History & Words: ‘Manuscript’ (May 31)

Welcome to ‘History & Words.’ I’m Prashant, founder of Wordpandit and the Learning Inc. Network. This series combines my passion for language learning with historical context. Each entry explores a word’s significance on a specific date, enhancing vocabulary while deepening understanding of history. Join me in this journey of words through time.

📚 Table of Contents

🔍 Word of the Day: Manuscript

Pronunciation: /ˈmænjʊskrɪpt/ (MAN-yuh-skript)

🌍 Introduction

On May 31, 1669, Samuel Pepys reluctantly wrote the final entry in his manuscript diary, concluding an extraordinary decade-long chronicle that would eventually provide unparalleled insights into Restoration England. Citing concerns about his failing eyesight, Pepys set aside his pen with evident regret: “And thus ends all that I doubt I shall ever be able to do with my own eyes in the keeping of my journal… And so I betake myself to that course which is almost as much as to see myself go into my grave.” This poignant conclusion marked not just the end of a personal practice but the completion of what would become one of history’s most valuable primary sources.

The word “manuscript” takes on special significance through Pepys’ diary—a handwritten document never intended for publication that nonetheless transformed our understanding of 17th-century England. Written in a shorthand system and often in candid terms that would have scandalized his contemporaries, Pepys’ manuscript reveals aspects of Restoration life that more formal documents could never capture. From the coronation of Charles II to the ravages of the Great Plague, from the devastating Great Fire of London to intimate details of daily life and personal indiscretions, his manuscript preserves a world that would otherwise be lost to time.

What makes Pepys’ manuscript particularly remarkable is its unique position at a pivotal moment in the evolution of record-keeping and personal writing. Created during a period when printing was well-established but still expensive and subject to censorship, the diary represents a private form of manuscript culture that flourished alongside expanding print publication. Pepys himself, as an educated civil servant with connections to both government and scientific circles, embodied the transitional nature of his era—deeply interested in books and printing while still participating in the older tradition of handwritten documentation. His manuscript diary thus stands as a bridge between medieval scribal culture and modern notions of personal documentation, demonstrating the enduring power of handwritten records even in an increasingly print-oriented world.

🌱 Etymology

The word “manuscript” derives from the Latin phrases “manu” (by hand) and “scriptus” (written)—literally meaning “written by hand.” This etymology directly reflects its original definition: a document composed through the physical act of writing rather than mechanical reproduction. The term entered English via Medieval Latin and Old French in the 16th century, a period when the distinction between handwritten and printed materials was becoming increasingly significant following Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press in the mid-15th century.

Before the advent of printing, virtually all texts were manuscripts by definition, whether they were legal documents, literary works, or religious texts. The spread of printing technology gradually transformed “manuscript” from a general description of all written materials to a more specific term denoting handwritten texts. By Pepys’ time in the 17th century, the distinction between manuscript and printed text was well-established, with manuscripts often representing more private, preliminary, or unofficial writing compared to the authorized, public nature of printed works.

📖 Key Vocabulary

🔑 Shorthand: A system of rapid handwriting using symbols or abbreviations for words or phrases, used by Pepys to record his diary with both speed and privacy
🔑 Primary source: An artifact, document, or testimony created during the period under study; Pepys’ diary is considered one of the most valuable primary sources for Restoration England
🔑 Restoration: The period following the return of the monarchy under Charles II in 1660 after the English Civil War and Commonwealth period
🔑 Codex: A manuscript book created from a stack of bound pages, as distinct from earlier scroll formats, representing the physical form of Pepys’ diary

🏛️ Historical Context

The practice of keeping handwritten records has ancient roots, with different cultures developing various writing systems and materials—from Mesopotamian clay tablets and Egyptian papyrus to Chinese bamboo slips and Mesoamerican codices. By medieval Europe, manuscript production had become a sophisticated craft centered in monastic scriptoria, where skilled scribes copied religious texts, classical works, and administrative documents on parchment or vellum.

The invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1440 revolutionized information technology, gradually transforming how texts were produced and circulated. However, this change was neither immediate nor complete. Throughout the early modern period (roughly 1500-1800), manuscript and print cultures coexisted and influenced each other. Many texts circulated in manuscript even after printing became common, particularly those containing sensitive political or personal content that might be censored or that were intended for limited audiences.

Pepys lived and wrote during a particularly dynamic period in English history. The Restoration of the monarchy under Charles II in 1660 (which Pepys witnessed and described) followed a tumultuous period of civil war, regicide, and republican experiment under Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth. This political restoration coincided with cultural changes, including the reopening of theaters (closed under Puritan rule), changing social mores, and significant scientific developments through the newly established Royal Society, of which Pepys would eventually become president.

The 1660s specifically saw multiple traumatic events that Pepys documented in exceptional detail: the Second Anglo-Dutch War (1665-1667), the Great Plague of London (1665-1666), and the Great Fire of London (1666). His eyewitness accounts of these events provide invaluable historical evidence, particularly his day-by-day documentation of the Great Fire, which he observed from multiple vantage points, even reporting his observations to King Charles II.

⏳ Timeline

1633: Samuel Pepys born in London
1649: Execution of Charles I
1653-1658: Oliver Cromwell’s Protectorate
1660: Restoration of Charles II to the English throne
1660: January 1 – Pepys begins his diary
1661: Pepys appointed as Clerk of the Acts to the Navy Board
1665: Great Plague of London
1665-1667: Second Anglo-Dutch War
1666: September 2-6 – Great Fire of London, extensively documented by Pepys
1667: June – Dutch raid on the Medway, a major naval disaster Pepys records
1669: May 31 – Pepys writes final entry in his diary due to eyesight concerns
1679: Pepys briefly imprisoned in the Tower of London during the Popish Plot
1684: Pepys elected President of the Royal Society
1703: Samuel Pepys dies
1825: Pepys’ diary first deciphered and published in abbreviated form
1893-1899: First complete publication of the diary text
1970-1983: Definitive scholarly edition of Pepys’ diary published

🌟 The Day’s Significance

May 31, 1669, marks a poignant moment in literary and historical record-keeping, as Samuel Pepys reluctantly ended his diary-keeping practice due to fears that continuing would damage his deteriorating eyesight. The final entry captures his emotional response to this decision: “And thus ends all that I doubt I shall ever be able to do with my own eyes in the keeping of my journal, I being not able to do it any longer, having done now so long as to undo my eyes almost every time that I take a pen in hand.”

This conclusion came after nine years and five months of nearly daily entries, creating a manuscript that would eventually extend to approximately 1.25 million words contained in six leather-bound volumes. Though Pepys lived another 34 years and achieved greater professional success—including a term as a Member of Parliament and presidency of the Royal Society—his diary ends at this moment, creating a caesura in our intimate knowledge of his life and times.

The circumstances of the diary’s ending highlight the physical nature of manuscript creation. Unlike modern digital text, which can be modified with accessibility features for those with visual impairments, manuscript writing required sustained close vision. Pepys’ concern about his eyesight—which had troubled him throughout his life—reveals the bodily dimension of manuscript culture, where the physical act of writing could literally take a toll on the body.

What Pepys could not have known on May 31, 1669, was that his private manuscript would eventually become one of history’s most celebrated diaries. Written in a shorthand system developed by Thomas Shelton, the diary remained essentially unreadable after Pepys’ death. The bound volumes sat among his extensive library collection (which he meticulously organized and bequeathed to Magdalene College, Cambridge) until 1825, when John Smith, an undergraduate at Cambridge, spent three years deciphering the shorthand. Even then, the first published versions were heavily censored, with Pepys’ frank discussions of his extramarital affairs and bodily functions deemed unsuitable for Victorian readers. Only in the 20th century would complete, unexpurgated editions make the full manuscript accessible to readers.

💬 Quote

“But I have been at a great loss how to keep my journal, or to serve myself of my only eyes.” — Samuel Pepys, from his final diary entry, May 31, 1669, expressing the physical challenge of maintaining his manuscript while dealing with vision problems

🔮 Modern Usage and Reflection

Today, “manuscript” carries several related meanings. In publishing, it refers to an author’s text submitted for publication, whether composed digitally or by hand. In academic contexts, it continues to describe historical handwritten documents, with disciplines like paleography devoted to their study. In some scientific fields, “manuscript” describes research papers submitted to journals, regardless of their creation method—a linguistic fossil that preserves the term while detaching it from its literal meaning of handwriting.

The significance of manuscripts has evolved in the digital age. Where once manuscripts represented the primary mode of textual transmission, they now often carry special cultural significance precisely because they are not printed or digital. The physical artifact of a manuscript—with its idiosyncratic handwriting, corrections, marginalia, and material properties—provides information that standardized print or digital text cannot convey. Manuscripts reveal process rather than just product, showing how ideas developed through revisions and annotations.

Pepys’ manuscript diary exemplifies this added value. Beyond its content, the diary’s physical form—its shorthand system, the varying quality of handwriting reflecting Pepys’ health or haste, the different inks used—provides additional layers of information. Modern scholars analyze these material aspects alongside the text itself to gain deeper insights into Pepys’ writing practice and experience.

The digital revolution has transformed our relationship with manuscripts in paradoxical ways. Digital tools enable unprecedented access to historical manuscripts through high-resolution images and transcriptions, allowing global access to documents once available only to a few scholars. Simultaneously, digital technology has largely displaced handwriting for many textual purposes, making manuscripts increasingly rare in contemporary communication. This shift has arguably heightened our fascination with handwritten documents as artifacts of a more physically engaged form of communication.

🏛️ Legacy

Pepys’ manuscript diary has left several enduring legacies across different domains. Historically, it provides unparalleled insights into Restoration England, documenting everything from major events like the Great Fire of London to everyday aspects of 17th-century life—diet, clothing, entertainment, social customs, and interpersonal relationships. Its combination of the historically significant and the mundane creates a uniquely textured portrait of its era.

Literarily, Pepys helped establish the diary as a significant form of life-writing. Though never intended for publication, his candid self-portrayal—capturing both his professional ambitions and his personal foibles—influenced how later diarists approached their own self-documentation. The frank treatment of his infidelities, professional jealousies, and bodily concerns created a template for diary-keeping that values authenticity over idealized self-presentation.

Linguistically, the diary preserves colloquial 17th-century English in a way that more formal documents cannot. Pepys’ everyday language, including slang and idioms, provides valuable evidence of how people actually spoke during this period, complementing the more stylized language found in literature and official documents of the era.

Archivally, Pepys’ manuscript exemplifies the value of preserving personal documents. His careful organization of his library and papers, including his diary, ensured their survival for future generations. This preservation ethic extended beyond his own writings—Pepys collected various manuscripts and printed works, saving many that might otherwise have been lost. His library at Magdalene College remains one of the most important collections of 17th-century materials, maintained according to his specific instructions.

🔍 Comparative Analysis

When Pepys concluded his diary in 1669, manuscripts primarily served practical purposes—administrative record-keeping, personal correspondence, and private documentation. While some literary works still circulated in manuscript among limited audiences, print had largely displaced handwriting for texts intended for broader distribution. Pepys himself, as a book collector and reader, participated actively in print culture while maintaining his private manuscript diary.

Today, manuscripts occupy a different cultural position. With digital technologies having largely replaced handwriting for practical communication, manuscripts often carry heightened cultural or emotional significance precisely because they are handwritten. Personal notes, cards, and letters acquire special meaning through the physical trace of the writer’s hand. Literary manuscripts by celebrated authors become valuable collectors’ items and objects of scholarly study, valued for showing the creative process through drafts and revisions.

This evolution reflects broader changes in how we understand textuality and authorship. Where earlier periods viewed texts somewhat separately from their physical embodiment, contemporary scholarship emphasizes how material forms shape meaning. Manuscript studies has emerged as a vibrant field examining how handwritten documents reflect social practices, individual habits, and historical circumstances beyond just their textual content.

The study of Pepys’ diary exemplifies this approach. Contemporary scholars analyze not just what Pepys wrote but how he wrote—his shorthand system, writing implements, paper, and binding choices. These material aspects provide additional layers of information about his writing practice, privacy concerns, and relationship to his text. This holistic approach to manuscripts as both textual and material artifacts represents a significant evolution in how we understand handwritten documents.

💡 Did You Know?

🎓 Conclusion

The conclusion of Samuel Pepys’ manuscript diary on May 31, 1669, marks a significant moment in documentary history—the endpoint of an unparalleled record of Restoration England written by one of history’s most observant and candid chroniclers. Through his meticulous daily entries, Pepys transformed the private act of manuscript creation into an invaluable historical resource, providing detailed accounts of pivotal events alongside intimate glimpses of everyday life. As we reflect on the significance of his manuscript, we’re reminded of how handwritten documents can preserve not just information but the lived experience of their creators, capturing nuances that more formal records often miss. In our increasingly digital world, Pepys’ manuscript diary stands as a powerful testament to the enduring value of handwritten records as windows into both personal experience and broader historical moments—demonstrating how the simple act of putting pen to paper can create an irreplaceable legacy.

📚 Further Reading

📘 “Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self” by Claire Tomalin
📗 “The Diary of Samuel Pepys: A New and Complete Transcription” edited by Robert Latham and William Matthews
📙 “The Paper Age: Documents, Scripts, and the Material World in Europe circa 1400-1750” by Jane E. Sayers