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fandomhigh2015-07-10 12:09 am
nuclear_snide) wrote in fandomhigh2015-07-10 12:09 am
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How Not to Kill Yourself with Incantations | Friday, Period 1
Bob eyed the students for a moment, then waved a hand in dismissal and started pacing. "There's not much point in me teaching specific languages, since even just on Earth-like worlds there are hundreds. Which is largely the point."
He spun to face them. "I could teach you every major hand and language I know, and somebody would come along with an idiosyncratic, left-handed, dialectal script, and you'd be sunk. What we're going to learn here are principles, so that hopefully no matter what you'll encounter, you'll be a bit better at it."
He waved at the various materials Anders had set on the table at the front of the class. "Before you even start to get to the actual writing, there are other things to consider. The first is, what was it written on? The material may give you an idea of the age of an inscription, its place of origin, or its importance to the person writing it, all of which can help greatly in determining the words themselves. These are some of the more common materials."
"Papyrus - I've no idea if this one has an analogue in other worlds, but I expect so. A basic plant-based surface, fibres hammered together and polished. Something like this comes from a more arid environment and decays far too frequently with moisture. It also tends to be very old, so unless there's some sort of preservation spell on it, it's probably not in good condition. It may show up in scrolls or codices."
"Parchment and vellum." Bob waved at the next two sheets. "Parchment is goat or sheepskin; vellum is calf. Vellum tends to be finer and thinner. Both are scraped, prepared, and stretched thin before being rolled or bound."
"And of course, paper. Wood and plant pulp pressed into sheets and dried. More modern than the others, cheaper to produce. Its longevity depends on its quality.
"The important thing to note about all of these materials is that they were rare," Bob said. "Expensive and often hard to come by. If something got written down at all, that means it was valuable to someone. Skins were often scraped and reused; papyrus was written on both sides; paper was reused in binding. Consider the quality of the material. Consider its condition. Consider both these things relative to where it was found - is it better-preserved than other things in the area, or poorer quality than they are?"
He gestured them forward. "Feel each of these, manipulate them however you like. Then take a look - with a bit more care - at those." He nodded at a box with neatly stacked scrolls and codices. "See if you can tell the difference, and what else you can determine about each one."
He spun to face them. "I could teach you every major hand and language I know, and somebody would come along with an idiosyncratic, left-handed, dialectal script, and you'd be sunk. What we're going to learn here are principles, so that hopefully no matter what you'll encounter, you'll be a bit better at it."
He waved at the various materials Anders had set on the table at the front of the class. "Before you even start to get to the actual writing, there are other things to consider. The first is, what was it written on? The material may give you an idea of the age of an inscription, its place of origin, or its importance to the person writing it, all of which can help greatly in determining the words themselves. These are some of the more common materials."
"Papyrus - I've no idea if this one has an analogue in other worlds, but I expect so. A basic plant-based surface, fibres hammered together and polished. Something like this comes from a more arid environment and decays far too frequently with moisture. It also tends to be very old, so unless there's some sort of preservation spell on it, it's probably not in good condition. It may show up in scrolls or codices."
"Parchment and vellum." Bob waved at the next two sheets. "Parchment is goat or sheepskin; vellum is calf. Vellum tends to be finer and thinner. Both are scraped, prepared, and stretched thin before being rolled or bound."
"And of course, paper. Wood and plant pulp pressed into sheets and dried. More modern than the others, cheaper to produce. Its longevity depends on its quality.
"The important thing to note about all of these materials is that they were rare," Bob said. "Expensive and often hard to come by. If something got written down at all, that means it was valuable to someone. Skins were often scraped and reused; papyrus was written on both sides; paper was reused in binding. Consider the quality of the material. Consider its condition. Consider both these things relative to where it was found - is it better-preserved than other things in the area, or poorer quality than they are?"
He gestured them forward. "Feel each of these, manipulate them however you like. Then take a look - with a bit more care - at those." He nodded at a box with neatly stacked scrolls and codices. "See if you can tell the difference, and what else you can determine about each one."
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Re: Sign in!
Listen to the lecture!
Feel the paper!
Examine the scrolls!
There will be several of each material, in various states from "very well cared for and with protection spells" through "well-maintained but an owner or two had greasy fingers" to "probably been in the attic for ages and barely sticking together, let alone legible".
You can't actually harm them, as they all do have spells on them now, but Bob will appreciate your taking care regardless. And none of them will cause magical things to happen.
...>.> negotiable. ping in ooc if you want mayhem!
Talk to Bob!
Talk to the TA!
Re: Talk to the TA!
OOC!