Medieval Hebrew Manuscripts and their Scribes

What do manuscripts tell us just through the very way the letters and words are written? Quite a lot it turns out. This course is an engaging high-level overview of the field of Hebrew paleography taught by one of the world’s foremost experts. Professor Judith Olszowy-Schlanger will walk the student through the tell-tale signs that allow us to tell the history of manuscripts from their writing style (even if you cannot read the words, you can begin to locate medieval sources in space and time), adding an enlightening new dimension to the work of decoding ancient sources and reconstructing medieval history.

The course contains nine short modules:

Module 1: What is Paleography and What Can It Teach Us?

Module 2: How to Study the Hebrew Scripts

Module 3: Hebrew Scripts: An Overview Introduction to the Major Regions Associated with Hebrew Scripts

Module 4: Identifying Medieval Oriental Square Scripts

Module 5: Identifying Oriental Cursive Scripts: Non-Square Registers

Module 6: Sephardi and Iberian Square Scripts

Module 7: Iberian Semi-Cursive (Miniscule) Scripts

Module 8: Ashkenazi Square (“Gothic”) Scripts

Module 9: Ashkenazi Semi-Cursive (Miniscule) Scripts

The course is self-paced and has no end date.

A total time commitment of 3–4 hours is needed.

Each module contains the following components:

• A Lecture video
  • In short, recorded lectures, Professor Olszowy-Schlanger introduces a new aspect of Hebrew paleography and a new type of Hebrew script..
• Review Questions
  • Short, multiple-choice quizzes to aid in remembering key points of material from the lectures
  • Unlimited attempts are allowed
  • These make up 60% of final course grade
• Final Quiz
  • Multiple-choice questions, similar to those in the review quizzes
  • One or two attempts per question is permitted, depending on question type
  • The final quiz makes up 40% of final course grade

The course contains the following additional material:

• A Glossary of Terms
• A Bibliography for Further Reading
• Discussion Questions
• Discussion Forum
  • Participation is optional, but both welcomed and encouraged.
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