AN OXFORD don who has died aged 82 was an expert in medieval handwriting.

Malcolm Parkes was a respected palaeographer who produced a large number of books which went on to become classics.

His first book, English Cursive Book Hands 1250-1500, was published in 1969 and became an authoritative text.

Prof Parkes came to Oxford in 1961 to be a lecturer in English language and literature at Keble and Mansfield Colleges.

In 1965, he became a fellow and tutor at Keble College, beginning an association with the institution which would last for more than three decades.

He was also a lecturer at Oxford University’s English faculty and then in palaeography.

Between 1965 and 1974, while he was fellow librarian at Keble, he discovered around 90 manuscripts while moving books to make the library more accessible for students.

This led to him writing Medieval Manuscripts of Keble College, Oxford, A Descriptive Catalogue, which was published in 1979 and set the standard for all future catalogues of medieval manuscripts.

Prof Parkes was born in Charlton, South London, on June 26, 1930.

Growing up during the Second World War, he attended South East London Emergency Grammar School which had to move due to Nazi bombing raids.

He initially worked as a supply teacher in South East London but in 1949, after studying briefly at Strasbourg University, he won a place at Hertford College to read English language and literature.

While at Oxford he first became fascinated with the study of medieval handwriting.

In 1954 he married Ann Dodman and the couple had two sons together.

After graduating, he worked in his family’s export firm where he prepared the accounts for customs inspection but he returned to academic life when he took on the role of archivist at Lambeth Palace Library.

He returned to Oxford in 1961 to pursue life as an academic, where he would remain until he retired in the 1990s.

In retirement he became a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton in the United States, and in 2008 he wrote his last book, Their Hands Before Our Eyes: A Closer Look at Scribes.

Prof Parkes died on May 10, 2013. His wife predeceased him but he is survived by his two sons.