Charter B: Abbreviations

The abbreviations here are somewhat different as the charter is in English.

English Abbreviations
This (using the traditional ž) is the abbreviation for že, 'the'.
This is the abbreviation for žat, 'that'.
This is the abbreviation for with.

Suspensions
As in Latin, this tadpole-like sign stands for ur. It appears in the word todur, 'the other'.
This stands for the ending-es or -is. It appears in both the noun plural and genitive singular. The choice between -is and -es depends on the dialect: you will have to try and find an unabbreviated version to see which form the scribe would normally use. It appears here in the word yerris, 'years'.
It is often hard to say whether this is meant to be an abbreviation for re, or merely an ornamental twirl. However, in the name henre we have to assume it is meant for -re.

Contractions
This is the common shorthand form of and.
This is the sign indicating that an n or m has been left out. This scribe arches it, and adds a dot underneath the arch. It appears here in the word annunciatioun, 'Annunciation'.
This is the abbreviation for in.
This is the familiar Latin abbreviation for er. Here it appears in the word terme, 'term'.
Here it rises from the previous letter in a whiplash, which curves in the opposite direction. This is the more common form. The word is weuer, 'weaver'.
And this is the familiar sign for per. In English, the sound er was becoming [ar] in some dialects. This can therefore stand for either per or par. You have to work out from other documents from the same area whether he was more likely to standardise on perosche or parosche, 'parish'. The etymology makes par more likely here, but there is no certainty that this is what he meant.
This is the sign for pro. It appears here in the word propur, 'proper'.
In this hand, however, it is sometimes very difficult to make out whether the scribe intends per/par (as on the left) or pro (as on the right). Look closely at the cross-stroke. If it starts from the bow of the p, it is pro; if it goes straight across the descender, it is per/par.
Thus the word to the left reads performed; the word on the right must read propur.
The superscript a is used in the name Thomas.


Return to Charter B.


Return to Index Page.

© MEG TWYCROSS 2000