The physical nature of the medieval cartulary examined alongside its textual contents. Medieval cartularies are one of the most significant sources for a historian of the Middle Ages. Once viewed as simply repositories of charters, cartularies are now regarded as carefully curated collections of texts whose contents and arrangement reflect the immediate concerns and archival environment of the communities that created them. One feature of the cartulary in particular that has not been studied so fully is its materiality: the fact that it is a manuscript. Consequently, it has not been recognised that many cartularies are multi-scribe manuscripts which "grew" for many decades after their initial creation, both physically and textually. This book offers a new methodology which engages with multi-scribe contributions in two cartulary manuscripts: the oldest cartularies of Glasgow Cathedral and Lindores Abbey. It integrates the physical and textual features of the manuscripts in order to analyse how and why they grew in stages across time. Applying this methodology reveals two communities that took an active approach to reading and shaping their cartularies, treating these manuscripts as a shared space. This raises fundamental questions about the definition of cartularies and how they functioned, their relationship to archives of single-sheet documents, and as sources for institutional identity. It therefore takes a fresh look at the "genre" ofmedieval cartularies through the eyes of the manuscripts themselves, and what this can reveal about their medieval scribes and readers.

Five minutes a day is all it takes to begin learning Japanese! With Beginning Japanese Kanji Language Practice Pad, anyone can master the 334 basic kanji along with 1,000 frequently used words in just minutes a day! Ideal for beginning Kanji learners, this informative writing pad-style workbook was designed for students preparing for the JLPT N5 and AP Japanese Exams. Each sheet introduces a new character in bold, easy-to-read type, along with its pronunciation, meanings, stroke order, and related vocabulary. After studying the character and its compound forms, users can tear off the sheet and practice writing these in the writing boxes provided. These sheets make it easy to learn the correct stroke order; in just five minutes a day, users of all ages will be well on their way to writing Japanese like a native! This handy kit includes: A 16 page portable study book that lists all 334 Japanese characters and associated vocabulary Mnemonic visual aids to enhance comprehension 336 page double-sided workbook for writing practice

In a world of rapid technological advancements, it can be easy to forget that writing is the "original" Information Technology, created to transcend the limitations of human memory and to defy time and space. "The Writing Revolution" picks apart the development of this communication tool to show how it has conquered the world.Explores how writing has liberated the world, making possible everything from complex bureaucracy, literature, and science, to instruction manuals and love lettersDraws on an engaging range of examples, from the first cuneiform clay tablet, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Japanese syllabaries, to the printing press and the text messagingWeaves together ideas from a number of fields, including history, cultural studies and archaeology, as well as linguistics and literature, to create an interdisciplinary volumeTraces the origins of each of the world's major written traditions, along with their applications, adaptations, and cultural influences

From the earliest scratches on stone and bone to the languages of computers and the internet, A History of Writing offers an investigation into the origin and development of writing throughout the world. Illustrated with numerous examples, this book offers a global overview in a format that everyone can follow. Steven Roger Fischer also reveals his own discoveries made since the early 1980s, making it a useful reference for students and specialists as well as a delightful read for lovers of the written word everywhere.

This pioneering volume approaches the languages and scripts of ancient Cyprus from an interdisciplinary point of view, with a primarily linguistic and epigraphic approach supplemented by a consideration of their historical and cultural context. The focus is on furthering our knowledge of the non-Greek languages/scripts, as well as appreciating their place in relation to the much better understood Greek language on the island. Following on from recent advances in Cypro-Minoan studies, these difficult, mostly Late Bronze Age inscriptions are reassessed from first principles. The same approach is taken for non-Greek languages written in the Cypriot Syllabic script during the first millennium BC, chiefly the one usually referred to as Eteocypriot. The final section is then dedicated to the Phoenician language, which was in use on Cyprus for some hundreds of years. The result is a careful reappraisal of these languages/scripts after more than a century of sometimes controversial scholarship.

Pencils You Should Know traces the evolution of pencils over time and across the globe. From the humble, handcrafted pencil of the 19th century to the novelty writing implement of the 1990s, each object in this book tells a different story.

This book features a selection of 75 modern and vintage pencils curated by pencil powerhouse Caroline Weaver, owner of legendary New York pencil emporium CW Pencil Enterprise. Pencil fanatics will find old favorites here―the original Blackwing 602 puts in an appearance, of course―and make exciting new discoveries, too.

• The long, skinny book was designed to emulate a brand new box of pencils.
• Vintage pencils and accessories are photographed against vibrant, colorful backgrounds and accompanied by Weaver's insightful commentary.
• A pocket-sized love letter to one of the most important inventions in human history

This supremely charming little book celebrates the enduring magic of the pencil.

Trace the history of the pencil over time and across the globe, and discover everything you need to know about this simple yet ingenious invention.

• A great book for pencil collectors, admirers, historians, artists, writers―anyone who gets excited about the new Palomino Blackwing, a perfectly sharpened No. 2 Ticonderoga
• Fans of The Pencil by Henry Petroski, How to Sharpen Pencils by David Rees and John Hodgman, and The Pencil Perfect by Caroline Weaver will want this in their collection.
• The perfect gift for pencil devotees, analog and vintage ephemera lovers, designers, and fans of CW Pencil Enterprise

Introduces readers to the concept of opposites through the pairing of near and far. Simple text, straightforward photos, and a photo glossary make this title the perfect primer on a common pair of opposites.

Arabic script remains one of the most widely employed writing systems in the world, for Arabic and non-Arabic languages alike. Focusing on naskh-the style most commonly used across the Middle East-Letters of Light traces the evolution of Arabic script from its earliest inscriptions to digital fonts, from calligraphy to print and beyond. J. R. Osborn narrates this storied past for historians of the Islamic and Arab worlds, for students of communication and technology, and for contemporary practitioners. The partnership of reed pen and paper during the tenth century inaugurated a golden age of Arabic writing. The shape and proportions of classical calligraphy known as al-khatt al-mansub were formalized, and variations emerged to suit different types of content. The rise of movable type quickly led to European experiments in printing Arabic texts. Ottoman Turkish printers, more sensitive than their European counterparts to the script's nuances, adopted movable type more cautiously. Debates about "reforming" Arabic script for print technology persisted into the twentieth century. Arabic script continues to evolve in the digital age. Programmers have adapted it to the international Unicode standard, greatly facilitating Arabic presence online and in word processing. Technology companies are investing considerable resources to facilitate support of Arabic in their products. Professional designers around the world are bringing about a renaissance in the Arabic script community as they reinterpret classical aesthetics and push new boundaries in digital form.

The languages of the ancient world and the mysterious scripts, long undeciphered, in which they were encoded have represented one of the most intriguing problems of classical archaeology in modern times. This celebrated account of the decipherment of Linear B in the 1950s by Michael Ventris was written by his close collaborator in the momentous discovery. In revealing the secrets of Linear B it offers a valuable survey of late Minoan and Mycenaean archaeology, uncovering fascinating details of the religion and economic history of an ancient civilisation.

A fresh interpretation of an enigmatic illumination and its contexts. The Ashburnham Pentateuch is an early medieval manuscript of uncertain provenance, which has puzzled and intrigued scholars since the nineteenth century. Its first image, which depicts the Genesis creation narrative, is itself a site of mystery; originally, it presented the Trinity as three men in various vignettes, but in the early ninth century, by which time the manuscript had come to the monastery at Tours, most of the figures were obscured by paint, leaving behind a single creator. In this sense, the manuscript serves as a kind of hinge between the late antique and early medieval periods. Why was the Ashburnham Pentateuch's anthropomorphic image of the Trinity acceptable in the sixth century, but not in the ninth? This study examines the theological, political, and iconographic contexts of the production and later modification of the Ashburnham Pentateuch's creation image. The discussion focuses on materiality, the oft-contested relationship between image and word, and iconoclastic acts as "embodied responses". Ultimately, this book argues that the Carolingian-era reception and modification of the creation image is consistent with contemporaneous iconography, a concern for maintaining the absolute unity of the Trinity, as well as Carolingian image theory following the Byzantine iconoclastic controversy. Tracing the changes in Trinitarian theology and theories of the image offers us a better understanding of the mutual influences between art, theology, and politics during Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages.