Greek minuscule

Last updated
Earliest type of minuscule writing, from a 10th-century manuscript of Thucydides. Thucydides Manuscript.jpg
Earliest type of minuscule writing, from a 10th-century manuscript of Thucydides.
Later minuscule, 15th-century manuscript of Aristotle. Greek manuscript minuscule Aristotle.png
Later minuscule, 15th-century manuscript of Aristotle.

Greek minuscule was a Greek writing style which was developed as a book hand in Byzantine manuscripts during the 9th and 10th centuries. [1] It replaced the earlier style of uncial writing, from which it differed in using smaller, more rounded and more connected letter forms, and in using many ligatures. Many of these forms had previously developed as parts of more informal cursive writing. The basic letter shapes used in the minuscule script are the ancestors of modern lower case Greek letters.

Contents

From the 10th century onwards, most Byzantine manuscripts of classical and early Christian Greek works were gradually rewritten in the new minuscule style, and few of the older uncial manuscripts were preserved. For this reason, uncial manuscripts are today extremely rare, while early minuscule manuscripts are often the oldest preserved sources attesting an ancient work and may therefore be of central importance for its philological study. Manuscripts from the oldest phase of minuscule writing (mid-9th to mid-10th century) are known in scholarship today as codices vetustissimi ("oldest codices"). Those from the mid-10th to the mid-12th centuries are known as codices vetusti ("old codices"), and later ones as codices recentiores ("newer codices"). [2]

Minuscule writing remained in use for handwriting throughout the Byzantine and into the post-Byzantine era. In the modern era, western printers used minuscule book hands as a model for developing early Greek print fonts. Like with Latin, it became common to mix minuscule writing with some uncial or capital letters, with the latter used for emphasis, in titles and initials. From this practice, the modern orthographic system of letter case for Greek arose. In modern Greek writing, the upper case letters are generally modeled on the letter shapes of ancient inscriptions, while the lower case letters are based on the tradition of minuscule handwriting.

MajusculeUncialCursiveMinusculeMinuscule with ligaturesModern lower case
Α Greek uncial Alpha.svg Greek cursive variants Alpha.svg Greek minuscule Alpha.svg Greek minuscule Alpha with ligatures.svg α
Β Greek uncial Beta.svg Greek cursive variants Beta.svg Greek minuscule Beta.svg  β
Γ Greek uncial Gamma.svg Greek cursive variants Gamma.svg Greek minuscule Gamma.svg Greek minuscule Gamma with ligatures.svg γ
Δ Greek uncial Delta.svg Greek cursive variants Delta.svg Greek minuscule Delta.svg Greek minuscule Delta with ligatures.svg δ
Ε Greek uncial Epsilon.svg Greek cursive variants Epsilon.svg Greek minuscule Epsilon.svg Greek minuscule Epsilon with ligatures.svg ε
Ζ Greek uncial Zeta.svg Greek cursive variants Zeta.svg Greek minuscule Zeta.svg  ζ
Η Greek uncial Eta.svg Greek cursive variants Eta.svg Greek minuscule Eta.svg Greek minuscule Eta with ligatures.svg η
Θ Greek uncial Theta.svg Greek cursive variants Theta.svg Greek minuscule Theta.svg Greek minuscule Theta with ligatures.svg θ
Ι Greek uncial Iota.svg Greek cursive variants Iota.svg Greek minuscule Iota.svg  ι
Κ Greek uncial Kappa.svg Greek cursive variants Kappa.svg Greek minuscule Kappa.svg Greek minuscule Kappa with ligatures.svg κ
Λ Greek uncial Lambda.svg Greek cursive variants Lambda.svg Greek minuscule Lambda.svg Greek minuscule Lambda with ligatures.svg λ
Μ Greek uncial Mu.svg Greek cursive variants Mu.svg Greek minuscule Mu.svg Greek minuscule Mu with ligatures.svg μ
Ν Greek uncial Nu.svg Greek cursive variants Nu.svg Greek minuscule Nu.svg Greek minuscule Nu with ligatures.svg ν
Ξ Greek uncial Xi.svg Greek cursive variants Xi.svg Greek minuscule Xi.svg  ξ
Ο Greek uncial Omicron.svg Greek cursive variants Omicron.svg Greek minuscule Omicron.svg Greek minuscule Omikron with ligatures.svg ο
Π Greek uncial Pi.svg Greek cursive variants Pi.svg Greek minuscule Pi.svg Greek minuscule Pi with ligatures.svg π
Ρ Greek uncial Rho.svg Greek cursive variants Rho.svg Greek minuscule Rho.svg Greek minuscule Rho with ligatures.svg ρ
Σ Greek uncial Sigma.svg Greek cursive variants Sigma.svg Greek minuscule Sigma.svg Greek minuscule Sigma with ligatures.svg σ
Τ Greek uncial Tau.svg Greek cursive variants Tau.svg Greek minuscule Tau.svg Greek minuscule Tau with ligatures.svg τ
Υ Greek uncial Upsilon.svg Greek cursive variants Upsilon.svg Greek minuscule Upsilon.svg Greek minuscule Upsilon with ligatures.svg υ
Φ Greek uncial Phi.svg Greek cursive variants Phi.svg Greek minuscule Phi.svg Greek minuscule Phi with ligatures.svg φ
Χ Greek uncial Chi.svg Greek cursive variants Chi.svg Greek minuscule Chi.svg  χ
Ψ Greek uncial Psi.svg Greek cursive variants Psi.svg Greek minuscule Psi.svg  ψ
Ω Greek uncial Omega.svg Greek cursive variants Omega.svg Greek minuscule Omega.svg Greek minuscule Omega with ligatures.svg ω

See also

References

  1. Thompson, Edward M. (1911). An introduction to Greek and Latin palaeography. Oxford: Clarendon. pp. 191–194.
  2. Thompson, Introduction, p.159.