Thanks for that info, Rene.
I guess one of my main problems with the character assignments is that they are so un-medieval.
• For example, there is no "j" in medieval alphabets. When it looks like a "j" it is either a terminal-i (with a tail) or an embellished "i" (as in Iohannes). The "j" began gradually appearing during the Renaissance but was not typically used until long after the creation of the VMS. When there are "pen tests" and sample alphabets in the margins or foreleaves of manuscripts, they do not include "j". Maybe the VMS uses two different shapes for the same character, but that would reduce entropy even further.
• The same general idea applies to "u" and "v". There were two basic shapes, and perhaps there are symbols in the VMS in which more than one shape represents the same thing, but there was no specific sound distinction between u and v in medieval script. They were used interchangeably by most scribes. They eventually differentiated u and v, but not until later, when the printing press more-or-less began to standardize alphabets and letter usage.
• The other problem is there is no overt acknowledgment of possible ligatures (maybe I shouldn't say this until I've looked at the rest of the character set, but I don't see it in the chart posted here). Ligatures were as much a part of the medieval alphabet as individual letters. It's almost impossible to find manuscripts that don't have them. Some manuscripts have multiple ligatures in each sentence. That does not mean the VMS has ligatures, there's no guarantee, but... the possibility that they may exist has to be acknowledged in any character set intended to represent characters of medieval origin.
I guess one of my main problems with the character assignments is that they are so un-medieval.
• For example, there is no "j" in medieval alphabets. When it looks like a "j" it is either a terminal-i (with a tail) or an embellished "i" (as in Iohannes). The "j" began gradually appearing during the Renaissance but was not typically used until long after the creation of the VMS. When there are "pen tests" and sample alphabets in the margins or foreleaves of manuscripts, they do not include "j". Maybe the VMS uses two different shapes for the same character, but that would reduce entropy even further.
• The same general idea applies to "u" and "v". There were two basic shapes, and perhaps there are symbols in the VMS in which more than one shape represents the same thing, but there was no specific sound distinction between u and v in medieval script. They were used interchangeably by most scribes. They eventually differentiated u and v, but not until later, when the printing press more-or-less began to standardize alphabets and letter usage.
• The other problem is there is no overt acknowledgment of possible ligatures (maybe I shouldn't say this until I've looked at the rest of the character set, but I don't see it in the chart posted here). Ligatures were as much a part of the medieval alphabet as individual letters. It's almost impossible to find manuscripts that don't have them. Some manuscripts have multiple ligatures in each sentence. That does not mean the VMS has ligatures, there's no guarantee, but... the possibility that they may exist has to be acknowledged in any character set intended to represent characters of medieval origin.