09-02-2018, 01:09 AM
From a non-linguist's point of view:
It seems likely to me that it's neither language nor gibberish.
If we define language as 'speaking in phrases or sentences' and gibberish as 'having no meaning'.
There are so many texts that fall between those two chairs: just offhand (no theory here).
"Rose of Sharon; Lily of Purity; Star of the Sea..."
- part of a litany.
Then you could have tables without a neatly-drawn grid.
Or commercial lists of quantities and goods.
Or - an idea I once played with - the recording of weaving patterns. (Textiles were the single most important and most-traded commodity throughout the medieval era, whether in the Great Sea to the east, or in the Mediterranean. And not just silk - all textiles. It was hugely important and having the patterns for rare or exotic designs could make or break a city's fortune. Very big business.)
Certainly the pictures aren't gibberish or 'enciphered' - but they're just as certainly not of Latin (western Christian) cultural origin.
It seems likely to me that it's neither language nor gibberish.
If we define language as 'speaking in phrases or sentences' and gibberish as 'having no meaning'.
There are so many texts that fall between those two chairs: just offhand (no theory here).
"Rose of Sharon; Lily of Purity; Star of the Sea..."
- part of a litany.
Then you could have tables without a neatly-drawn grid.
Or commercial lists of quantities and goods.
Or - an idea I once played with - the recording of weaving patterns. (Textiles were the single most important and most-traded commodity throughout the medieval era, whether in the Great Sea to the east, or in the Mediterranean. And not just silk - all textiles. It was hugely important and having the patterns for rare or exotic designs could make or break a city's fortune. Very big business.)
Certainly the pictures aren't gibberish or 'enciphered' - but they're just as certainly not of Latin (western Christian) cultural origin.