Using Script Analyzer to Measure the Consistency of Early Medieval Latin Handwriting

This article presents a pilot study on how computer-based metrics succeed in measuring the consistency of handwriting in early medieval charters written in new Italian cursive. The consistency is measured in terms of variation observed in handwriting specimens, and it is benchmarked to human assessments of the handwriting consistency and of the script type in the same specimens. The metrics are produced by the Script Analyzer tool, which enables user-defined ductus representations. It turns out that the Script Analyzer based handwriting consistency measurements do reflect the human consistency ratings of an informant panel and, to a lesser degree, the script type classification into basic and cancelleresca cursives proposed in previous research by the editor-paleographers of the same charters. This suggests that Script Analyzer metrics can largely address the same graphical features as the human eye. To verify the conclusions, it will be desirable to repeat the study on a larger sample and with other scripts.