Penn Paleography Group

Paleography: The study of ancient writing and inscriptions; the science or art of deciphering and interpreting historical manuscripts and writing systems. Oxford English Dictionary

A student-run, cross-departmental group for those with enthusiasm for manuscripts and an interest in deciphering them.

Fortnightly on Fridays at 2pm.

Drop by for as long (or short) as you like to read some manuscripts together!

Room 516, Williams Hall,
University of Pennsylvania, 255 S. 36th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104

Spring 2024 dates:
23 February
Spring Break
15 March
29 March
12 April
26 April

Everyone is welcome—undergraduate and graduate students, scholars working in any field, with or without previous experience. Our hope is for folks to practice paleographical skills together, and simply have fun.

We look at materials from many periods (usually premodern), languages, and collections. This means we read a wide range of scripts, deciphering texts both on the screen and page, aided by resources in Penn's Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts.

Participants are encouraged to nominate texts they want to work on, either for research or due to paleographical peculiarities. The group intends to rotate between different languages in accordance with the interests of attendees.

Browse resources:

Meeting materials, practice sheets, paleography, handbook chapters, and more

The Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies organizes many events that explore Penn's collections, including Coffee with a Codex!

Sign up to our mailing list for reminders, updates, and to receive each week's text

For further information please contact co-organizers:

Anne (Lantian) Jing (she/her): annejing@sas.upenn.edu

Julia Pelosi-Thorpe (she/her): peju@sas.upenn.edu

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