Early Gothic: Abbreviations

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Abbreviations are becoming a regular feature.

Suspensions
This stands for ur as in nature (line 3) 'of nature'.
This (a small superscript a) stands for ra as in extra (line 4).
This stands for bus as in montibus (line 11) '[in the] mountains'.

Contractions
This horizontal line shows that an n or m has been missed out, as in enim (line 30)..
Sometimes it is a more curved shape, as in linces 'lynxes' (line 4)..
p with a stroke through the descender stands for per, as in hiperboreis (lines 9-10).
p with a curved stroke through the descender stands for pro, as in probatur (line 1).
The 7-like figure with the stroke through its upright is the shorthand version of et, 'and' (see line 1).
Some common words have their own abbreviations: among these is n for non, 'not' (line 19). The full version of the word appears in line 4.
qd with a stroke through the tail of the d stands for quod, 'what' and 'because'.
e with a horizontal line above it stands for est, 'is'.
ips with a horizontal line over the p and an appropriate grammatical ending stands for ipse, 'the same one'. This reads ipsas, plural.



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© MEG TWYCROSS 1998