Reading Medieval Greek Manuscripts, Mediterranean Studies Summer Skills Seminar, led by Manolis Ulbricht (University of Notre Dame), Zoom, May 19–25, 2025

The Mediterranean Studies Summer Skills Seminar “Reading Medieval Greek Manuscripts" will be held via Zoom from Monday, 19 May to Thursday, 22 May 2025 from 10am to noon and 1pm to 3pm MDT. Applications are due April 28, 2025.

This course is designed for scholars, students, and professionals who are eager to deepen their engagement with Greek manuscript culture. Unlike other fields with abundant text editions, Byzantine Studies requires hands-on expertise in reading original manuscripts. As digital archives continue to grow, vast collections of Greek texts from places like Mount Athos and Greek monasteries are now accessible, yet still vastly underexplored. With a blend of lectures and hands-on sessions, this seminar offers foundational skills for understanding and working with Greek primary sources.

Participants will explore Greek manuscript culture through an introduction to paleography with a historical background on the evolution of Greek script. The course emphasizes the major hands and writing styles from antiquity through the Byzantine period, including majuscule and minuscule scripts as well as humanistic and Renaissance scripts. Techniques for deciphering common manuscript abbreviations, ligatures, and symbols, which are essential for understanding Greek manuscripts, will be covered in depth. Participants will also receive guidance on navigating digital repositories and databases for Greek manuscripts, along with tools for accessing online reproductions and secondary literature. The seminar includes sight-reading exercises and practical sessions with a range of manuscript texts, allowing participants to progressively develop their reading skills and become familiar with different script forms.

This course offers a practical introduction to Greek paleography with a strong emphasis on hands-on learning. Participants will gain foundational skills in reading and analyzing Greek manuscripts and acquire essential techniques for working with primary sources in Classics, Late Antique, Medieval, and Byzantine studies. Each day will combine lectures and hands-on sessions, with a focus on sight-reading exercises and interactive discussions. The content will be tailored to participants’ interests and needs, providing ample opportunities to engage directly with Greek manuscript materials. The seminar aims to equip participants with the skills to independently read and interpret Greek manuscripts, provide a solid foundation for further research in the study of Greek language and book culture, and enable participants to access and utilize primary Greek sources for various research purposes, from historical to linguistic analyses.

Dr. Manolis Ulbricht is a Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Notre Dame (Medieval Institute) and a scholar in Byzantine and Medieval Greek Studies.

Participants need to have reading knowledge of Greek (whether ancient, medieval or modern). The language of instruction is English. Synchronous attendance is required.

Fees

• $1100 for Full Professors, Librarians & Professionals
• $825 for tenured Associates, Emerita/us, Retired Faculty, Independent Scholars & Non-Academics
• $575 for non-tenured Associates and Assistants, Postdoctoral Fellows & Graduate and Undergraduate students
• $400 for Adjuncts, Lecturers & Contingent faculty