH, NEW YORK, TORONTO
:MELEOURNE AND EmmA Y
IX )1 E)IORLU[
EI>\YA HHJ AYnY
TI BOX])
\YILLEL)II "
-\TTEXB-\( 'H
LEOPOLDI \
ICT()R[
DELI
LE
)L\.UI
TRnRY)I A)lICORV)[
PIU A
DI()
DEDICAT DI
CIPYLY:3
rHEF_\CE
\VUEX, twenty 'years ago, at the invitation of Messr::;. Kegan
Paul, Trench, Truebner & Company, 1 contributed to their
International
cientific ;:,eries a Hwulbook of Greek and Latin
PalacograjJh!l, I hanlly dareù to hope that ::;uch a work would
appeUp.]. .
4
1. PSALTER; A. D. 8G2. [Library of Bp. r
pensl<
]. . .
5U. GOSPEL:'; A. D. 9-!9. [Rome, Yatican Library, -'If.;. Gmec. 33-!J
:n. EYAXGELlARIU)r; A. D. 993. [Brit.
IUI".. Harle
'
I:-:. 53
)8]
(Creek J[i7luscules)
8th cent. [Rome, "atican Librar
-, Colonna
5
. 'fHI-;OLOGICAL \\TORR::' ;
:M::;. 39]
53. EUCLID; A. D. 888. [Bodleian Library, Ù'Orville
lS. x. 1] .
.")-!. PLATO, Dialogues; A. D. 896. [Bodleian Liblary. Clarke -'1:-:. 39]
53. GO::'PELS; earl
- 10th cent. [Brit. )Ius., Add. )IS. 11300]
36. LUClAx; about A. D. 915. [Brit. JIus., Harley )I
. 5G9-!
. .
57. 'fU{;CYDlDES; 10th cent. [Florence. Lanreutiall Libr!\l'
', Plut.lxix. 2]
58. PLUTARCH; 10th cent. [FIOI encl'. Laurentian LilJHtry, -'1:-:. 206J
59. PSALTER; about A. D. 930. [Bodleian Lihrary, Gk.
lisc. 5]
GO. ST.
IA..xDIUs; A. D. 970. [-'lount At1l0s. Laura,
IS. B. 3iJ
G1. ST. CHRYSOSTO,r; A. D. 9i6. [Bodleian Lihrary, Laud :MS. Gk. i 31.
6:!. l
OSPELS; A. D. 1023. '['lilan. AmLrosian Librar
-, n. 56.
up.J -
G3. :ll. E::iELLUS; A. D. 1041). [Heidelherg,"C niversity Lihrary, Cod.
Palat. cchxxi] .
6-!. DE:lWSTHEXES; earl
- 1.1 th Cellt. [Florence, Laurentian Librar
-. Pluto
lix. 9]
G5. CASOXS; A. D. 1042. [Bodleian Library, Earocei
IS. 1%]
GG. HmrER, Iliad (Tu/I"uley Homer); A. II. 1059. [El'it.
lu
., Burnc
-
1[:-;. 86] . .
G7. EPISTLE,., etc.; A. D. 111l. [Erit.
lus., Adù. )1:-;. 2b8Iß]
G8. GOSPELS; A. Ð. 1128-9. [Home, Yatican Library, Cod. "Crhinu-Yat.
Gr. 2)
G9.
L\nTlROLO(;Y; A.D. 118-!. Hrit.
lus., Burnev -'1:-:.44]
iO. CmDIE:STAR\ ox PORPHYR1; A. D. 1223. [P
ris, Eibl. Xat., MS.
grec. 2089] . _ _ . . . . .
i1. CmDIEXTARY ox THE OCTO.ECHrs: A. D. 1232. [Erit.
Iu!"., _\dll.
1S. 27339J . . . . -
i2. HE
IOD; A. D. 1280. [FlOIence, Laurentian Lihrar
, Pluto xnii. 113]
i3. GOSPFLS; A. D. 12
2. pIonastel
. of Seal's,
Iacedunia. :ll
. r. 10J
i4. GOSI'ELS; A. D. 1314-1.3. [Brit. -'Ius., Add. 1[
. 3i002J. . .
,.3. HERODÙTL::;; A. D. 1318. [}"IOlence. Laurentian LiLrar
-. PInt. hx. G]
Xl
PAf;E
1,8
li!1
181
18:!
183
201
2ù:!
:!o-!
:!Otì
210
212
213
215
21ß
219
223
22-!
2:!li
22ï
229
230
231
233
23ß
23M
239
2-!fI
2-!:!
24-1
2H
248
:!-!!1
231
'J -<)
_J_
2.3li
258
:!GO
ül
XII
LIST OF FACSDIILES
O.
76. ST. ATHAXASIUí"; A.D. 1321. [Brit.
hlS., Harley)[8. 5579]
77. LIYES OF THE FATHERS; A. D. 1362. [Brit. lIu
., Burlle
' MS. 50]
78. POLYIUUS; A.D. 1416. [Brit. 'Ius., Add.
IS. 11728]. .
79. THE PROPHETS; A.D. 1437. [Brit.
Ius.. AlM.
IS. 21259]
80. MEXAEm[; A. D. 1460. [Brit.
Ius.. Add. 'IS. 16398]
81. HmIF.R. Odyssey; A. D. 1-179. [Brit. Mus.. Harley :U
. 5658] .
(Latin Capitals)
82. YIRGIL; 4th OJ' 5th cent. [St. linIl, COl1. 1394]
83. Pm;)I os THE BATTLE OF ACTIu)[: before A. D. 79. [Xaples,
Iuseo
X azionale ] . . . . . . . . .
84. YIRGIL; 5th ct'nt.1 [nome, Yatican Library, Cod. Palat. 1631]
85. YIRGIL; 4th cent. 1 [Rome, Yatican Librar,\', Cod. Vat. 3225]
86. YIRGIL; hefore A. D. 4fJ4. [Florence, Laurentian Library, Plut.
xnix.1]
(Latin rncials)
4th cent. [llome. Vatican Library, Cod. Yat.
87. CICERO, De Republica;
3757]
g8. GOSPELS; 4th cent. [Y ercelli, Chapter Library]
89. LIYY; 5th cent. [Yienna, Imperial LilJ1"aIY, Cod. Lat. 15J
90. GOf'PELS: 5th or 6th cent. [St. Gall, Cod. 1394] .
91. XEW TESTA'IEXT; about A. D. .Hß. (Fulda LihraQ'] .
92. ST. AL"GUSTISE: A. D. 669. rLibrary of 'h'. J. Pierpont
Iurgan]
93. EIBLE (Code;,. Amiatinlls): about A. D. 700. [Florence, Laurentian
Libmry, Cod. Amiat. 11. .
94. GOSPELS: A. D. 739-60. [Brit.
Ius., Add. )1S. 5463J
(Latin
lIi;,yd r,lCÙlls and ..l/i,mð'Cltles, alll ]Jalj-uucials)
%. EPITOME OF Ln'y: 3rd cent. lDrit.
Iu
., Pal" 1.332]. . . 300
!l6. CHROSOLOlilCAL 1\OTES; 6th cent. [Bodleian Lihrary,
1!':. Anct. T.
2. 26J 302
97. PAYDECTS; 6th or 7th cent. I Florence, Laurentian Lihrary] 303
98. ST. HILARY; before A. D. J09-10. [l:ome, Archives of St. rder's]. 306
99. ST. AGGP-TIXE; 6th cent. [Paris, Bihl. .Nat., W;. lat. 13367] . 307
100. BIBLICAL ('o
DIESTARY; heIorf' A. u. .369. [-'Ionte Ca
sino, Cod. 150J 308
(HO'man CUTI>'1"'ce)
101. FOR)I:> OF LETTER:-<; hefore A. n. 79.
102. PO)ll'EIAS 'YAXED TABLET; A. u. ;jfl, [Xaples, )[useu Xazionale,
no. cxliiiJ .
103. DACIAS 'CUED TABLET; A. II. 1 G7. J_ Bmlapt'st )luseu)))] .
104, 105. FOR:lH, OF LE ITERS; 2m1 cent.
106. SPEECHES; A. D. 41-54. [Berlin -'luseuIlls, Pap. 8.307J
107. !':ALE UF A SLAYE; A. D. 166. [Erit. )lu8., Pap. 229J
10
. LETTER: A. D. 167. l Brit.
Ins., Pap. 730J . .
109. PETITIO
; A.D. 247. [Bodleian LiLrary, Lat. cIa
s. D. 12 (P)J
110. LETTER; 4th cent. [!':trassburg, Pap.lat. Argent. i]
111. hlPERHL HE,..CRIPT: 5th cent. rLeyden -'lusE'umJ.
112. r:AYE
XA DELI) OF SALl-;: A. D. .'572. [Brit. -'Iu
., Add. -'IS. .3-1l2J .
113. FomlR OF LETTERR: A. D. 572 .
114. ST.
L""xDn:-s; 7th cent, [-'Iilan, Amhrosian Lihrary, C. 98, P. inf.].
PAGE
262
263
264
266
267
268
275
276
278
280
282
286
287
290
292
293
294
295
296
312
314
316
317,318
321
322
323
325
326
328
329
330
338
LI:-;T OF L\CSDIILES
(Lati'l J/itwsclIles: X atÙ11/al Book-f,wuls)
O.
115. :-iT. ArGL::-TIXE: 8t.h cent.. [The E8curial, J[
. It ii. 181. .
116. ORATIOXALE GOTHIl\:"M; 9th cel.t. [BIit. )[m.. Add. )1:-:. 30852]
11;. )[ARTYROLOGY; A. D. 91f1. [Brit. J[m.. Add. "'11:--. 2.)600J
U8. BEATO; A. D. 1109. [I;rit. )Ius., Add. )18. llü9.3] .
119. SACRA:\IEXTARIUilI: ahout A. D. 800. [8t. GaU, Cod. 348]
120. ALCTI:Y: A. D. 812. L )[lInt.e C!1!; Intt' ;th cent.. [Dublin, Trinit
CoUege, )[:-;. A. 4.131 . 373
133. GOSPELS (Book of ii-eUs); end of ;th cent. l DU]Jlin, Trinity Col1ege] 375
136. GO:'PELS OF )IACREGOL: alJout A. D. 800. [Bodleian Lilmuy, Auct.
D 2. 19J . . 37í
13;. XEW TE::;1A1IEXT (Book of Anuoylt); A.D. 80;. [Dublin, Trinity College] 378
138. PRI
CIAX; A. D. B38. [Le
.den, Cniver8ity Library. Cod. Lat. 67] . 381
139. GOSPELS 0:1' )L-ELBRIGTE: A. D. 1138. [BIit. 3[1Is.. Hatley )1:-:. 1802J 382
Latill lllllflll1cillls and Jlilwscl,fes: l'lte Eorl!1 En!llislt Book-hand)
140. LIXDI
F-\RXE GO>-PEL& (Durham Book): about A. D. ;00. [Brit. }[u
.,
Cottun )IS., Ser.J D. i\"J. . . . . . . . 387
141. CAXTERBrRY GOSPELS; late 8th cent. [Brit. J[u:-., Royal 318. 1 E. vi] 388
142. }
FDA: 8th cent. [CL\mhridge, Llliyersity LihraQ-,
IS. Kk. v. 16J. 389
H3. BEDA: A.D. 811-14. [R.-it. )11Is., Cotton
I:-;.. Ye
pa8. B. "\iJ. . 39()
144. PASCHAL CO:\IPrTATIOXS; !)th cent. [Bodleian Library, Digby )18. 63J 391
145. AXGLO-SAXox CHRO
ICLE: about A.D. 891. [Cambridge, COI')IUS
Christi Col1ege, 3[
. 1 í3] . 392
146. AXGLO-SAxox PODIS (E.refer Book); ubout A. D. 930. [Exeter,
Chapter LibIary, 11:-). 3.301] . . . . . . . 395
14;. P:. 7183]. .
18:!. PETRU'; CO
IESTOR; A. D. 1191-2. [Brit.
[us., r.o
'aI1JR. 7 F. iiil .
183. PLTRT:
CmIE"ToR: before A. D. 1215. [Brit. 1Ius., Hoyal l\1:-). 4 D.
... II] . . . . .
18t.
hSSAL: A. D. 1218. [Brit. Mus., Add. :MS. 17742]
185. PoxnHcAL; avout A. D. 1222.
)Ietz, 8.11is MS. 23 ) .
186. BIBLE; A. D. 1 :!25-32. L nl'it. :lius., Buruey 11S. 3 .
18ï. LECTIO
ARY; A.D. 1269. [Brit. :Mus., Egerton1lS. 23ü91
188. PETRUS CO'IESTOR; A. D. 1283-1300. [Ikit.1Ius., Uo)'al )IR 3 D. vi]
189. COROXATIOX OATH; A. D. 1308. [1:31'it.
[us., Harley 1[f'L 2901 J .
190. JACOBUS DE YORAGIXE; A. D. 1312. [Brit. :Mus., Add. MS. 11882J .
191. BRn'IARY; A. D. 1322 -7. [Drit. )lus., Stowe )IR 12]
1 92. )IA
DEnLLE; A. D. 13ïl. [Paris, TIihl. Kat.. Nouv. acq. fmnç.
.1.") 15]
(Latin JHnusCllles: l'lte Bvok-lwud in tlte ..l/iddle Age8)
PAGE
408
409
410
414
415
416
419
420
427
428
431
433
-134
433
439
440
441
442
443
446
447
448
449
431
452
454
457
458
439
161
U:-;T OF "L\.CSDIILE-'; xv
O. PAGE
193. r'UROSICLE; about A. D. 1388. [Brit.
Iu
.. Ruley JI
. 3634 J . 462
194. HORACE: A.D. 1391. LRrit. JIu
., Add. JI:-;. 11%4J. . 463
1
13. TITCHFU;LD ABBEY ('OLLFCTIOXS; A. D. 1400-5. [Librlu)' of the
Duke of "PortlandJ. . 465
196. RO'lAKCES (Talbot Book); A. D. 1445. [EI'it. JI us.. Royal .\I
. 15 E. vi] 466
19i.
hSf;\L; bt'fore A.D. 1H? [Bli
. J[m., AIlUldel
IS:.
09
- 468
198. ST. AUGUSTIXE: A. D. HG3. [Bnt. JIus., Add. J[
. 1._84
469
199. AJUSTOTLE; A. D. 1451. [Lilnary of Jir. Dy
on PeninsJ . 4iO
200. :-;.\LlXST: A. D. 146G. [Brit. .\[us., Add. M:-;. 16422] 4il
(Latin J[inuscllles: Tlte Englislt J"erilaclITar Rook.ltand in tlte JI Ùldle .-1!Jes)
201. EXGLI
H LAW
(Tn:tlls Rc1fensis); befOIc A.D. 1125. LRochester,
Chapter Library] 4 i3
202. THE OR'IULL"M; early 13th cent. [Bodleian Lihrar
', Junius JI
. 1 J. 474
203. HG:\IILlEs: early 13th cent. [RIit. JIus., :-)towe '[
. 240] . . 477
204. THE ..hCR1::x l:nYLE; early 13th cent. [Brit. JI u
., Cotton J1
.,
Titus D. xviiiJ . . 4 i8
205. TUE .\.YEXlJITE OF INWYT: A. D. 1310. [Brit. J[us., .\runùel JI:-). 5i] 479
206. WYCLlFFlTE BIBLE: late 14th cent. [BIit. )[us., Add. J[S. 15580]. 480
207. PIERS PLOW
['\X; about A. D. 1380. [Brit. l1us., Cottun '18., Yespas.
E. x\'iJ 481
208. WYCLlFFlU BIBLE; about A. D. 1382. [Bodleian Lihrar
', BodI. J[8.
939J. 483
209. \YYCLIFFITE BIBLE; before A. D. 1397. [Erit. )Jus., Egerton )[
.
617,618]. .. 484
210. CHAL"CFR: about A. D. 1400. [Brit. JIus., Harley J1S. i334] . 486
211. TRE\I
A; beginning of 15th cent. [Brit. )Ju
., Add.
IS. 24194] 487
12. OCCLEYE; early 15th cent. [Brit. )Ius., Harley :1IIS. 4866]. 488
213. O
BERX BOKEXHAM; A. D. 1117. [Drit. JIus., Arundel JI8. 327J 489
(Latin J/illuscules: Offiáal and Legal ('I'l"sÙ'e Scnj ts)
214. I-h;XEDlCTIO ('EREI; ith cent. [The E"curial, Cam. de la
rtliquias J
215. Ðl:ED OF BExEvENTO; A. D. 810. [Monte Cassino, x),.xivJ . .
216. RULL OF JOHN "III; A. D. giG. [Pal'is, Eihl. Kat.]. .
217. B["LL OF PASCHAL II; A.D. 1102. [IIIilnn, State Archives] . .
218. J["DGE:\IEXT OF THIERRY III; A. D. 679-80. [Hu'is, Archives Xation-
ales,K. 2, 1l0. 13] . . . .. .,
219. ÐIPLmIA OF ('H\.HLEM.\GXE; A.D. i97. [Pari
, Archives Xationales,
K. 7, no. 15] .
220. DIPLO
IA OF LOUIS THE GER'IAX; A. D. 85ß. eSt. Gall. Chapter
.\.rchi\"es, F. F. i. H. 106] . . .
221. J!ERCIAX CHARTER; A.D.
12. [Canterbury, Chapter Archives, C.1]
222. CHARTER OF ETHELBERHT OF lÜ;XT; A. D. 858. [Brit. )rm
., Cotton
J[
., Aug. ii. 66J . . . . ., .-
223. GRAK'r BY WERFRITH, BISHOP OF WORCE
TER; A. D. 90-1. [Bnt.
JIus., Add. Ch. 19i91J . . . . . . . .
224. GRANT BY \\'ILLIA1[ II; A. D. 1087 (1). l Brit. 31th, Cotton JIS., Aug.
ii. 53 J . . . . . . . . . . .
225. GRANT BY HEXRY I; A. D. 1120-30. [Brit. )Jl1
., Add. Ch. 33629J .
22G. GRAXT BY STEPHEX; A. D. 1139. [Brit. JIm.. Cotton \[:0-;., S ero ('.
oo. 17 <> 1
Ill. _ .
493
494
493
49G
499
500
502
506
308
310
313
314
313
XVI
LIST OF F ACSDIlLES
Ko.
22 ï. GRANT BY HE
RY II; A. D. 1136. [WestmiDster, Chapter ArchiveE,
xlivJ . . . .
228. GRANT BY RICHAUD I; A. D. 1189. [Brit. 1Ins., Egerton Ch. 372] .
229. CHARTER O}' THE HOSPITALLERS; A. D. 1205. [BI'it. :Mus., Harley
Ch. 44 E. 21 J. . . -' ..'
230. CHARTER OF JOHN; A. D. 120-1. l Wilton, Corporation Hecol'ds]
231. GRAST BY RESRY III: A. D. 122ï. [EtOIl College] . . .
232. NOTIFICATION OF HENRY Ill; A.D. 1234. [Brit. }Im., Add. Cll.
28402] . .
233. LETTERS PATENT OF RE
RY III; A. D. 1270. [Brit. l\Ius.. Add. ell.
19828] .... .. .
234. LICEXCE BY ED\\" ARD I; A. D. 1303. [Brit. Mus., Harley Ch. 43 D. 9]
233. DEED OF JOH
DE
T. JOHN; A. D. 1306. [Brit. }lus., Add. Ch. 23834]
236. INSPEXDICS OF EDWARD III: A. D. 1331. [Brit.
lus." Harle
' ('h.
83 C. 13] . .. .......
237. LETTERS OF THE BLACK PRINCE; A. D. 1360. [Brit. lIIus., Add. ClI.
11308] . .
238. DEED OF SElIIPIUNGHA:ll PRIORY; A. D. 1379. [BI'it. Mu!'., Add. ClI.
20620] .
239. GRANT BY RICHARD II; A. D. 1395. [Brit.}l UE., Htlrley Ch. 43 E. 33]
240. PLEDGE Q}" PLATE; A.D. 1415. [Erit. }Iu
., Harley Ch. 43 1. 25] .
241. P ARDOX BY HESRY Y1: A. D. 1446. [Brit. Mus., AtM. Cll. 22610]
212. LEASE; A. D. 1457. [Brit. 1Ius., Harley Ch. H B. 47] .
213. TRL-\TY :BOND; A. D. 1496. [Brit. }Im,., Add. Ch. 989] .
244. CONVEYANCE; A. D. 1594. [Brit. }IUE., Add. Ch. 21798]
245. COXYEB.NCE: A. D. 1612. TBIit. 111m., Add. Ch.24000]
246. EJ>.E:llPLlFICATIOX; A. D. 1339. [EI'it. )Im., Add. Ch. 21HJ69] .
247. GRANT OF WARD:;HIP; A.D. lßIK [Brit. )Ius., Add. ('h. 28271]
248. FINAL CONCORD; A.D. 1530. [Brit. }lus., Add. Cll. 2363 9 1 .
249. E"\.E:llPLlFICATIOX; A. D. 1378. [HI'it. )lm., Add. Ch. 23968J .
230. .FIXAL COXCORD; A. D. 16/3. [Brit. }Ius., Add. Cb. 238ï1J .
PAGE
516
518
523
524
526
528
330
534
536
338
540
342
314
346
348
530
352
356
358
560
562
363
,j61;
368
\N IXTROnU( 'TlcJS TO
G REEI( ...\
D LA TIS P ALAEOf
H
-\PIIl
CHAPTER I
THE GHEEK AXD LATI
ALPHABET=-'
ALTHorGH the ta-;k "hich lies before us of investigating the growth
and changes of Greek and Latin palaeography does not require us to deal
with any form of writing till lon,g after the alpha l ,ets of Greece and Rome
had assumed their final
hapes, yet a brief sketch of the denlopement of
those alphabets, as far as it is known, forms a natural introduction to the
sul.ject.
The alphabet whic!l we Ube at the present daJ" is directly derind
from the Roman alphabet; the Roman, from a local form of the Greek;
the Greek, from the Phoenician. ""hence the Phoenician alphabet was
derived we are not even J"et in a position to declare. The ingenious
theory set forth. in 18j!), l'J" the French EgJ"ptologist de Roug
of its
descent from the ancient cursive form of Egyptian hieratic writing,
which had much to recommend it, and which for a time receind
acceptance. must now be put a<;i(le, in accordance with recent re
earch.
Until the alphabl;Jtic sJ'stellls of Crete and CJ'prus and other quarters
of the :\Iediterranean shall han been soh-eù, we must be content to
remain in ignorance of the actual materials out of which the Phoenicians
constructed their letters.
To trace the connexion of the Greek alphal.et with the Phoenician,
or, as it may be more properly styled, the Semitic, alphabet is not difficult.
A comparison of the carly forms of the letters sufficiently demon
tratcs
their common origin; and. still further, the names of the letters and their
order in the two alphabets are the same. The names of the Semitic
letters are Semitic words. each descrilJing the letter from its resemblance
to some particular object, as alel,1t an ox, befit a house, antI so on. \Yhen
the Greeks took over the Semitic letters, they albo took o,-er their
Semitic names.
This Semitic alphabet appears to have lJeen employed in the cities
anel colonies of the Phoenicians and among the Jews and
loabites and
1\14 n
:2
GREEK AXD LATIX PALAEOGRAPHY
CHAP.
other neighlJOuring tribes: anll its most ancient form as known to us is
presi:ned in a series of inscriptions which date hack to the tenth cen-
tury B.C. The most important of them is that engrave(l upon the slab
known as the Muabite stone, which records the wars of :\lesha. king of
Moah, about 890 B. c., against Israel and Eflom, and which was discovered
in 1868 near the site of Dibon, the ancient capital of Moab. From these
inscriptions of the oldest type we can construct the primitive Phoenician
alphabet of twenty-two letters, in a form, however, which must have
passed through many stages of modification.
The Greek Alphabet
The Greeks learned the art of writing from the Phoenicians at least
as early as the ninth centm'J' B.C.; and it is not improhable that they
had aCfluirell it even one or two centuries earlier. Tratling stations and
colonies of the Phoenicians, pressed at home by the advancing cOlHlueHts
of the Hebrews, were established in remote times in the islalllis amI
mainlands of Greece and Asia Minor; an.l their alphahet of two-amI-
twenty letters was adopted by the Greeks among whom they settled or
with whom they had commercial dealings. It is not, however, to he
supposed that the Greeks receivelI the alphabet from the Phoenicians at
one single place from whence it was passed on thl.oughout HeUas; but
rather at several points of contact from whence it was 10caUJT diffused
among neighbouring cities üllli their colonies. Hence we arc prppared
to find that, while the Greek alphabet is essentially one and the same in
all parts of HeUas, as springing from one stock, it exhibits certain local
peculiarities, partly no doubt inherent from its very first adoption at
different centres, partlJ' del'ived from local influences or from linguistic
or other cauo.;es. 'Vhile, then, the primitive alphahet of Hpllas has
been described by the general title of Cadmean, it must not he assumed
that that title applies to an alphabet of one uniform pattern for aU
Greece.
Among the two-and-twenty signs adopted from the Phoenician. four,
viz. aleph, he, yod, and ayin (
, =\,,,.,0), were made to rppresent the yowel-
soumIs a,e, i,o. both long and short. the f>igns for e aUlI 0 heing also employetl
for the diphthongs ei and II'll,. The la.<;t sound cuntinue.l to l J e expressell
by the mnikmn alone to a comparatively late periotl in the history of
the alphabet. The fifth vowel-sound 'It was provided for by a new letter,
l/;p
ilon, which lllay have been a modification or 'differentiation' of the
Phoenician'lca'll' (Y). This new letter must ha,'e bepn added almost inJJue-
diately after the introduction of the Semitic signs, for there is no local
Greek alphahet which is without it.
ext was felt the necessity for
distinguishing long and short e, and in lonia, the aspirate grallually falling
into disuse, the sign H, eta, was adopted to represent long e, probably
THE UREEK AXD LATlX ALPHABETS
3
before the end of the se\"enth century RC. Ahout the same time the
long 0 hq!an to be distingui!--hed hy nu"ious signs, that used by the
lonian
, the OHH'!Je[, n, being perhaps a differentiation of the IllÌìÏkron.
The age of the tlouble letters 4>, X. and 1'. as they nppear in the Ionian
nlphabet. must, as is pvident from their po"ition, he older thnn or at least
conevnl with omcya.
With regal'll to the sibilants. their history is invol\'ell in ol'scurity.
The original Semitic names appear to ha\'e llecome confusell in the course
of transmission to the Greeks awl to have been applied l.y them to wrong
!--igllS. The name :.:etct seems to correspond to the name t
((de, but the
]etterappears to bf' taken from the letter :o!Jin (I). Xi, which seems to
l,e the same word as ::3!1de) as well as l'i[JIlHl (representing
I'TI id). but as hoth appear to ha\oe had nenrlJ" the same sibilant SOUlHI, the
one or the other l)ecame superfluous. In the Ionian alphabet t-i!J11"Ml was
preferred.
But the disuse of the Jetter sa II must date f:Ir hack, for its loss affected
the numerical value of the Greek letters. ,rhen this value was l.eing
tb..ed the exclusion of san Wa'i overlooked, and the numbers were calcu-
]ated as though that letter had not exi!>te(l. The precedin
letter pi
stands for SO: the kOfl1J1J
for ÐO, the numericltl value of the Phoenician
tswle awl properly nlso that of s" ll. At a later period the obsolete letter
was readopted as the numerical Sib'll for 900, nnd '-'ecame tbe modeln
t-ll/IljJÍ (i. e. sa n + pi), so calletl from its partial resemblance, in its late
form, to the letter pi.
1 It has aho be..n iùentified wilh a T-shaped sign "hieh \nl
u
..d for a special sounù
Oil coin.. of )lc>emhria, and at Halicarnassu, in the tifth ceutur) B.C.
H 2
4
GREEK AXD LATIX PALAEOGRAPHY
CHA\'.
.With regard to the local alphabets of Greece, different states and
òitferent islands either adopterl or deyeloped distinctive signs. Certain
letters underwent gradual changes, as eta from closed 8 to open H, and
tltet(t from the crossed @ to the dotted circle 0. which forms were common
to all the varieties of the alphabet, The most ancient forms of the
alphahet are founll in :\Ielos, Thera, and Crete, which moreover did not
admit the douhle letters. \fhile some states retained the digliTfimtl or
the lWjlpa, others lost them: while Rome developed particular differentia-
tions to express certain sounds, others were content to express two souwls
by one letter. The forms Lf for bfÜt and B for ept;iloll arc peculiar to
Corinth and her colonics; the Argiye alphabet is distinguished hy its
rectangular l(tnibtla
; and that letter appears in the Boeotian, Chalci-
diall, and A thenian alphabets in a primitive form \.-..1
But while there are these local ditferences among the various alphabets
of ancient Greece, a broad division has beelliaill òown by Kirchhoff: 2 who
arranges them in two groups, the eastern and the western. The eastern
group embraces the alphabet which haR already been referred to as the
Ionian, common to the cities on the western coast of Asia Minor and the
neighùouring islawls, and the alphabets of :\Iegara, Argos, and Corinth
and her colonies; and, in a lHoòified Llegree, those of Attica, Kaxos, Thasos,
and some other islands. The western group inclmles the alphabets of
Thessaly, Euhoea, Phocis, Locri:,;, amI Boeotia, and of all the Peloponl1ese
(excepting the states specified under the other grou,p), amI also those of
the Achaean and Chalcidian colonies of Italy awl Sicily.
In the eastem group the letter:=' has the sound of ,f'; and the letters
X, l' the sounds of kh lind jl.
. (In Attica, Xaxos. etc., the letterR :=. and
l' were wanting, and the soumis x and p.
were expresRed hy X
, <Þ
.)
In the western group the letter:=' is wanting, and X, l' have the values
of x and kit; while the sounrl jJð was expressed by n
or <Þ
, or rarely
llY a Rpecial sign *. In It wore I. the special tpst-Ietters are:-
Eastern: X = kit. l' = JI:<.
'" estern: X = .f'. l' = kit.
How this distinction came about is not known, although seycral explana-
tions have hcen hazarded. It is unnecessary in thi:,; place to do mor
than state the fact.
As the Semitic languages were written from right to left, so in th
earliest Greck inscriptions we find the same onler followed. N ext came
the method of writing called l)(Ylldrojlltedoll, in whieh the written lincs
run alternately from right to lcft and from left to right, or vice versa,
I 0 as a form uf plti is fuund on coins of Phocis of GOu B. C. ; and a slight modification
of the Corinthian beta was used in the coinage of B)Zantium, 3;>0 E.c.-13rit. Mils. Cat. oJ
GJ"pek Coins; Phocis, 14-19 ; 'l'hmce, etc., 93-4.
2 Studien =llr Geschichte des griechischen Alphabets, 4th ed" 1887.
I
THE (:REEK _-\XI> L.\TIX ALPH.\BETS
J
as the plough forms the furrows. Lastly, writing from left to right
became universal. In the m08t ancient tomh-inscriptions of
Ielos amI
Thera we have the earliest form of writing. B01.üd1'oplled ll n was
commonly used in the sixth century B. C. However, the famous Greek
insc)'iption at ALu Simbel- the earliest to which a ,late can IJe gh"en-
cut on one of the legs of the colossal st.Ltl1l:'S which guanl the entrance
of the great temple, awl recording the exploration of the
ile up to the
secowl cataract by certain Oreek. Ionian, and Carian mercenaries in the
sen"ice of PSfllmnetichus, runs from left to right. The king here
mentioned may l'e the first (fi3-l-617 B.C.) or, more probably. the second
(3!H -58!) B.c.) of that namc. The aate of the writing may therefore be
roughly placed ahout GOO B.C. The fact that, llesides this inscription, the
work of twu of the soldiers. the names of several of their comrades are
al,>o cut on the rock, prons how well estahlishcd was the art of writing
among the Greeks e,'en at that early period.
The Latin Alphabet
Like the local alphallets of Ureece, the Italic alphabets yariccl from
one another l.y the IHloption or rejection of different signs, accoraing
to the re1luirements of language. Thus the Latin and Faliscan, the
Etruscan, the rmbrian, awl the OSCIUl alphal.ets are sufficiently dis-
tinguished in this way; but at the same time the common origin of all
can l,e traced to a primitive OF so-called Pelasgian alphabet of the
Chalcidian type. The pcriod of the introduction of writing into Italy
from the great trading and colonizing city of Clmlcis must be carricd
back to the time \\ hen the (:reeks wrote from right to left. Two
Latin inscriptions 1 lmve l,een fou1\Il thus written: and in the other Italic
scripts this ancient system was also followed. The inscription on the
rectangular pillar found in IH!J!) near the Forum, of a date not later than
the fifth century B. c.. is arranged lJ/Ju
trlllI1Ied(JIL2 \Ye may assume, then,
that the Greek alphabet was malIc known to the native tribes of Italy
as early as the eighth or ninth century B.C., ana not improhably through
the ancient Chalcidian colony uf Cumae, which trallition named as the
earliest Greek settlement in the Jaml. The eventual prevalence of the
Latin alphahet naturally followell the political supremacy of Rome,
The L'ltin alphalwt pos:-esses twenty of the letters of the Greek
western alphabet, amI, in addition, three adopte,l signs. Taking the
Formello and Galassi alJecellaria 3 as representing the primitive alphal.et
I The earliest, on a libula fmm Praeneste a.signed to the Rixth century B. C. (C. I. L.
XI'. 4123); the othl.'l'. till' Dllenos inscription on a 'a
.. of the fourth centur
B. c. fount!
near the Quirinal in l R SO r. T. T. i. 3ï1). Both are given in Sandy", Compa... Lat. S(,',/o"(S,
731, 733.
2 S:mdys, op. cit. ï32. 3 See E. S. Rllherts, I;k. Epiyml'''Y, i. lï.
6
GREEK
\SD LATIX PALAEOGRAPHY
l'H.\P,
of Italy, it wil! 1Je seen thitt the Latins rejected the letter 8un and the
double letters theta, phi. amI chi (1'), and disregarded the earlier sign
for ,'?:Í. In Quintili::m's time letter X was the . ultima nostrarUln ' and
cloHed the alphahet. The letter zetu representing the soft s sound wa
so used at first 1)y the Latins; hut, this >iound in course of time changing
to an r sound, the letter::; ceased to 1Je used. But at a later period it
waH resturell to thc alphabet for the purpose of transliteration of Greek
words. As howe\'er its original place had IJeen meanwhile filled 1JY the
new letter G, it was sent down to the end of the alphahct. "'ith regard
to the creation of G, till the middle of tlH
third century D.C. its want
was not felt, as C was elliployell to represent hoth the hard c anll
[] sounds,I a survival of this use being seen in the ahhreviations
l '. and Cn. for Gaius amI Gnaeus; Imt gradually the new letter was
developell from C aIlfl waH placed in the alphabet in the position
vacated IIY :::eta. The diyam1JHt had hecome the Latin F, and the
1ljl8iluf/' had heen transliterated as the Latin V; but in the time of
Cicero 'l.lp
ilon, as a foreign letter, was required for literary purposes,
and thus became again incorporated in the Latin alphabet-this time
without change of form, Y. Its position shows that it was admitted
before Z.
1 The "uund reprt'sented by C in L:ltin n,) doubt also gradnally, but :It a very carly
pcriod, became indi..tinguishable frol11 that reprt'sented by K. Hence the letter K fell
into general disuse in writing, ane] only sun'i\'ed as an archaic form in ('ertain words.
such as kalemlae.
I
Cadmean.
_ H ' -H
alpha " A A
I Ð
,.",...1
beta
delta . . D.. D..
epsilon..
I k
digamma =t F
zeta .:X: X
eta. .
theta
iot:1
mu
phi.. ..
chi.. ..
psi.. ..
omega. .
..
THE CREEK .\-XV L.\TI
ALI'H.\BETS
GREEK.
Local forms.
Eastern. I Western, Local Corms.
" }.telos. eteo
( Paras. Siphnos.
Thasos. Cleo
'1. Corinth.
( C Corinth,
Mc&ua" etc.
B CorintÞ. etc.
AA
BB
I'r^
D..D
kE
[
]
X
AA
t;B
Ch.31ci5.
.... r ( ( PhOC",
I Arcadia" EIis,
D.. [> D Locns, etc.
E
F
:x:
EJH(h,ë) 8H(h)
00 @O
, ,
k I<
t ^ t ^
tv'M I tv' M
f'I I'! f'J N
:E (See bolo".)
H1 Latcr Ari:OS-
[ '". Attic... r-; axos.
Slvhno:), Tha:>>os, etc ]
n Paros. Siphnos, etc
o ( Melos.
f1n
[9]
P R R
S
T
VY
[See ilbove ]
o
O',Attica, '\:a,os.
I
SiphnoS. Th
s. etc. ] 'If T
o Melos. r3roS. n
Siphnos. etc - I
[0 us.ed i:cnerally f
r
:;.
t' ezcept In I
\... C,,>k:1s. Boeol,a,
de.
o
fin
o
.
P R R
S
T
VY
x+
I k
lambda '\ I"" \... Attka, I- ^'i:oo.
. "'1 /"'"
nu.. .. \\ t-.t
xi ., .. EE EE
omikron 0 I 0
pi -. .. ì I (
I san (S5) M M T Halicamassu'õ. .
I Teo:>>. Mescllibna.
i :::pa ::
I
I
I s:gma ..
M Crete. Ther
. Melos.
I Argos. Connth. CIC.
tau .. .. T I T
upsilon. .
xi._ ..
"*' Ozo1. Locrts.
"T'" Al'cadta
LATIN.
rew'l . I
an.
_
A IAAA a
B B Bib
( ( ( ( c
D.. [> D D d
k [ II e
f: F II f
[ anew
X Clencl' g
(Ol'med
Crom L]
G H h
@
S, , 1
I< k k
\... \...L 1
IoN M m
f'J N n
@
o 0
r f1 P
M
9 Q
PR RR
I
S $ S
T T
V V
X X
.ii. 52, de Legat. 3, thus classifies hooks: 'Lihrorum appellatione
continentur omnia volumina, sive in charta, sive in memhmna sint, sive in quavis alia
materia j sed et si in philrra aut in tilia, ut nonnulli eonficiunt, aui in quo alio eOI'io,
idem erit dicendum. Quod si in codicilms sint memhrancis vd chartaceis, vel etiam
cboreis, vel aIteriu< matcriae, vel in eel'ati
codicillis, an dehe:lI1tur videamus.'
)IATERIALS D..;ED T() HECEIYE WRITIXG
u
references by clas
ical writers to their employment are not merely
fanciful. There is e\'idence of the custom of r.aaÀtU{.lÓf, or yoting for
ostracism with oliYe-Ieayes. at Syracuse, allli of the similar practice at
Athens under the name of iKcþVÀÀocþopia. I Pliny, Xllt. lli
i. xiii. 11,
writes: 'Antea non fuisse charta rum u
um: in pallllanlln foliis primo
scriptitatulll, deinde quarunrlam arllorum libris.'
Bark
Better a.lapted for writing purposes than leaves was the llark of
trees, I ilia, which we haye just seen name.l hy rlin
', awl the general
use of which cause,l its name to be attache.l to the llook (i.e. the roll)
which was made from it. The inner bark of the lime-tree, cþtÀvpa, til i'l,
\\Wi chosen as most suital,le. Pliny, Xat. Hist. xyi. 11, tlescrihing this
tree, says: · Inter corticem et lignum tenues tunicae sunt multiplici
membrana. e '1uihus yincula tiIiae vocantur tenuissimae earum philyrae.'
It was thcse tlelicate shretls,phil!Jmc, of this inner skin or hark which
formed the writing material. In the enumeration of ditterent kiwIs of
hooks hy )Iartianu<; Capella, ii. 136. those consisting of lime-l,ark are
Iuoted. though as rare: · Rari \"ero in philyrae cortice sul>uotati.'
elpian also, Divest. xxxii. 3:!, mentions' vuhllllina . . . in philyra aut in
tilia.' Rut not only was the bark of the lime-tree used, loUt talllets also
.appear to have been matle from its wood-the 'tili.te pugillares' of
SynmJachus, iv. 3-l: also referre.l to hy Dio Cassius, lxxii. 8. in the
passage: òwò
Ka ypa{.l{.laní:a, oM yt" iK cþtÀvpaf r.OtÚTat. It seems that
rolls matle from lime-Ilark were co-existent at Rome with those made
from papyrus, after the introduction of the latter material; but the
home-made hark must soon have .lisappearecl llefure the impurtell
Egyptian papyrus, which had so many advantages both in quantity and
Iuality to recommellll it. It has rather been the fashion with some
writers to deride the tradition of the employment of bark as a writing
matcrial in Europe. They suggest that it has arisen from papyrus
being ignorantly mistaken for I ,ark. An occasional mistake of the kind
may well have happened. But the references of early writers to the
mplo
Tment of l,ark is not to I,l' lightly disreganlp,1. 2
I TJJe olive-leaf, used in thb ceremOJJY. is also mention(,d, '1,,;1\1\011 f}..aíM, as HIe material
()Il which to inscribe a charm.-Cat. Gk. Papyri in Brit. JIllS, i. Pap, cxxi. 213; and n
bay-leaf is enjoined for the same pU1'po
e in Pap) rus 2:?Oï ill the BibIiothf-f{ue JS'ationa]e.
· See a reference to a copy uf Aralus 011 malva-bark. quoted from Isidore, O,'ig. ,-i. 12, ]JY
Ellis, Com",. on Catr,zll<. vi. 27. 1, 'mappae linteae' occur. The largest
extant example of Etruscan writing, now prescrved in the :Museum at
Agram, is inscrihetl on linen. 2
Cla.y and Pottery
ClaJ' was a most common writing material among the BaLJ'lonians
and Assyrians. The excavations made of late J'cars on the ancient sites
of their great cities have brought to light a whole literature impressefl
on sun-dried or fire-hm'nt bricks awl tahlets. Clay tablets have al!o,o
I.een found in the excavations at Knossos in Crete, ascribed to the
period ahout 1300 B. c. Potsherds came ready to the hand in Egypt.
where earthenware vessels were the most COll11lIOn kind of householfl
utensils. They have been foullli in large numhers, mlUlY inscribed in
Greek with such ephemeral documents as tax and pay receipts. generally
of the period of the Roman occupation. 3 To such inscribed potsherds
has been givcn the title of ol:!trlll,;a, a term which will recall the practice
of Athenian ostracism in which the votes were recorded on such frag-
llwnts. 4 That such material was used in Greece only on such passing
occasions or from necessity is illustrated by the passage in Diogencs
Laertius, ,'ii. 174, which narrates that the Stoic Cleanthes was forced II,}
povcrty to write on potsherds and the shoulder-blades of oxen. Tile
also, UPOll which alphabets or verses were scratchecl with the stilus
1 The Ulpian Library was the Public Record Office of Rome.-J. 'V. Clark, Tlie Care 'if
Bùoks, l!JOl. p. 20.
" It was found cut into strips and used for binding an Egyptian mummy.-Ed. Krall.
ill the Denkschrijten of the Vienna Academy, vol. xli
lS!J2).
3 See autotypes of somo specimens in Pal. Soc. ii. 1, 2.
· Votes for o"tl'llcism at Athens were probably recorded 011 fmgmenb of broken vas""
which had been useel in religious services, and which were given out speciaIly for the
occasion. Three such voting ostraka are known: one is dl.seribed by Benndorf, Gried.. und
sicilische Vasenhilder, tab. xxix. 10; another, fo,' the ostmcism of Xanthippos, the fatl,er of
Pericles (see Aristotle, COliS'. Athens, 61), is noticed by StudnÎC7k", Anlenor tmd arc1lliische
Malerei in Jahrbuch des hais. delllsc/wl arch. IlIslituls, ii ,18ði', WI. Sl'" also the Brit. "f",.
Guide t,. Greek "/ld Romall Lifi', 7.
II
)IATERL\L
r
ED TO HECEl\TE WRITIXG
11
llcfore l,aking. scned occasionally among hoth Greeks and Romans for
cducational purposcs. l
Wall-spaces
It is perhaps straining a term to include the walls of huildings under
the heatl of writing materials; IJut the !}/"(lffiti or wall-scrihhlillg
.
discowrctl in
uch large numhers at Pompeii. 2 hold so important a
placc in the history of early Ltltin palaeography, that it must not J It:'
forgotten that in ancient times, as now. a vacant wall was held to bl'
a verJ' conwnicnt place to present pul,lic notices and appeals or to scrihble
idle words.
Precious Metals
The precious metals were naturally llut !-.clflom usetl as writing
materials. For
uch a purpose, howe,'er, as working a charm, an
occasion when the person spccially intcrested might lIe supposed not to
lIe too niggard in his outlay in onler to attain his emls, we find thin
plates or leans of goltl or sih'er rccommended,3 a practice which is
paralleled hy the crossing of the palm of the hand with a gold or sih'er
coin as enjoined hJT thc gipsy fortUlw-teller.
Lead
Lead was used at an ancient date. Pliny, Xllt. lli::;t. }.,.iii. 11. refer
to' plumhea ,'olumina' as early writing material. Pausanias, ix. 31, 4.
states that at Helicon he saw a lea.lcll plate (fLÓÀt/
ôoç) on which the
"E,JYa of Hesiotl were inscribed. At DuJona tablets of lead lut\'e been
disconred which contain Iluestions put to the oracle. and in some
instances thc answers. 4 An instance of the employment of lead in
corrcspondence occurs in Parthenius, Emtica, cap. g; the story being
that, when the island of Naxos was invatled by the )Iilesians in ;)01 B.C.,
the priestess Polycrite, l,eing in a temple outside the capital city, sent
word to her llrothers, by means of a letter written upon lead and
concealed in a loaf, how they lIlight make a night attack. Lenurmant.
Rlteill. Jfu I'e Ltm, xxii. 276, has described the numerous small leaden
pieces on which are written names of persons, JJeing apparently sol'te",
iwlÙ'Ù,Tiue, or lots for selection of judges, of ancient date. Dinw, or
solemn dedications of offending persons to the infernal deities by, or 011
behalf of, those whom they had injured or ofltmded, were inscrilled
1 F.\csimiles in C. 1. L. iii. U62. The o
tr"kon no. ISï] 1 ill the British Museum i
inscribed with 11. 107-18,128-39 of the Plwenissae of Em'ipitles : see Classical Review, x\ iii.:::!.
TIIA Berlin ostrnkon 4ï5S contains 11. 616-2-1 of till' Hippolytus of Euripitle
.
2 C.1. L. h'.
S Cat. G/... Papyri in Brit. Mus. i. 102. I:::!:!; abo par:yri in till' Bibl. Kationale. :::!:jb.
270;).
228.
, C..rapanL
, Dod'me et se;; Elf;"'" ,H!';S , p. 6
. pI. xxxi, -xl; (.1. L. i. 8]8. 8]
.
12
There are two inscribe(lleaden tablets
found at Bath; the one containing a eurse in Latin on some person who hml
carried off a girl named Yilllia. written in reversed characters: the other
being a Latin letter of the fourth century.6 Of later date is a tablet found
in a grave in Dalmatia, containing a charm against evil spirits, in Latin,
inscribed in cursive letters of the sixth century.î Several specimens
which have been reco"ered from mediae,'al gra,'es prove that the
custom of burying leaden inscrilled plates with the (lead was not
uncomlllon in the mi,hlle ages. s The employment of this metal for such
purposes may have Leen recommended by its supposed durability. But
lead is in fact highly sellsiti n
to chemical action, anI I is lial!le to rapid
disintegration under certain conditions. For the ancient dil'ue it was
proLaUy used because it was common and cheap.
Bronze
Bronze was use,l I10th hy Ureeks and Romans as a material on whieh
to engra,-e votive inscriptions, laws, treaties, and other Iss, }" 2U4.
2 Newton, Discov. at HaliCllrnass't
(1863\ ii. 71U--15; and Collitz and Bechtel, Grieclt.
Dialeht-Inscltriftcn, iii. 238.
3 Soc. BiUical Arc1l<1coiogy. Proceedings. xiii (18:11). pt. h'.
4 Leemans, PaPYI'i Graeei ][oIS. Lugdltll.1885; "'essely, Griech. Zaub.r Pap!!ri, 1888; Cat. Gk.
Paryri in Brit. ]1[118. i. ,-t, etc. Tin plates Werf' also u,..d, Cat. Gk. Pap. i. !n, etc.
· SitzungslJerichte of the Roy. Pnu,sian Academy, 1898, p. [)S=:!.
6 Hermes, xv; Joltrn. Brit. Arch. Assoc. xlii. 410; E. 'Yo B. Nicholson, Yillisius to
Sigm, 190-1. For further notices of inscriptions ÜIl lead see Gal'dthausen, Gliech. Pal. 211<1
ed., 1m]. pr. 26-8.
7 C. 1. L. iii. 961. · 'Yattenhach, Schriftw. 48-51.
11
)L\TERL\LS esE)) TO RECEIYE WlUTIXG
13
ments. These, howe\-er, do not come under present consideration, heing
btrictly epigraphical monumelIts. The only class which we need notice
is that of the Roman militar.r diplomas, those porta1.le ("/'ulue llone.-tac
mil:'l'ionil:', as the.r ha\-e ùeen calle.l, which were given to veteran soldiers
and conferred upon them rights of citizenship and marriage. rpwan1s
of one hnndre.l such document
, or portions of them, i
sued umler the
emperors, ha\-e heen reco\'eret!.l They are intere
ting both palaeo-
graphically, as giving a series of speeinIl'nb of the Roman rustic capital
letters,\! and also for the form which they took, exactly following that
01,serwd in the legal documents preserved in waxed tablets (see 1.elow).
They were, in fact, cod Ù'es in metal. The diploma consisted of two
Stluared plates of the metal, hinged with rings. The authentic deed was
engraHd on the inner side of the two plates, and wa,; repeatell on the
outside of the fir!>t plate. Through two holes a threefoltl wire was passel I
aUtI bound rounel the plates, being sealed on the outsille of the second
plate with the seals of the seven witnesses, whose naines were also
engraveù thereon. The seals were pl"Otected by a strip of metal, attached,
which was sometimes con\"ex to afford lJetter co\'er. In case of the outer
copy heing called in question, reference was made to the deed insitle hy
breaking the seals. without the necessity of going to the official copy kept
in the temple of Augustus at Rome.
The repetition of the deed in one aIllI the same elipluma is paralleled
in some of the AS:;
Tian tahlets, which, after heing inscribed, reeei\'ed an
outer casing of clay on which the cü\'ereù writing was repeated.
Wood
\Y oo<'óYOI' àl'UypácþoP.f:l.. 4 And again a secowl entry of four hoards at the
same price occurs. In some of the waxed tablets lately reco,'cred at
Pompeii the pages which ha"e heen left in the plain wood are inscribell
in ink.':; \Y ooelen tablets were u
ed in schools during the middle ages. G In
En!Tland the custom of u!'ing wooden tallies, inscrilJed a
wel] as notched,
'"
in thc public accounts lastell down to a recent date.
Waxed and other Tablets
But we may assume that as a general rule tal.Iets were coated with
wax 7 from thc ,.cry earliest times in Greece and Rome. Such waxf'fl
tahlet,> were single, doul,le, triple, or of several pieces 01' leans. In
Greek a tablet was ca11ell 7íívuç. 7íWUKí,>, òÉ^ro,>, Òf:ÀTÍov, Òf:ÀTíòwv, 7íVKTÍOI',
T.vçíov, 7ívçíòwv, ypupp.urfÎoI'R; in Latin, Cei\l, to!J'Idu, ta1Je[la. The woollen
1 See Reme li:YW>'owy;r{llC, ii, App,.nd., 51 ; 1'01. Soc. ii. H
.
, De-crihed by Kenyon in JOllrn. Rellmic Sludies, xxix (HI()9 ,
S,
, Pap. Er::lt. Rcdner, vi :lS!), ; 'Yattenhach, Sclt,-ij{.e.91.
· Hangabe, Antiq. Rel/in. 56; Er:ger, Note sllr le prix de popier, etc., in M';m. d'][;81.
Ancien" 110>63.
" Poll. Soc. i. 139. 6 'Yattenb,1Ch, Scltrirtrv. 93 sqq.
7 K"'lPÚ<, cera, 0" "álltJT}, "áMJa. Po:Iux, Onomast. x. 37. in his chapter 7TEp
ß'ßlI;,w nmncs
the composition u 15. 'I'WI' T
7T" aI<Í1i, KT}pÚ<.
"áMJT}. IJ "7.lIfJa. 'Hpú1ioTo< "'1' 'Yàp KT}pÙI' .iPT}K',
KpaT;I'O< 15È fl' TV nUT;I'!7 wíMJ'll' ;<þT}. !lï, 2.......,
;;9.
9r.; T.n) lies,
Vases, 3;5.
· cr. H,,,'ace. Sat. ii. ð. ;jl :
Qui tl'stamentmll tmdet tibi cnnqne legendum
Ahnuc,'e et t.\bu1a" Ii te remo,-ere memento;
Sic tamen, ut limis rapins quid prima sl'cundo
Cern ,"elit va",".
16
GREEK A
J) LA'l'IX P ALAEOGRÁ\.PHY
CHAP.
As to corre",pol1llence, small tal,lets, codicil! i lor jI uy ill" re.
2 were employed
for short letters; longer letters, e/)istolap, were written on papyrus. Thus
Seneca. Ell. 55. 11, makps the distinction: 'Atleo tecum sum. ut dubitem
an incipiam non epistulas se,l codicillos tibi scribere.' The tablets were
sent by me",sengers, tahelhl1'i i, as eXplained hy Festus 3: . TabelIis pro
chartis uteLantur anti(lui, quibus ultro citro. si,'c pri,'atim si,'e puLl ice
opus erat. certiores absentes faciebant. Unde adhuc tahellarii dicuntur.
et tal'ellae mis"ae ab imperatoribu!;.' -1 The answer to the letter might
he inscribed on the same set of taLlets and returned. Lo,'e-If'tters appear
to have been sometimes written on ,'ery small tal.lets. 5 :;\lartial. xi,'.
6. 8, 9, calls such tal,lets ritelliulli. Tal.let", containing letters were
fastene,l with a thread, which was sealed. 6 The materials for letter-
writing are enumerated in the passage of Plautus. Bw'cltide.
, iv. 714
'Ecfer cito . . . stilum, ceram et tabellas, linum'; aUlI the process of
sealing in line 748: 'cedo tu ('cram ac linum actutum. age oLliga. opsigna
cita.' In Cicero, Cedil. iii. 5. we have the opening of a letter: 'TahelIas
proferri iussimus. . . . Primo ostendimus Cethego signum; cogno,'it;
nos linum incidimus: legimus. .. Introductus est Statilius; cognovit
et signum et manum suam.'
The custom of writing letters on tablet", sun'i\"CII for some centuries
after classical times. In the fifth century St. Augustine in his epistle to
Romanianus (l\ligne. Pab'ulvg. hut. xxxiii. 80) makes reference to his
tablets in these words: . Non haec epistola sic inopiam chartae indicat,
ut membranas ",aItem abundare te",tetur. 'l'abelIas eburneas quas habeo
avunculo tno cum litteris misi. Tu enim huic pellicnlae facilius ignu
ces,
quia difierri non potuit quod ei scripsi. et tihi non scril)ere etiam ineptis-
sinHun exi
tinHt,'i. Serl taltellas, si quae ibi nostrae sunt. propter huius-
lI10di necpssitates mittas peto.' St. Hilary of ArIes likewise has the
following passage in his Lifc of Honoratus (Migne , hd,'ul. Lilt. I. 1:!61) :
'Beahm Eucherius cum alt eremo in taLulis, ut assolet, cera iIIitis, in
proxima ab ipso deg.ens insula, litteras eius suscepisset: .. .;\lel," inquit,
,. suum ceris retldidisti.'" Both these passages prove that the custom
was general at the period. E,'cn as late as the year 11-18 a letter' in
tahella' was written "y a monk of Fulda. 7
1 Cicero, Epp. Q. F. ii. 11. 1; Fm/!. iv. U. 2, and vi. 18. 1. See also Catullus, xlii. 11.
2 CatlllIus uses the word pugillaria, xlii. 5.
3 De Vcrborum Signif., ed. r.lüller, p. 359.
· Compare St. Jerome, Ep. \iii 'Nam et rudes illi Italiae homines, ante chartae ef
membrallarllm usum, aut in dl.dolatis 0 ligno codicillis aut in cortÎcilms arborum mutuo
epistolanuu alloquia mÜ,
itab'lIlt. Unde ot portitoro
eorUlll tabellarios et scriptores a
libris arl.or11m librarios voc:l\"cre '.
5 See the drawing in MuseD Borbonico, i. 2.
6 Clay, cretula, was ori
inally U
l.tl: '}'7} (ITlf'uvrpí., Herod. ii. 3:; ; PÚ7TO', Aristoph. Lysis.
1200. Pollux, Onolnllst. x. {ít;.
7 "'altenbach, Schrif/w. ;;3.
II
WAXED TABLETS
17
It will he noticed that St. Augustine refers to his tablets as heing of
ivory. The ancient tablets were ordinarily of common wooù, such as
beech. or fir, or hox, the 'nllgaris buxus' of Propertius (iii. 23); but
they were also made of more expensive material. Two of Martial's
{1]Jopltoreta are 'pugillares citrei' and' pugillares eborei'. Propertius
(l. r.) refers to golden fittings: ':Son ilIas fixum cams effecerat aurum.'
The large consular diptychs. as we know from existing specimens. were
of ivory. often elaborately caITed.
The employment of waxed talllets laste!l for certain purposes through
the midtlle ages in countries of \Vestern Europe. Specimens inscribed
with money accounts of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries have
urvived to the present day in France; 1 awl municipal accounts on
tablets of the fourteenth and fifteenth ccnturies are still presprved in
some of the (ierman towns. They algo exist in Italy,2 dating from the
thirteenth or fourteenth century. They were used in England and also
in Ireland. 3 It is said that quite recently sale,> in the fish-market of
Rouen were noted on waxed tablets. f
Greek Waxed Tablets
Ancient Greek waxed tablets have survived III not many instances.
In the British ::\Iuseum are some which have been founù in Egypt. TI1P
most perfect is a hook (Add.
IS. 33:!iO). perhaps of the third century,
measuring nearly 9 by 7 inches, which consists of seven leaves coateù
on hoth sides with hlack wax and two covers waxed on the inner
side, inscrihed with documents in shorthand, presumably in Greek, and
with shorthand signs wI.itten repeate(I1y, as if for practice, and with
notes in Greek; in one of the covers a groO\-e is hollowed for the
reception of the writing implements. Another smalJer book, of about
7 by 4 inches, formcd of six lea\"es (Add. :liS. 33368), is inscrihpd,
probably hy some schoolboy of the third century, with grammatical
exercises and other notes in Greek, and also with a rough drawing,
perhaps meant for a caricature of the schoolmaster. There are also two
tablets inscribed with verses in Greek uncial writing, possibly some
1 See Recueil des lIzstonens des Gaules, xxi (IS=>=>'., 28!. xxii ,185:>\ 480 ; Mém. de l'Acad.
xviii (2nd series), 536; Bibl. Éco
des Charles, xi. 393. A' IIlémoire tOllchant "usage d.écrire
sur des tablettes de cire', by the Abbé Lebeuf, is printed in Mém. de l'Acad. xx (1753), 267.
A tablet of accounts, of about the )'ear 1300, from Cite.lUx Abbey, is in the BI.itish
Museum, Add. MS. 33215; printed by H.Omont in Bull. SO". Nat. des .Anliq. de Fm7\ce,
1889, p.
S3. Four tablets, of the fourteenth century, found at Beauvai.., are in the
Bibliothèque Nationali!.-.Acad. des Inscriptions, Comptes rendus, 1887, p HI.
2 See Milani, Sei Tat'olelle cerate, in Puhbl. del R. IstituJo (Ii S'udi Superiori, 1877.
. A mediaeval waxed tahlet, belonging to the ROJal It-i
h Å' .lllem:r, is exhibited in
the
.ltional Museum, Dublin.
· 'Vattenbach, Sch'"iftw. !o9.
l1B4
C
18
GREEK A
D LATIX PALAEOGRAPHY
CHAP.
literm-y sketch or a schou] exercise. 1 Two others of a similar nature have
been more recently acquired, the one containing a writing exercise, the
other a multiplication table. The Bodleian Library has also purchased
a waxed tahlet (Gr. Inscr. 4) on which is a writing exercise. OtherR are
at Paris; some containing scribLled alphabets and a contractor's accounts,
which were found at l\lemphis. 2 Seven tablets of the third century.
inscribe(l with fallles of Bahrius (a school exercise), are at Leyden. 3 In
Kew York is a set of five tahlets, on which are verses, in the style of
Menamler, set as a copy by a writing-master and copied l,y a pupil.'"
Other Rpecimens of a similar character are at Marseilles, the date of
which can be fh:ed at the end of the third or beginning of the fourth
century; Ó and the last leaf of a document founù at Yerespatak is at
Karlsburg. G At Gene'"a there is a tahlet of the sixth century containing
accounts, and ,.erses of Psalm xci, prohahly a charm.'
Latin Waxed Tablets
Extant Latin tablets are more numerous, but ha,.e only been found in
comparatively recent years. s Twenty-five, containing deeds ranging in
date from A.D. 131 to 167, were recovered, hetween the years 1786 and
1853, from the ancient mining works in the neighhourhood of Alburnu&
)Iajor, the modern Verespatak. in Dacia. In 1840 _!\Iassmann published
the few whieh had at that time been rliscoveretl, in his Libellw5 A'lt
'(tTi11.",
hut the a(lmission into his book of two umloubtedly spurious doeumtnts
cast suspicion on the rest, which were accordingly denounced until the
fi.nding of other tablets prm"ed their gpnuineness. The whole collection
is gi,.en in the Cm'lHH5 IntJcl'iptionltm Latin01'lL'1n, yol. iii.
During the excavations at Pompeii in July, 1875, a box containing
127 waxed taLlets, of the years A.D. 15, 27,53-62, WaS discovered in the
house of L. Caeci]ius Jucundus. They proved to be pe1'SCTiptione8 and
other deeds connected with auctions and tax-receipts.!!
I See Verhandl. der Philoloyen-T'el'satnml. Zit Jnirzbw'g, 18(j(), p. 239.
2 Rerue Arclu!ol. viii. 461, 470. S JOllm. Hellen. Studies, xiii (]893ì, 293.
. Proceedings of the American Acad. of Arts and Sciences, iii. 371.
. AnnuaÜ-e de la Soc. Franç. de lÚ(lnis?>l. et (l'Archéol. iii.lxxi-lxx\"ii. 6 C. 1. L. iii. 933.
7 J. Nicole, Textes yrecs inédits de Geni:re, 1909.
8 In addition to the two collections descrihed in the text, a waxed diptych, recording
thl' m:mumission of a feml11e slave, A.D, 221, which was found in Egypt and was recently
in possession of the late Lord Amher"t of Hackney, l\l1s been described by S. de Ricci in
Proceedings Soc. Bibl, Archaeology, xxvi (1904); and a leaf of a diptych, containing a veteran's
discharge, A.D. 94, also from Egypt, is noticed in The Year's Work in Classical Studies (Classicnl
Association), 1911, p. 91.
9 Afti della R. Accademia dei Lincei, s;>r. ii, vol. iii, pt. 3 1875 6 . PI'. 150-230; Hermes.
xii (]877), 88-]41; and Overbeck, Pompeii, 4th ed. by Mau (1884), 489 sqq. The whole
collection has been edited by Zangemeister in the C. I. L. iv, Supplementum (1898). See
Pal. Soc. i. 159.
II
"'AXED L\.BLET:::i
19
The recovery of so many !->pecimens of Latin tahlets has atfonle(l
sufficient means of understanding the mechanical arrangement of such
documents among the Homans. Like the military tabtdae lwncl'tae
'lni
siolli8, they contained the deed under seal awl the duplicate copy open
to inspection. But most of them consi:,;t of three leaves: they are
triptychs, the third Jeaf being of great sClTice in gi,"ing cover to the
seals. The Pompei an and Dttcian tablets differ from one another in some
particuJars; but the general arrangement was as follow:,;. The triptych
was made from one block of wood, cloven into the three required pieces
or leaves, which were held together hy strings or wires passing through
two holes near the edge and sen"ing for hinges. In the Pompeian
tablets, one side of each leaf (that is. pages :?, 3, and 5) was sunk within
a frame, the hollowed space heing coated with wax, while the outside of
the triptych (that is, pages 1 amI 6) was Jt'ft plain. On page 4 a vertical
groO\oe was cut down the centre to receive the witnesses' seak aIllI the
surface of the page was generally left plain; but in some instances it
was waxed on the right, in some on Iloth the right and the left, of the
groove. On pages 2 and 3 was inscrihed the authentic deed, and the
first two lea,'es were then hound rounù with a string of three twisted
threads, which passed along the groove and was held in place by two
notches cut in the edges of the leaves at top and bottom. The
witnesses' seals were then sunk in the groove, thus further securing
the string, and their names were written on the right, either in ink
or with the stilus. An al,stract or copy of the deed was inscrihed
on page 5, and was thus left open to inspection. The Dacian
tablets differed in this respect, that page 4 was also waxed, and that
the copy of the deed was commenced on that page in the space on
the left of the groove, the space on the right bping filled, as usual,
with the witnesses' names. Further, the string was passed, as an
atlditional security, through two holes, at top and bottom of the
groO\"e, in accordance with a sellal1.t8 con::>'tdtum of A. D. 61, instead of
being merely wound round the leaves as in the case of the Pompeian
tablets. 1
I The practice of closing the authentic deed and leaving tho copy only open to
inspection is paralleled by the Babylonian and Assyrian usage of enclosing the tablet
on which a contract or other deed was inscribed within a casing or shell of clay, on which
an abstract or copy of the document was also written for public in'pection. A similat.
usage obtained among the Greeks in Egypt, and by inference, as it may be presumed, in
Hellas itself. Deeds of the early Ptolemaic period have survived, written on pap)rus in
duplicate, the upper deed (the original) being rolled up, folded in two, and sealed, the
lower copy being left open.-O. Rubensohn, Elephantine Papyri (in .A.egypt. U..kundm aus den
kgl. Musem in Berlin), 1907. In the British lIIuseum papyri Nos. 879,881-8, 1204. 1206-9,
second and first centuries B.C., the dockets written in the margins have been similarly
rolled up and sealed.
c 2
20
GREEK AND LATIN PALAEOGRAPHY
The following diagram shows the arrangement of a Dacian triptych:
1
Y
.
.
!
0 b 0
.3
Ð e
..
I - + ."" I
0
5
0 0 0
Copy of dud
ds
0
2
0
I "'''' + "9'.' I
0 0 0
+
o
Names
eop'y of dæd g of "Wìt-
be91
'? n
Je.s
.. ..
0
6
0 ø
0
..
It will lIe noticed that, although the string which closed the tleed
{as indicated by dotted lines) passed through the holes of only two of
the leaves, yet the third leaf (pages;) and 6) is also perforated with
corresponding holes. Thi
seems to show that the holes were first
pierced in the solid block, before it was cloven into thrce, in onler that
they might afterwards adjust themselves accurately.' In one instance
the fastening threaùs ancl seals still remain. 2
In the Pompeian series were found about a dozen diptychs. These
were waxed only on the inner pages, :! and 3, and no groove was cut for
the seals, which were thcrefore impresl:5ed ou the flat surface. It is
interesting to tiud that tablets of this series have dockets ou the edges,
proving that they were droppctl \'ertically into the l,ox in which they
were kept.
I See C. I. L. iii. !J
2.
2 I1Jid. 938.
CHAPTER III
)IATERIALS "l'"SED TO RECEIVE WRITIXG (continued)
\VE now have to examine the history of the more common writing-
materials of the ancient world and of the middle a6e.
, viz. papyrus.
vellum, and paper.
Papyrus
The papyrus plant, Cypel'1Ls P(Lpyrus, which supplied the substance
for the great writing material of the anciE'nt worlll, was wi,lely cu1ti\ ated
in the Delta of Egypt. From this part of the country it has now
vanished, but it still grows in X ubia and Abyssinia. ThE'ophrastus,
Hist. Plallt. iv. 10, states that it also grew in Syria; and Pliny adds
that it was native to the Kiger and Euphrates. Its Greek name 1Tá1TVPO
,
whence Latin pa}J!JI'us, was probably deri\"ed from one of its ancient
Egyptinn names. Herodotus, our most ancient authority for any.letails
of the purposes for which the plant was employed, always calls it ßVI3Ào'.i
(also written /3[
Ào
). Theophrastus describes the plant as one which
grows in the shallows to the height of six feet, with a triangular and
tapering stem crowne,l with a tufted head: the root striking out at right
angles to the stem and being of the thickness of a man's wrist. The
tufted heads were used for gal'lands in the temples of the gods; of the
wood of the root were made \"arious utensils; and of the stem, the pith
of which was also used as food, a variety of articles, including writing
material, were manufactured: caulking yarn, ship",' rigging, light skiff."
shoes, etc. The cable with which rlJ"sses bound the doors of the hall
when he slew the suitors was Ó1TÀOV ßVßÀU'Ol' (OdYSli. xxi. 390).
As a writing material papyrus was employed in Egypt from the
earliest times. l>apyrus rolls are represented on the sculptured walls of
Egyptian temples; and roBs themselves exist of immense antiquity.
A papJTus containing accounts of King Assa, about 3500 B.C., is extant; 1
another famous roB is the Papyrus Prisse, at Paris, which contains the
copy of a work composed in the reign of a king of the fifth dynasty and
is itself of about the year :!500 B.C. or earlier. The dry atmosphere of
Egypt has been specially fa\"ourable to the preservation of these fragile
documents. Buried with the dead, they have lain in the tombs or
swathed in the folds of the lllulllmy-cloths for centuries, untouched by
decay, and in many instances remain as fresh as on the day when they
were written.
I Petrie, Hist. Egypt, i. 81.
2:.!
GREEK AXD LATI
PALAEOGRAPHY
CHAP.
Among the Greeks the papyrus material manufactured for writing
purposes was called XápT1j!; (Latin duo.ta) as well as hy the names of the
plant itself. Herodotus, v. 58, refers to the early use of papyrus rolls
among the Ionian Greeks, to which they attached the name of Òtcþelpm,
'skim;: the writing material to which they hall hcfore heen accustomf'd.
Their neighbours, the Assyrians, were also acquainted with it. 1 'rhey
called it 'the reed of ]
gypt'. There is a recorded instance of papyrus
being sent from Egypt to Phoenicia in the ele\'enth century n.c. l An
inscription relating to the expenses of the rebuilding of the Erechtheml1
at Athens in the )'ear 407 B. c. shows that papyrus was used for the fair
copy of the rough accounts, which were first inscribed on tablets. Two
rolls, XápTat òVo, cost at the rate of a drachma and two obols each, or
a little over a shilling of our 111oney.3 There can hardly be a doubt,
then, that this writing material was also used in Athens for literary
purpo<;es as early as the fifth century B. c.
The period of its first importation into Italy i:,; not known. The
story of its introduction by Ptolemy, at the suggestion of Aristarchus, is
of suspicious authenticity.4 But there can be little hesitation in assuming
that it was employed as the vehicle for Latin literature almost from the
first. \Ve know that papyrus was plentiful in Home under the Empire,
and that it had at that period become so il1llispensable that a temporary
failure of the supply in the reign of Tiberius threatened a general
interruption of the business of daily life. ó Pliny also, ...Yat. Hit!t. xiii. 11,
refers to its high social value in the words: 'papyri natura dicetur, cum
chartae usu maxime humanitas vitae con stet, certe memoria,' and again
he llescribes it as a thing' qua constat immortalitas hominum'.
It is probable that papyrus was imported into Italy alreally
manufactured; for it is douhtful whether the plant grew in that
country. Strabo, indeed, says that it was found in Lake Trasimene
and other lakes of Etruria; hut the accuracy of this statement has been
disputed. Still, it is a fact that there was a manufacture of this writing
material carried on in Rome, the clUlr[(t FannÙtna being an instance; but
it has heen asserted that this industry was confined to the remaking uf
imported material. The more brittle condition of the Latin papyri, as
compared \"lith the Greek papyri, found at Herculaneum, has been
ascrihed to the IletrilllPutal effect of this remanufacture.
I In the A"syri:m wall-sculptures in the British Museum there arc two scenes (nos. 3
and 84) in which two couples of scribes are rep,'esented taking notes. In each case one of
the scribes is using a folding tablet :the hinges of one being distinctly represcntell), anù
the othe,' a scroll. The scroll may be eithe,' papyms 01' leathe,'.
2 Zeitsc1l.jiir <Ïgypt. Sprache, xxxviii '1900), 1.
S See above, p. 14. · See below, p. 29.
5 Pliny, Nat. Hist. xiii. 13 'Sterilitatem sentit hoc quoque, factumque iam Tiberio
I,,'incipe inopia chartae, ut e senatu darenhu' arbitl"Ï dispensam1is; alias in tumultu
vita emt'.
III
I>APYHrS
3
At a later period the Sp'ian nlriety of the plant was grown in Sicily,
where it was probably introducell during the Arab occupation. It was
seen there hy the Arab tra,'cller, lbn-Haukal, _\.. D. Di:!-3, in the neigh-
hourhood of Palermo, where it throve in great luxuriance in the shallows
of the Papireto, a stream to which it gave its name. Paper was made
from this source for the use of the Emir; hut in the thirteenth century
the plant began to fail, and it was finally extinguished by the Ilraining
of the stream in 15tH. It is :-.till, howe,"er, to be seen growing in the
neighbourhood of Syracuse, ùut was proùably tnmsplanted thither at
a later timê, for no mention of it in that place occurs earlier than 16í-!.
:O;ome attempts ht\\"e been made in recent years to manufacture a writing
material on the pattern ot.the ancient clwda from this Sicilian plant. 1
The manufacture of the writing material, as practised in Eg;ypt, is
described ùy Pliny, X/It. H i.
t. xiii. 1:2. His description applies specially
to the system of his own day; ùut no douùt it was essentially the same
as had been followed for centuries. His text is far from clear, amI
there are consequently many divergences of opinion on diftèrent points.
The stem of the plant, after removal of the rind, was cut longitudinally
into thin strips (phil?Ji'ae,
ci8
1t1'((e) with a sharp cutting instrument
described as a needle (acuB). The old idea that the strips were peeled oft'
the inner core of the stem is now abandoned, as it has been shown that
the plant, like other reeds, contains a cellular pith within the rind, which
was all used in the manufacture. The central strips were naturally the best,
being the hroadest. The strips thus cut were laid vertically upon a board,
side hy side, to the requirell width, thus forming a layer, se/wla, across
which another layer of shorter strips was laid at right angles.:.! The upper
surface thus formed became the recto, the under surface the ve1'
O, of the
finished sheet; and the 1'CCtO received a polish. Pliny applies to the process
the phraseology of net or basket making. The two layers formell a' net',
plagula, or ' wicker', ("j'ates, which was thus' woven ',te..âtU1'. In this
process
lle water was used for moistening the whole. The special men-
tion of this particular water has caused some to believe that there Were
adhesive properties in it which acted as a paste or glue on the material;
others, more reasonably, have thought that water, whether from the
:Nile or any other source, solved the glutinous matter in the strips and
thus caused them to adhere. It seems, however, mon.
proùable that paste
I See G. Cosentino, La Carla di Papiro, in Arcltit:io Storico SicIliano, :X. S.
iv. 134-64.
Birt, Antikes Buchlcesen, 229 }ollowed by Tl"aube and others), applies the word scÌlella
or seida to a strip. But Pliny distinctly uses the word pltilyrae for the strips, although he
elsewhere describes the inner bark of the lime tree by this Dame; nnù scheda fOl' a layer,
i.e. a .,heet of strips. .Änothe,' Dame fo,' the strips was inae. Bi,.t with others) aho
lIIelidation of philyru..
24
GREEK AXD LATIX PALAEOGRAPHY
CHAP.
was actuallJ- useeJ.1 The sheets were finally hammered and dried in the
sun. 2 Rough or uneven places were ruhhed down with ivory or a smooth
shell. 3
loisture lurking between the layers was to be detected by stroke
of the mallet. Spots, stains, and spongy strips (taeniae). in which the ink
would run, were defects which also had to he encounterel1.4
The sheets were connected together with paste to form a roll, amI in
this process recei,'ed the name of KOÀ.À.1íJJ.um; but not more than twenty
was the prescribed number. There are, however, rolls of more than
twenty sheets, so that, if Pliny's reading vicinae is correct, the number
was not constant in all times. 1\1oreover, an author need not be limited
in the length of his 1 look, and could increase the roll by adding more
. sheets; but, of course, he would avoid making. it inconveniently bulky.
A length of papyrus, however, as solll by the stationers, called a ficapu><,
consisted apparently of twenty KOÀ.À.1íJJ.um, p[({YIIZIfC or t;;C!wlacf' The
workman who fastened the sheets together was the KOÀ.À.1]ní
or gZutinatu/'.
The outside of the roll was naturallJ' that part which was more exposed
to risk of damage and to general wear and tear. The best sheets were
therefore reserved for this position, those which lay nearer the centre
or end of the rolled-up roll not being necessarily so good. Besides, the
ewl of a roll was not wanted in case of a short text, and might be cut
away. A protecting strip of papyrus was often pasted along the margin
at the beginning or end of a roll, in order to give additional strength
to the material and prevent it tearing."
The first sheet of a papyrus roll was called the 7rpWTÚKOÀ.À.O
', a term
which still survi,'es in diplomacy; the last sheet was called the faxuTo-
KÓÀÀ.WV. Among the Romans the protocol-sheet was inscribed with the
name of the Comes largitionum, who bad the control of the manufacture,
and with the date and name of the place where it ,vas made. Such
certificates, styled 'protocols', were in vogue both in the Roman
amI Byzantine periods in Egypt. They were in ordinary practice cut
away; but this curtailment was forbidden in legal documents by the
I Birt, 231, points out, in regard to PlinJ's wo,'ds, 'tm'Lidus liquOl' ,im glutinis
praebet,' that' glutinis' is not a genithe but a dative, Pliny ne'er using the word
, g] uten ., but' glutinuln ..
2 It appea,'s that afte,' bcing in'cl"ihcd the papY"us ,'cceivcd a second hamme,'ing, if a
passage in Ulpian, 'liLri perscripti, nondum malleati' (Dig. xxxii. 52. 1) , m"y bear that
meaning.-Birt, Buchrolle. But this practice would apply only to ,'olls intended for the
market, which would need a finbhing touch.
3 lIlartial, xi\. 209 :
Levis ab aequOl'ca cortex Mareotica concha
Fiat; inotfen
a currit harundo via.
· Pliny, Episl. viii. 15 'quae (chartae) si scahmc bilmlaeve
int', &c.
5 'VattenIJach, Bucltw. 99; Kenyon, Palaeogr. of Gk. Papyri, 18.
G "Tilcken, in lIennes, xxiii. 466. See the Ha....is Home,', Bl"It. Mus. p'IPY"us cvii. A
Ch'cck documcnt of A. D. 209 is similal"ly protected with a st.'ip of vellum.-Royal Pm"si.tU
Academy, Sitz1tllgsber. 1!J10, p. ílO.
III
P APYRn..;
25
laws of Justinian.! After their conquest of Egypt in the seventh
century, the Arahs continued the manufacture of papyrus amI also
affixed protocols to their rolls. X 0 Roman protocol has hitherto
come to light. The few extant specimens of the Byzantine period are
written in a curious, apparently imitative, script formed of rows of
close-set perpendicular strokes. This script may possibly be an attempt
of scribeH to copy older, Roman, protocols, the meaning of which had
been forgotten. The normal protocol of the Arab lwriod consists of
bilingual inscription,., in Greek and Arabic, accompaniell with sections
or blocks 01 the above-mentioned imitati'-e script ranged to right and
left, as if ornaments to fill spaces in the lines. 2
With regard to the height of papyrus rolls, those which .late from
the earliest period of Egyptian history are short, of about 6 inches;
later they increase to 9, 11, and even ahove 15 inches. The height of
the early Greek pap'p'i of Homer and Hyperitles in the British )luseulll
runs generally from
) to l:.! incheH; the papyrus of Bacchylides
measures under 10 inches.
From Pliny we learn that there were various qualities of writing
material made from papyrus and that they ditfered from one another in
size. It has however Leen found that extant specimens do not tally
with the figures that he gives; but an ingenious explanation has heen
proposed,3 that he refers to the breallth not to the height of the in-
dividual sheets, KOÀ.À.líp.am, which make up the roll. The best kitH1.
formed from the broadest strips of the plant, wa') originally the clw1'la
/I iemti.ca, a name which was afterwanls altered to ALI!Justlt out of
flattery to the Emperor Augustus. The clwrtlt Liâu, or second qualit
.,
was named after his wife. The ltiei'atica thus descended to the third
rank. The .A'll!Ju
t(t and Liria were 13 digits, or about 9! incheH, wide;
the ltieratÙa 11 digits or H inches. The cl/w.ta am/J1Útltcatrica, of
9 digits or 6! inches, took its title from the principal place of its
manufacture, the amphitheatre of Alexandria. The clao.tt( RtlmiwLa
was apparently a variety which was remade at Rome, in the workshops
of a certain F.mnius, from the (l)/llJltitlLCldrlw, the wiLlth heing increased
by about an inch through pressure. The Baltica was a common variety,
nalIIed after the city of Sais, being of about 8 digits or 5;} inches.
1 'Tab"Iliones non "c,'ibant instrumenta in aliis cha,.tis quam in his quae protocolla
habent, ut tarnen p,"Otûcollum tale sit, quod habeat nomen gloriosis"imi comitis largitionum
et tempus quo charta facta est.'-Kot"ell. xliv. 2.
2 Pl"Ofessor von Ka.-abacek has attempted to pro\e that the enigmatic writing contains
traces of Latin: Sitzungsbericltte of the Vienna Academy, 1908. His vie"", are disputed by
C. H. Becke,', Zeitsch. fii,' Assyriologie, xx. 97, xxii. 1G6; and by H. I. Bell, ArchiÐ für
Papyrusforschung, v. 143. Se\eral specimens of Byz.mtine and Al"ab protocol" aI'e in tho
Britibh Museum. S.e Cat. Gk. Pap. in Brif. Mus. iv; New Pal. Soc. 17..
3 Birt, Ant. Bltcllw. 25] sqq.
26
GREEK AX]) L-\.TIX PAL-\.EOGRAPHY
('HAP.
l"inally, there were the Tac,âotica-which was said to luwe taken its
name from the place where it was made, a tongue of land (TULl'íu) near
Alexandria-and the common packing-paper, eltaJta empol'etica, neither
of which was more than 5 inches wide. :\Iention is made hy Isidore,
E(/I//IOI. vi. 10, of a quality of papyrus called CO/'/leliana, which was
first made under C. Cornelius Gallus when prefect of Egypt. But the
name may have tlisappeared from the vocabulary when Gallus fell into
llisgrace. l Another kind was manufactured in the rei/:,'11 of Claudius,
and on that account was named Claudia. It was a made-up material,
combining the Auyu
tlt and Liâa, to provide a stout substance. Finally,
therc was a large-sized quality, of a cubit or nearly 18 inches in willth,
called '1l1acrocolloll. Cicero made use of it (En). od ...-1ttic. xiii. 25:
xvi. 3). An examination of existing specimens seems to show that the
KOÀÀ.
fJ.UTa range chiefly he tween Rand 12 inches in willth, the larger
number being of 10 inches. Of smaller sizes, a certain proportion are
between 5 and 6 inches. 2
Yarro, repeated hy Pliny, xiii. 11, makes the extraonlinary statement
that papyrm; writing material was first made in Alexander's time. He
may have been misled from having found no reference to its use in
pre-Alcxandrine authors; or he may have meant to say that its first
free manufacture was only of that date, as it was previously a govern-
mcnt monopoly.
Papyrus continued to be the ordinary writing material in Egypt to
a comparatively late periOll; 3 it was eventually superseded by the
excellent paper of the Arabs. In Latin literature it was gradually
displaced in the early centuries of our era by the growing employment
of velhun, which, hy the fourtÌl century had practically superseded it.
]jut it still lingered in Europe under various conditions. Long after
vellum had become the principal writing material, especially for literary
purpuses, papyrus continued in use, particularly for ordinary documents,
such as letters. St. Jerome, Ep. vii, mentions vellum as a material for
letters, . if papyrus fails'; and St. Augustine, Ep. xv, apologizes for
usiug vellum instead of papyrus. A fragmentary epistle in Greek,
sent apparently hy the Emperor, l\lichael II or Theophilus, to Louis Ie
Débonnaire between 8t4 and 839, is presen-ell at Paris. 4 A few
fragments of Greek literary papyri written in Europe in the early
middle ages, containing BiJ,lical matter and portions of Graeco-Latin
glussaries, ha ,-e also sun-i verI.
I Bi,.t, Ant. Blleilic. 250.
2 \'". Schub:lrt, Das Buc" bei den G,.ieclten IlIld Rümel?l.
" The middle of the tenth centm'y is the period when it ]I:\S heen c:llculated the manu-
f:lctlll'e of p:lPP'us in Egypt ceased.-Kamb:lcek, Das ambisclt
Papie,., in Jlit'lteilllllgul (lUS
de,' Snmmlllllg de. Papynu E,.zherzog Raille.', ii-iii It'8;, 98.
· H. Omont ill ReI'. .trcltiolvgiqlle, xix (1892', 31'1.
111
KISS
27
For purely Latin literature papyrus was also occasionally used in the
\r est during the middle ages. Examples, mmle up in codex fOrIH. some-
times with a few vellum leaves incorporated to give staLility, are found
in different libraries of Europe. They are: The Homilies of St. Avitus,
of the sixth century. at Paris; Sermons ami Epistles of :::;t. AUf.,'11stine, of
the sixth or se,-enth century, at Paris amI Gene,'a: works of Hilary, of the
ixth century, at \ïenna; fragments of the Digests, of the sixth century,
<1t Pommersfeld; the Antiquities of Josephus, of the se' enth century, at
3lilan; an Isidore, of the sewnth century, lit st. Gall. At 3Iunich.
also, is the register of the Church of Rawnna, written on this material
in the tenth century. lIany papyrus tlocul11ents in Latin, tlating from
the fifth to the tenth century, ha,'e sunivetl from the archives of
Ra,-enna; and there are extant fraf,'1nents of two imperial rescripts
written in Egypt, apparently in the fifth century, in the Roman
chancery hantl which is otherwise unknown. In the papal chancery,
following the usage of the imperial court of Byzantium, papyrus appears
to have been employed down to the mithlIe of the eleventh century.
Twenty-three papal bulls on this material have surviyetl, ranging from
A. D. fH9 to 10:.!:!.! In France papyrus was in common use in the sixth
century.2 rmler the :Meroyingian kings it was used for official docu-
ments: sewral papyrus deeds of their period, tlated from 6:.!:J to 6ï3,
IJeing still preser'iCtl in the French archiYes.
Skins
The skins of lUlimals are of such a duraLle nature that it is no matter
for surprise to find that they have IJeen appropriate!l as writing material
hy the ancient nations of the worlei. They were in use among the
Egyptians as early as the time of Cheops, in the fourth dynasty,
loeuments written on skins at that period IJeing referred to or copied in
papyri of later date. 3 Actual specimens of skin rolls from Egypt still
xist which date back to some 1500 years B. c. But the country which
not only manufactured but also exported in abundance the writing
material made from the papyrus plant hardly needed to make use of
other material. and skin-rolls writtefl in Egypt must, at all times,
have heen rare. In \r e!'tern Asia the practice of writing on skins was
douhtless hoth ancient anti widespread. The Jews made use of them
for their sacretl books, amI, proLaLly also for their other literature; to
the present day they employ them for their synagogue-rolls. It may be
presumetl that their neighhours the Phoenicians also availed themselves
of the same kind of writing material. The Persians inscribetl their
1 H. Omûnt, Bul/es POlltif. sllr p(ll'ynls, in l;'ibl. École onable to a<:sume
that an
- skin of suitable (luality would be brought under manufacture.
But. in the course of time, a distinction arose between the COJ.rser and
finer qualities of prepared skins; and, while parchment made from
ordinary skins of sheep and goats continued to bear the name, the finer
material produced from the calf or kit!, or even from the newly-born or
still-born calf or lamb, came to be generally known as vellum. The
material of the skin manuscripts of the middle ages heing generally of
the finer kiml, it has come to he the practice to describe them as of
vellum, although in some instance3 they ma
. be really composed
of parchment. The modern process of manufacture, washing, liming,
scraping, stretching, rubbing with chalk and pumice, probahly differs
but little in principle from the ancient system.
As to the early use of vellum I1.mong the Greeks and Romans, little
evidence is to be obtained from the results of excavations. No specimens
have been recovered at Herculaneum or Pompeii, and very few of early
.late in Egypt. There can, however, be little doubt that it was imported
into Rome umler the Republic. The general account of it,> introduction
thither-c\'idently suggested by Yarro's earlier story of the first use of
it-is that Ptolemy, at the suggestion of Aristarchus the grammarian,
h..'tving sent papyrus to Rome, Crates the grammarian, out of rivalr.r,
induced Attalus of Pergamum to sew I yellum. 2 References to the page8
of certain municipal deeds seem to imply that the latter werè inscribed
iu books, that is. in vellum )I
S., not on papp'us rolls. s When Cicero,
Epp. ad Attic. xiii. 24, uses the word òLcþ8ÉpUL, he also seems to refer to
vellum. The a(h'antages of the vellum book over the papyrus roll are
obvious: it was in the more convenient form of the code.r: it could be
rewritten; and the leaves coultl receive writing on both sides. .:\Iartial
enumerates, among his Apopllu1'eta, vellum )188. of Homer (xiv. 184),
Yirgil (186), Cicero (188), Livy (190), and Ovill (192).-1 Yellum tablets
began to take the place of the tabulae ceratae, as appears in Martial,
xiv. 7 . Esse puta ceras, licet haec membrana vocetur: Dðlebis, quotiens
I Bi,.t, Ant. Buehw. 41.
2 Boissonade, Aneeå. i. 420.
S Mommsen, Inser. Neapol. 6828; Annali de:Z' Inst. )858', xxx. 19:!; M.uqua,'dt, Prirat-
leben