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Medieval Handwriting: Decoding Marseille's Archives

Learn to read late medieval handwriting and explore 14th-15th century Marseille through notarial records.

Learn to read late medieval handwriting and explore 14th-15th century Marseille through notarial records.

Dive into the fascinating world of medieval paleography with this Harvard course focusing on 14th and 15th century Marseille. Learn to decipher notarial cursive, the handwriting style used across Europe in the later Middle Ages. Explore household inventories that offer glimpses into daily life in medieval Marseille. Through progressive exercises, you'll master letter forms, abbreviations, and editing marks unique to this period. This course provides a rare opportunity to access and understand millions of unpublished medieval texts, opening new avenues for historical research. While some knowledge of Latin or Romance languages is helpful, the course welcomes all interested in exploring medieval documents firsthand.

Instructors:

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Medieval Handwriting: Decoding Marseille's Archives

This course includes

3 Weeks

Of Live Classes video lessons

Beginner Level

Completion Certificate

awarded on course completion

Free course

What you'll learn

  • Recognize and interpret notarial cursive handwriting from the 14th-15th centuries

  • Identify basic letter forms and their variations in medieval handwriting

  • Decipher common abbreviations used in late medieval documents

  • Understand editing and navigation marks in notarial records

  • Analyze household inventories to gain insights into medieval material culture

  • Develop skills to approach and read unpublished medieval texts

Skills you'll gain

Paleography
Medieval Studies
Notarial Records
Latin
Manuscript Studies
Historical Analysis
Archival Research
Medieval Marseille

This course includes:

Live video

Quizzes, assessments

Access on Mobile, Tablet, Desktop

Limited Access access

Shareable certificate

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Module Description

This course offers an introduction to medieval paleography, focusing on notarial handwriting from 14th and 15th century Marseille. Students will learn to read and interpret notarial cursive, a handwriting style widely used across Europe in the later Middle Ages. The curriculum covers the basic forms of each letter, including variations and potential misidentifications, as well as standard abbreviations and editing marks. Participants will work with household inventories, gaining insights into the material culture of medieval Marseille. The course emphasizes hands-on practice, with quizzes and assessments to track progress in reading skills. While some knowledge of Latin or Romance languages is helpful, the course is designed to be accessible to those without extensive language background, offering a unique opportunity to explore medieval documents firsthand and understand the "paper revolution" of the later Middle Ages.

Fee Structure

Instructor

Distinguished Medieval Historian and Pioneer in Deep History Studies

Daniel Lord Smail serves as the Frank B. Baird, Jr. Professor of History at Harvard University, where he has established himself as a leading authority on Mediterranean societies between 1100 and 1600 and deep human history. His innovative research combines traditional medieval history with anthropological approaches, focusing on legal culture, material life, and social dynamics in medieval Mediterranean cities, particularly Marseille. His scholarly contributions include numerous acclaimed books such as "Imaginary Cartographies" (1999), "The Consumption of Justice" (2003), "On Deep History and the Brain" (2008), and "Legal Plunder" (2016). His work spans diverse subjects from women and Jews to legal history and spatial imagination, while pioneering the field of neurohistory. His current research examines the story of a formerly enslaved North African woman in fifteenth-century Marseille who achieved self-manumission. Smail's excellence in both research and teaching has been recognized with prestigious awards, including fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Joseph R. Levenson Memorial Teaching Prize (2007), the Everett Mendelsohn Excellence in Mentoring Award (2014), and an honorary doctorate from the Universeit Antwerpen (2023)

Medieval Handwriting: Decoding Marseille's Archives

This course includes

3 Weeks

Of Live Classes video lessons

Beginner Level

Completion Certificate

awarded on course completion

Free course

Testimonials

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Frequently asked questions

Below are some of the most commonly asked questions about this course. We aim to provide clear and concise answers to help you better understand the course content, structure, and any other relevant information. If you have any additional questions or if your question is not listed here, please don't hesitate to reach out to our support team for further assistance.