Greek Palaeography and Byzantine Book Culture

Lists resources on the history of Greek handwriting in Byzantine manuscripts (palaeography), including the study of manuscripts as physical artifacts (codicology).

Palaeography and Codicology: Manuals, Handbooks, Introductions

Barbour, R. Greek Literary Hands, A. D. 400-1600. Oxford; New York: Clarendon Press, 1981.
Brown, Michelle. Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts: A Guide to Technical Terms. Revised by Elizabeth C. Teviotdale and Nancy K. Turner. Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2018.
Canart, P. Paleografia e codicologia greca: una rassegna bibliografica. Città del Vaticano : Scuola vaticana di paleografia, diplomatica e archivistica, 1991.
Oikonomides, N. Abbreviations in Greek Inscriptions: Papyri, Manuscripts, and Early Printed Books.Chicago: Ares Publishers, 1974.
Perria, Lidia. Graphis : per una storia della scrittura greca libraria, secoli IV a.C.-XVI d.C. Rome: Università degli studi di Roma "Tor Vergata" ; Città del Vaticano : Biblioteca apostolica vaticana, 2011.
Wilson, N. G. Medieval Greek Hands: Examples Selected from Greek Manuscripts in Oxford Libraries. 2 vols. Cambridge, Mss.: Medieval Society of America, 1973.
Wilson, N. G. "Greek Palaeography." In The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies, edited by Elizabeth Jeffreys, John Haldon and Robin Cormack, 101-114. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
La paléographie grecque et byzantine : Paris, 21-25 octobre, 1974 : [actes du Colloque / organisé par Jean Glénisson, Jacques Bompaire et Jean Irigoin].⁩ Paris : Éditions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1977.

Online Tools

Greek Paleography: From Antiquity to the Renaissance [by T. Janz]
This site offers an excellent overview of the history of Greek palaeography, including numerous examples illustrating each script.
Pinakes | Πίνακες. Textes et manuscrits grecs
An online database of records of Greek manuscripts before the 16th century, including digited manuscripts available online.
Thesaurus Linguae Graecae (TLG): A Digital Library of Greek Literature
A digital corpus of Greek literary texts from Homer (8th c. B.C..) to the fall of Byzantium in 1453.
The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Ed. Elizabeth Jeffreys, John Haldon and Robin Cormack. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
It includes discussions by leading experts on all significant Byzantine history and culture topics from the 4th to the 14th centuries.
The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, edited by Alexander P. Kazhdan. 3 vols. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.
Including more than 5,000 entries by an international group of eminent historians, this is the standard research tool on 1,100 years of Byzantine history.

Last Updated: Jun 30, 2025 10:16 AM

Subjects: Humanities

Tags: classical studies