metadata
language: fr
license: cc-by-nc-4.0
dataset_info:
- config_name: default
features:
- name: id
dtype: string
- name: image
dtype: image
- name: label
dtype: string
- name: page
dtype: string
splits:
- name: train
num_examples: 940
num_bytes: 255688583
size_categories: 1K<n<10K
task_categories:
- image-to-text
- other
pretty_name: Manuscrit Moreau 841 — Jacques Cartier, *Relation* (1534)
annotations_creators:
- human-annotated
language_creators:
- found
tags:
- early-modern-french
- manuscript
- exploration
- cartier-1534
- transcription
- humanities
Manuscrit Moreau 841 — Jacques Cartier, Relation (1534)
Description
This dataset contains a transcription of the manuscript known as Ms. Moreau 841 (Bibliothèque nationale de France), a manuscript copy of the Relation describing Jacques Cartier’s 1534 voyage to North America.
The present dataset was transcribed and aligned to corresponding image segments to support research in handwritten text recognition.
BnF Catalog record: [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b10035580h/f57/f57.item)
Dataset contents
| Field | Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
id |
string | Unique line identifier (page + line number) | P001_L001 |
image |
string | Relative path or URL to cropped line image | images/P001_L001.jpg |
page |
string | Source page identifier | P001 |
label |
string | Diplomatic transcription of the handwritten line | Le vingt & cinq iour d’aoust nous descouvrismes vne terre... |
Transcription parameters
- Original spelling, capitalization, and punctuation preserved.
- Abbreviations not expanded unless essential for clarity.
- Lineation follows the manuscript: one record per handwritten line.
- Ligatures and special characters normalized to Unicode NFKC.
The transcription was completed manually using eScriptorium for line segmentation and annotation, exported in PAGE XML (2019-07-15) format, and then converted into tabular form for reuse and model training.
Use cases
This dataset can support:
- Training or evaluating OCR/HTR models on early modern French handwriting.
- Digital humanities and paleography research.