Methodology of Hebrew Palaeography: Expertise, Art, or Science?

Colloquium ERC-Synergy project MiDRASH.

From an outsider’s perspective, the work of Hebrew palaeographers can appear mysterious. How do they know that a manuscript was indeed written by Maimonides? What evidence supports claims of provenance and authorship? What implicit assumptions underpin palaeographical conclusions? The growing use of computational methods may create the impression that palaeographical evaluations are becoming more objective. Yet, the fundamental nature of such evaluations remains unchanged.

Dates: 4-5 May 2026

Location: Campus Condorcet
Place du Front populaire, 93300 Aubervilliers 
Bâtiment de Recherche Sud, Salle 0.015

Program