Digital Palaeography
Subject Head: Dr. Anna Dorofeeva
Team: Alexander Zawacki
Digital Palaeography in Göttingen was established as part of a major five-year collaborative project with the Göttingen State and University Library, within the framework of the “Kleine Fächer vermitteln Weltwissen” programme funded by the Volkswagen Stiftung . The project is led by Prof. Dr. Martin Langner, Prof. Dr. Winfried Rudolf and Prof. Dr. Wolfram Horstmann.
Digital Palaeography is conceptualised broadly as digital methods applied to the history of the medieval Western Latin book and the associated practice of handwriting. Through investigating original medieval books and scripts using a range of cutting-edge computerised and scientific approaches, Digital Palaeography reveals lost or hidden connections between people in the past. The centre for Digital Palaeography in Göttingen is one of only a very few in the world that teaches and researches this fundamental subject.
Students attend a foundational palaeography course: one of only a few in Germany that runs over a full year (two semesters), and that teaches not only traditional palaeographical and codicological concepts, but also the full range of digital methods applicable to the history of the book. They include multispectral imaging, text encoding using TEI XML, automatic text recognition (ATR), IIIF and digitisation standards, specialist photography, digital microscopy, GIS, pattern recognition, Python, and many more. Additional courses are regularly offered in scholarly editing, book art, fragmentology, and manuscript analysis, among others – sometimes in collaboration with other departments in the Philosophy Faculty in Göttingen. Independent study projects are possible at all levels, from in-class exercise (Übung) work to MA/PhD thesis. All these courses are grounded in fundamental principles, enabling students to develop their thinking and research despite the rapidly changing digital landscape. Our graduates have the skills to go on to jobs in research, education, the library and archive sector, the heritage sector, forensic analysis, publishing and many more.
Digital Palaeography in Göttingen has an international outlook, which is reflected in its research and study opportunities. Every year we run a two-week Summer School – an intensive training course for graduate students from all around the world – with our partner library in Wolfenbüttel . Participants learn about medieval Latin palaeography and digital approaches to manuscript studies, in both theoretical and practical sessions. The programme is very rich and diverse, with guest lecturers from across Europe and the USA. In addition, students from Göttingen attend a yearly week-long Spring School in Vercelli and Verona (Italy). This creates once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. In 2024, Spring School students analysed medieval binding fragments in situ in early modern books using an endoscope, created a preliminary catalogue of an undiscovered medieval manuscript collection, and explored a working Cistercian monastery.
Research in Digital Palaeography is also developing intensively in Göttingen, with three funded projects underway or about to begin: the “Weltwissen” project , which aims to revitalise teaching and research in palaeography and imaging science; the “eManuSkript” project, which aims to develop a series of teaching and learning tools for digital manuscript study; and INSULAR, an ERC Advanced Grant project taking place at the University of Leicester and the University of Göttingen from October 2024, which investigates early medieval Insular manuscripts using palaeoproteomics (genetic analysis) and cutting-edge imaging approaches. These projects revitalise teaching in Digital Palaeography, create interesting positions for student assistants, and provide exciting new opportunities for advancing beyond what is currently known.