FROM E.M. THOMPSON, AN INTRODUCTION TO GREEK AND LATIN PALAEOGRAPHY, NEW YORK: BURT FRANKLIN, [1965], P. 147

CHANGING HANDS. As handwriting changes from generation to generation, palaeography, the study of ancient forms of writing, can help in assigning dates to otherwise undated manuscripts. Just how precise a means of dating palaeography proves to be is a source of some discord among scholars.