This work by the greatest living authority on medieval palaeography offers the most comprehensive & up-to-date account in any language of the history of Latin script. It also contains a detailed account of the role of the book in cultural history from antiquity to the Renaissance which outlines the history of book illumination. Designed as a textbook it contains a full & updated bibliography. Because the volume sets the development of Latin script in its cultural context it also provides an unrivalled introduction to the nature of medieval Latin culture. It will be used extensively in the teaching of latin palaeography & is unlikely to be superseded.