Paleographical Challenge #1

January 29, 2020

By Kathryn James

Welcome to Paleographical Challenge #1! 

We’ll provide an example, drawn from an item in the Beinecke Library’s current exhibition, “Subscribed: The Manuscript in Britain.” The first example is posted above.   

Unless advised otherwise, your task is to read and transcribe the passage for yourself, as accurately as possible (the choice of transcription standard is left to personal discretion). The subsequent day’s post will provide a suggested transcription for you to check yours against. 

Take the Paleo-Fitness Challenge! You’ll find us here most weekdays from January 29, reading old manuscripts in English. Paleo-Fitness: building strength and beauty through paleography.

[The introductory post showed this manuscript: The Fawkner’s Glasse.  England, late 16th c. Beinecke MS 100. As the finding aid describes, the illustration closely follows George Turberville’s The Book of Falconry and Hawking (London, 1575).]