Discovering old handwriting

Old handwriting is discovered every day in many different contexts- in the church on memorials and stained glass windows, in the family Bible and old letters, in old wills and perhaps even in the title deeds to your home. Until the invention of printing in the fifteenth century, and for most purposes long after, writing was done with pen, pencil, brush or other hand-held tool. This 'manuscript' handwriting interests both calligraphers, for the way in which it is done, and historians, who need to decipher the content.