Cursive script | writing system | Britannica (original) (raw)

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documentary hands

• 
  In calligraphy: Origins to the 8th century ce
  …this writing is often termed cursive. Scribes also made frequent use of abbreviations. When the scribe was skillful in reconciling clarity and speed, such writing may have much character, even beauty; but it often degenerates into a formless, sometimes indecipherable, scrawl.
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Greek alphabet

• In Greek alphabet
  …similar to hand printing, and cursive and minuscule, which were running scripts similar to modern handwriting forms, with joined letters and considerable modification in letter shape. Uncial went out of use in the 9th century ce, and minuscule, which replaced it, developed into the modern Greek handwriting form.
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paleographic studies

• In paleography: Analysis of texts
  Cursive scripts that were easier to write were developed for everyday use, for business, and to record the acts of the great bureaucracy of Egypt, where the Greeks settled in large numbers. The Greek cursive script and the formal book script greatly influenced each other,…
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