In Their Own Words

In 1865, W. Pleyte attempted to introduce a standard font for hieratic. Since then, all hopes of a standard hieratic font were discarded "once and for all," according to Gardiner, writing in 1929. Now, seventy years later, I am pleased to offer, through this present book, an introductory hieratic font for Late Egyptian, based on a standardized stroke sequence.

This font and paleography provide a beginning step in a new approach to studying hieratic texts. The stroke sequence manual presents the first systematic ordering for any possible hieratic sign, ligature or group writing. The Gardiner sign list provides a cross reference with that long established classification system.

As I come to the end of working on this reference work, I realize that it falls short of its ultimate goal. As a "paleography," it does not yet accurately reproduce the handwriting of any particular Egyptian scribe. As a "font manual," it does not yet provide a simple solution for every hieratic sign. Furthermore, the two goals of the work may rightly be considered to be in opposition to one another. The ultimate goal of paleography is to analyze past handwriting variability as a dating and locating tool. The goal of creating a font is to standardize and systematize writing. At the risk of doing neither, I have endeavored to take a middle course in this introductory reference work, and try to do both. It is "introductory," because it does not replicate any paleographic hand completely, and it does not provide anything close to a complete set of fonts. It does provide a wide variety of both paleographic styles and fonts. It also provides an easy reference system, whereby hieroglyphic equivalents for different hieratic signs can be studied. In that respect, it is also a useful supplement to Muller's century old reference work, which we may eventually replace.

We of course have no evidence that Egyptian hieratic signs were organized in any particular manner. This is a new research tool, a system to assist modern scholars, based on standard principles of calligraphy. It allows for the first simple, consistent group classification and ordering of single signs, ligatures and group writings. It also attempts to reflect a reconstruction of ancient writing sequences, which may become more understood, with further application of this analytical approach.