Jesús Alturo i Perucho facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jesús Alturo i Perucho
Born	(1954-03-10)March 10, 1954 El Pont de Suert, Spain
Education	Doctor in classics
Occupation	Professor of palaeography, codicology and diplomatics

Jesús Alturo i Perucho (born March 10, 1954) is a Spanish expert in old writings, languages, and history. He is from Catalonia.

Studying Old Writings and History

Jesús Alturo is a professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He started teaching Latin languages in 1976. Later, in 1992, he became a professor of palaeography, codicology, and diplomatics. These are special studies about old writings.

• Palaeography is the study of ancient and historical handwriting.
• Codicology is the study of old books, called codices, as physical objects.
• Diplomatics is the study of old official documents, like charters.

He has a special degree in classics, which means he studied ancient Greek and Roman cultures. He is an expert on the Middle Ages, a time period from about 500 AD to 1500 AD. He focuses on the history of culture, not just in Catalonia, but across Europe.

Alturo joined the International Committee of Latin Palaeography in 1994. He is also a member of several important history and language groups. He has led a project called Monumenta Palaeographica Medii Aevi, which focuses on old writings from the Middle Ages.

In 2017, he published Chartae Latinae Antiquiores Cataloniae. This book contains 100 original old documents from the 9th century. These documents are kept in archives in Catalonia.

Discovering Ancient Texts

Jesús Alturo has written many papers and books. He has published and studied many collections of medieval documents. He also studies small pieces of old handwritten books, called manuscripts. He has found and studied important texts, such as:

• The earliest known parts of a book by Augustine of Hippo.
• Parts of Pamphilus de amore, an old love story.
• Pieces of Jaufré, an old poem.
• Writings by the pilgrim Egeria.

He has also created new versions of medieval literary texts. These include sermons by Bishop abbot Oliba and texts by the grammarian Borrell Guibert. He has also studied very old Latin dictionaries, called glossaries.

In 2019, he made a new version of a sad poem called Planctus monialis. He also found and published another unknown sad poem from Santa María de Obarra.

Finding the Authors of Old Writings

As a palaeographer, Alturo has found out who wrote many old manuscripts and documents. He has identified writers like Altimir, At, Eiximèn, Isarn, Llop, and Recared.

He proved that the people who wrote official documents (presbyters) and the people who copied books (amanuensis) were often the same person. He does this by looking at tiny details in their handwriting. These small details make each person's writing unique.

In October 2021, Alturo and Tània Alaix found the author of the "Complaints of Guitard Isarn." This author was Ramon de Cabó, a subdeacon. He is now known as the first author of Catalan literature.

Alturo is also interested in the first written examples of the Catalan language. He has helped to figure out the age of the Homilies d'Organyà. He also studied a Catalan translation of the Visigothic Code. These old texts are kept in places like Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey and the Archives of the Bishopric of Urgell.

Awards and Recognition

In 1982, Alturo won the Premi Ciutat de Barcelona. This award was for his research on the old archive of Santa Anna in Barcelona.

In 2004, his book Història del llibre manuscrit a Catalunya won the Premi Crítica Serra d'Or. This book is considered the best introduction to the history of handwritten books in Catalonia.

On December 13, 2021, he received the Creu de Sant Jordi. This is a very important award in Catalonia. He received it for his big contributions to the history of medieval literature and art in Catalonia.

Books by Jesús Alturo

Here are some of the books Jesús Alturo has written or helped to write:

• L’Arxiu Antic de Santa Anna de Barcelona (1985) - About an old archive in Barcelona.
• Diplomatari de Polinyà del Vallès (1985) - A collection of old documents from a town called Polinyà del Vallès.
• Studia in codicum fragmenta (1999) - Studies on pieces of old books.
• El llibre manuscrit a Catalunya: orígens i esplendor (2000) - About the history of handwritten books in Catalonia.
• Història del llibre manuscrit a Catalunya (2004) - Another book on the history of handwritten books in Catalonia.
• El Llibre i la lectura: de l’antigüitat a l'època moderna (2008) - About books and reading from ancient times to modern times.
• El calze i la lira entre reixes (2008) - About secret writings in a Barcelona prison during the Spanish Civil War.
• La Producció i circulació de llibres clandestins (2012) - About how secret books were made and shared throughout history.
• La Escritura visigótica en la Península Ibérica (2012) - About Visigothic writing in Spain.
• L’església de Sant Salvador de Polinyà i les seves pintures (2016) - About a church and its paintings.
• Chartae Latinae Antiquiores Cataloniae (2017–18) - A collection of old Latin documents from Catalonia.
• Mil cent anys de la vila i de la parròquia de Santa Maria de Llinars (2019) - About the history of a town and its church.
• El canonge Adanagell de Vic (ca. 860-925) (2021) - About a historical figure named Adanagell.

See also

In Spanish: Jesús Alturo i Perucho para niños