(28-04-2020, 10:56 AM)MarcoP wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
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We know that in Latin manuscripts the same word type could be expressed in different ways because most (all?) manuscripts were abbreviated and abbreviations were often used inconsistently.
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Yes, in fact, it was perfectly acceptable to abbreviate the same word in numerous ways, even in the same manuscript. Since abbreviation conventions were conceptual, they could be applied differently to the same words. "Sanctus" is abbreviated in several different ways.
Common words tended to be abbreviated more consistently because common words had their own set of abbreviations (like the common "q" words in Latin, and syllables like "pro" and "per" that were used in many languages), but many words were at the discretion of the scribe.
It wasn't chaotic. For example, scribes would sometimes write the whole word the first time it was used. The next time it might be partially abbreviated. The next time, maybe more tersely abbreviated. Thus it was clear what was being written. I see this most often when the word is frequently repeated or if the repetitions are close together, or if the word is used numerous times at the left side of the line (e.g., words like "Item" in Latin and "peri" in Greek).
Not everyone was this organized, but many were.