chirography

writing

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June 24, 2026

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Chirography refers to handwriting or penmanship. The term is derived from Greek roots: "chiro-" meaning "hand" and "graph" meaning "writing". This word has been in use since the 17th century.1

While less common today, chirography encompasses the art of writing by hand, including calligraphy. It is distinct from choreography, which relates to dance composition. The word "chirograph" itself historically referred to legal documents or indentures written by hand, sometimes in duplicate.12

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diplomatics
Types of documents
The particularly Anglo-Saxon method of chirography, however, gave the possibility of producing several “originals.” By this process two or more specimens of a document were written on the same page of the vellum sheet, and the free space between the texts was filled in with the word chyrographum (“handwriting”) or…
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The particularly Anglo-Saxon method of chirography, however, gave the possibility of producing several “originals.” By this process two or more specimens of a document were written on the same page of the vellum sheet, and the free space between the texts was filled in with the word chyrographum (“handwriting”) or…
Read More