Description

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Despite a resurgence of interest in the history of the English language, this work is the only book available to introduce readers to the scripts used in Old and Middle English writing. The best way to understand changes in scripts across time is through visual examples, and this highly illustrated book reveals precisely how Middle English is different from Old English and how these gradual changes have developed. Images from important literary texts such as Caedmon’s “Hymn” and the Lindisfarne Gospels demonstrate the chronological progression of the writing.

About the Author

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Jane Roberts is professor emeritus of English at the University of London.

Praise For…

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“This book is set to become the only tool for teachers and learners of English medieval-palaeography.”—Journal of the Early Book Society 

— Journal of the Early Book Society

“Hereis that rarity, a book for scholars and enthusiasts alike—for anyone, in fact, with a feeling for our earliest literature, and the manuscripts in which it has come down to us.”—English Studies 
— English Studies

“An immensely interesting and useful book for teachers and students of English palaeography, and equally for interested bibliophiles not engaged in any formal scholarly study of handwriting.”—Times Literary Supplement

— Times Literary Supplement