06-07-2018, 11:54 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-07-2018, 05:18 AM by -JKP-.
Edit Reason: Edit: added another illustration
)
The 8-shaped final-s is not very common. I haven't found very many. It took a lot of effort to locate a couple of dozen somewhat close matches, and most of them are fatter than the VMS figure-8 (which researchers variously identify as "s" or "d").
I took a look at Ms. 28. Sometimes the final-s is B-shaped, sometimes almost figure-8 shaped. I grabbed a section where there were several of them because I was curious about the stroke order:
![[Image: FribMs28.png]](https://voynichportal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/FribMs28.png)
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In most manuscripts, the final-s is B-shaped or shaped like Greek sigma. Here are some examples from scripts with final-s that don't match the VMS figure-8, but which are similar to the VMS marginalia style in other respects:
![[Image: Samplesof-FinalS.png]](https://voynichportal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Samplesof-FinalS.png)
And here are some samples of final-s letters that are closer to the figure-8 style. These are specifically used at the ends of words (with straight-s or long-s in other parts of the word). The VMS figure-8 character is not limited to the final position, so it's not 100% certain it is a final-s or even an "s" but it appears to behave like "s" in a number of ways.
The date range for the closer matches came out as c. mid-14th century to late 15th century. The origin of many of the manuscripts below is unknown. Known locations and numerous guesses by historians for this small selection include Alsace, Bohemia, Belgium, Provençe, Flanders, England, Moravia, Italy, France, and many different locations in Germany:
![[Image: SamplesofSimilarFinals.png]](https://voynichportal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/SamplesofSimilarFinals.png)
It took years to find these, and yet I don't think any of them are super close. The angles of the loops in the VMS figure-8 are distinctive. The bottom loop of the two VMS glyphs on the left are almost rhombus-shaped.
I took a look at Ms. 28. Sometimes the final-s is B-shaped, sometimes almost figure-8 shaped. I grabbed a section where there were several of them because I was curious about the stroke order:
-------------------
In most manuscripts, the final-s is B-shaped or shaped like Greek sigma. Here are some examples from scripts with final-s that don't match the VMS figure-8, but which are similar to the VMS marginalia style in other respects:
And here are some samples of final-s letters that are closer to the figure-8 style. These are specifically used at the ends of words (with straight-s or long-s in other parts of the word). The VMS figure-8 character is not limited to the final position, so it's not 100% certain it is a final-s or even an "s" but it appears to behave like "s" in a number of ways.
The date range for the closer matches came out as c. mid-14th century to late 15th century. The origin of many of the manuscripts below is unknown. Known locations and numerous guesses by historians for this small selection include Alsace, Bohemia, Belgium, Provençe, Flanders, England, Moravia, Italy, France, and many different locations in Germany:
It took years to find these, and yet I don't think any of them are super close. The angles of the loops in the VMS figure-8 are distinctive. The bottom loop of the two VMS glyphs on the left are almost rhombus-shaped.