ABSTRACT

The chapter is devoted to Syriac script. It deals with the origins of this script in Osrhoene and with the written documents of pre-Christian Edessa. It presents a panorama of Syriac inscriptions over the centuries, from the Mediterranean to India and China. It gives a codicological and historical approach to the fabrication and copying of Syriac manuscripts. It tells the story and development of the Syriac script from its origin in Edessa, with a presentation of its different forms until the recent period, and gives an overview of Syriac printing and fonts.