Palaeography (UK) or
paleography (US; ultimately from ,
palaiós, "old", and ,
graphein, "to write") is the study of ancient and historical
handwriting (that is to say, of the forms and processes of writing, not the textual content of documents). Included in the discipline is the practice of deciphering, reading, and dating historical manuscripts, and the cultural context of writing, including the methods with which writing and books were produced, and the history of
scriptoria.