This session will focus on manuscripts made in England before the Norman Conquest, with a brief excursus beyond 1066 to look at further developments in English vernacular writing. The main emphasis will be on script, and on books written in Old English, although Latin ones will not be neglected entirely. We'll look at the development of handwriting in Anglo-Saxon England, its relationship with book decoration and other aspects of manuscript production, the use of different scripts for different purposes, and the connections with cultural and intellectual developments in pre-Conquest England. Different practices in Latin and Old English will be covered, finishing with the afterlife of vernacular usages in Middle English.

Bibliography:
Michelle P. Brown, Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts (British Library, 1991);
Jane Roberts, Guide to Scripts used in English Writings up to 1500 (British Library, 2005);
Alex Rumble, ed., Writing and Texts in Anglo-Saxon England (Manchester , Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies, 2006).

Maximum: 12 students
AV: slides and handouts

Please bring a pencil: pens are not allowed when valuable manuscript facsimiles are in use