A Study of Palaeography and Colophons in a Selection of Dated Palm-leaf Manuscripts from Nepal

2022–2024

RFD17

The present study aims at producing a systematic analysis of the palaeographical features and the colophons of several palm-leaf manuscripts containing Sanskrit texts. The objects under investigation are dated between 800 to 1700 and hail from Nepal. The study includes detailed palaeographical tables and a database displaying, among others, the syntactic and stylistic features of colophons. These serve as essential tools for scholars working on undated manuscripts from the same region, allowing them to compare, contrast and determine characteristics of dated and undated manuscripts. Furthermore, by focusing on manuscripts from a precise time span, this study sheds light on the craftsmanship behind the production of manuscripts, their use, as well as the scribal and scholarly practices they were part of, in particular the development of scripts and the composition of paratexts.

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Project lead: Bidur Bhattarai