Greek minuscule

Last updated
Earliest type of minuscule writing, from a 10th-century manuscript of Thucydides. Greek manuscript vetustissimus Thucydides.png
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

Related Research Articles

A is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is a, plural aes. It is similar in shape to the Ancient Greek letter alpha, from which it derives. The uppercase version consists of the two slanting sides of a triangle, crossed in the middle by a horizontal bar. The lowercase version can be written in two forms: the double-storey a and single-storey ɑ. The latter is commonly used in handwriting and fonts based on it, especially fonts intended to be read by children, and is also found in italic type.

Digamma or wau is an archaic letter of the Greek alphabet. It originally stood for the sound but it has remained in use principally as a Greek numeral for 6. Whereas it was originally called waw or wau, its most common appellation in classical Greek is digamma; as a numeral, it was called episēmon during the Byzantine era and is now known as stigma after the Byzantine ligature combining σ-τ as ϛ.

Epsilon is the fifth letter of the Greek alphabet, corresponding phonetically to a mid front unrounded vowel IPA: [e̞] or IPA: [ɛ̝]. In the system of Greek numerals it also has the value five. It was derived from the Phoenician letter He . Letters that arose from epsilon include the Roman E, Ë and Ɛ, and Cyrillic Е, È, Ё, Є and Э.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latin alphabet</span> Alphabet used to write the Latin language

The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions, it forms the Latin script that is used to write English and other modern European languages. With modifications, it is also used for other alphabets, such as the Vietnamese alphabet. Its modern repertoire is standardised as the ISO basic Latin alphabet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palaeography</span> Study of historic handwriting

Palaeography (UK) or paleography is the study of historic writing systems and the deciphering and dating of historical manuscripts, including the analysis of historic handwriting. It is concerned with the forms and processes of writing; not the textual content of documents. Included in the discipline is the practice of deciphering, reading, and dating manuscripts, and the cultural context of writing, including the methods with which writing and books were produced, and the history of scriptoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penmanship</span> Technique of writing with the hand

Penmanship is the technique of writing with the hand using a writing instrument. Today, this is most commonly done with a pen, or pencil, but throughout history has included many different implements. The various generic and formal historical styles of writing are called "hands" while an individual's style of penmanship is referred to as "handwriting".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uncial script</span> Capital letter-only writing system in Greek and Latin

Uncial is a majuscule script commonly used from the 4th to 8th centuries AD by Latin and Greek scribes. Uncial letters were used to write Greek and Latin, as well as Gothic, and are the current style for Coptic and Nobiin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carolingian minuscule</span> Form of writing

Carolingian minuscule or Caroline minuscule is a script which developed as a calligraphic standard in the medieval European period so that the Latin alphabet of Jerome's Vulgate Bible could be easily recognized by the literate class from one region to another. It is thought to have originated before AD 778 at the scriptorium of the Benedictine monks of Corbie Abbey, about 150 km (93 mi) north of Paris, and then developed by Alcuin of York for wide use in the Carolingian Renaissance. Alcuin himself still wrote in a script which was a precursor the Carolingian minuscule, which slowly developed over three centuries. He was most likely responsible for copying and preserving the manuscripts and upkeep of the script. It was used in the Holy Roman Empire between approximately 800 and 1200. Codices, pagan and Christian texts, and educational material were written in Carolingian minuscule.

The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BC. It is derived from the earlier Phoenician alphabet, and was the earliest known alphabetic script to have distinct letters for vowels as well as consonants. In Archaic and early Classical times, the Greek alphabet existed in many local variants, but, by the end of the 4th century BC, the Euclidean alphabet, with 24 letters, ordered from alpha to omega, had become standard and it is this version that is still used for Greek writing today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman cursive</span>

Roman cursive is a form of handwriting used in ancient Rome and to some extent into the Middle Ages. It is customarily divided into old cursive and new cursive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insular script</span> Writing system common to Ireland and Anglo-Saxon England

Insular script was a medieval script system originating from Ireland that spread to Anglo-Saxon England and continental Europe under the influence of Irish Christianity. Irish missionaries took the script to continental Europe, where they founded monasteries such as Bobbio. The scripts were also used in monasteries like Fulda, which were influenced by English missionaries. They are associated with Insular art, of which most surviving examples are illuminated manuscripts. It greatly influenced Irish orthography and modern Gaelic scripts in handwriting and typefaces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visigothic script</span> Type of medieval script

Visigothic script was a type of medieval script that originated in the Visigothic kingdom in Hispania. Its more limiting alternative designations littera toletana and littera mozarabica associate it with scriptoria specifically in Toledo and with Mozarabic culture more generally, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beneventan script</span> Medieval script developed in southern Italy

The Beneventan script was a medieval script which originated in the Duchy of Benevento in southern Italy. It was also called Langobarda, Longobarda, Longobardisca, or sometimes Gothica; it was first called Beneventan by palaeographer E. A. Lowe.

Merovingian script or Gallo-Roman script was a medieval variant of the Latin script so called because it was developed in Gaul during the Merovingian dynasty. It was used in the 7th and 8th centuries before the Carolingian dynasty and the development of Carolingian minuscule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E caudata</span> Modified letter E used in transcribing old Gaelic, Latin and Old Norse texts

The e caudata is a modified form of the letter E that is usually graphically represented in printed text as E with ogonek (ę) but has a distinct history of usage. It was used in Latin from as early as the sixth century to represent the vowel also written ae or æ. In old Gaelic texts from the 13th century, it represented an ea ligature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uspenski Gospels</span> New Testament manuscript

The Uspenski Gospels, Minuscule 461, ε 92 (Soden), are a New Testament minuscule manuscript written in Greek, dated at 835 AD, and now in St Petersburg in Russia. They are the oldest known dated manuscript of the New Testament; it was not customary for Greek scribes to date their work at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Greek alphabet</span> 900-100 BCE history of the Greek alphabet

The history of the Greek alphabet starts with the adoption of Phoenician letter forms in the 9th–8th centuries BC during early Archaic Greece and continues to the present day. The Greek alphabet was developed during the Iron Age centuries after the loss of Linear B, the syllabic script that was used for writing Mycenaean Greek until the Late Bronze Age collapse and Greek Dark Age. This article concentrates on the development of the alphabet before the modern codification of the standard Greek alphabet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greek ligatures</span> Ligatures used in Greek writing

Greek ligatures are graphic combinations of the letters of the Greek alphabet that were used in medieval handwritten Greek and in early printing. Ligatures were used in the cursive writing style and very extensively in later minuscule writing. There were dozens of conventional ligatures. Some of them stood for frequent letter combinations, some for inflectional endings of words, and some were abbreviations of entire words.

A biblical manuscript is any handwritten copy of a portion of the text of the Bible. Biblical manuscripts vary in size from tiny scrolls containing individual verses of the Jewish scriptures to huge polyglot codices containing both the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and the New Testament, as well as extracanonical works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Codex Cyprius</span> New Testament manuscript

Codex Cyprius, designated by Ke or 017, ε71, or Codex Colbertinus 5149, is a Greek uncial manuscript of the four Gospels, written on parchment. It is one of the few uncial manuscripts with the complete text of the four Gospels, and it is one of the more important late uncial manuscripts. It was brought from Cyprus to Paris.

References

  1. ↑ Thompson, Edward M. (1911). An introduction to Greek and Latin palaeography. Oxford: Clarendon. pp. 191–194.
  2. ↑ Thompson, Introduction, p.159.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.