Handwriting
Structure & Materials
Special Collections holds many thousands of handwritten objects. These are found thoughout collections and can be written in different languages and in varied styles of script. The language or style of script may depend on the period in which the object was written, but can also reveal the function of the object.
Although most material in Special Collections is in English, manuscripts from early and medieval periods are in Latin, while documents dating from high and later medieval periods might be written in Old and Middle English, or in other Old European vernaculars.
Researchers can tell a lot about the status of writers from their style of handwriting. Different styles can convey whether someone was well-born and educated; or if they worked for a living. Handwriting may also tell us about the circumstances of a document's production. Handwriting that looks rushed might imply a document produced under pressured circumstances, or suggest that the text was only meant to be read by the writer.
