Practice question · Put in order
Put these European scripts in chronological order.
- Humanist hands of the Renaissance
- Carolingian minuscule (~800)
- Roman capitals and cursive
- Regional hands after the fall of Rome
- Gothic textura (12th century onward)
Hints
- Scripts change systematically over time.
- The hand can date and place a document before it is read.
Show the answer
- Roman capitals and cursive
- Regional hands after the fall of Rome
- Carolingian minuscule (~800)
- Gothic textura (12th century onward)
- Humanist hands of the Renaissance
Why
Scripts change systematically, which makes a hand a dating and localizing instrument before you read a word. Note the loop at the end: the humanists revived Carolingian minuscule believing it was ancient Roman.
Practise Archives and Paleography
The app has 5 more questions on this lesson, and keeps your place in the course. History I is free to start.
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