IN MEDIAEVAL HISTORY 15 



purposes there is also the regular direction of the 

 studies, and researches of students who are engaged 

 in preparing theses for the Doctorate or M.A. degree 

 in Economic Science. This instruction may be 

 described under the following sections, as to which it 

 may be remarked that (c) and (d) were provided and 

 arranged by the Committee of the Advanced History 

 Teaching Fund above referred to, which has issued 

 detailed Reports from 1902 to 1909. 



(a) Elementary Palceography. — During the first 

 Term students attend an elementary Course of 

 Lectures on the history and classification of writings, 

 and they are also thoroughly grounded in the system 

 of the contractions in MSS., and in the approved system 

 of Extension, with the help of a carefully selected 

 Glossary of Contractions, and lists of typical Ex- 

 tensions. After practice in the identification of the 

 conventional symbols used in " Record Type," the 

 class proceeds to study and decipher Latin MSS. 

 from the 8th to the 12th Centuries from photographic 

 facsimiles, supplemented by the occasional inspection 

 of original MSS. The students are also supplied with 

 copies of compilations specially prepared by the 

 Lecturer, including " A List of the Commoner 

 Mediaeval Christian Names and Surnames"; " Tech- 

 nical Terms found in Mediaeval Records " ; " The 

 Terminology of MSS." ; " Formulas and Classifi- 

 cation of Records and MSS.," etc. 



By the end of the first term, students are able to 

 read any work printed in Record Type, and they can 

 also read with fair facility Latin MSS. of the 8th 

 to the 1 2th Century, represented by such famihar 

 types as Royal Charters and Ancient Deeds, Domesday 

 Book, the Pipe Rolls, and the Book-hand of the period. 

 Moreover, they are able to extend these MSS. accord- 

 ing to either of the systems in general use, and they 

 have begun to possess a knowledge of the formulas 

 and diplomatic characteristics of the period. In their 



