Atoms and elements of the Voynichese alphabet
#18
(18-06-2026, 10:07 PM)R. Sale wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Both symbols consist of a line and a curve. The primary difference, as seen in the font examples, is that the curve is connected to the either the top or the bottom of the minim.

You are referring to r and n.  But the proposed equivalence, based on the occurrences in the text, is r = in (sometimes), thus ir = iin (always) and iir = iiin (alwas).  

The justification is that the n is often drawn by the Scribe himself with a round bottom and raised slightly above the baseline, so that the whole n looks like a detached version of the r/s plume.  The theory is that Author must have done the same on his draft, and aditionally his round n would have often touched the preceding i -- and the Scribe would then have misread the two as r.

   

By the way, I also believe that some (not all!) of the d are quillos for k, due to the same basic process. Namely, the k is often written with short legs so that it has the same height as a d.  The latter,on the other hand, is often drawn with a straight right half (sort of like a & ) and an open bottom.  Then the only difference between the two is whether the left stroke is straight and makes a sharp corner at the top, or curved and joins smoothly with the right (loopy) stroke:

   

However this confusion would not have happened with t, because of the two loops.

All the best, --stolfi
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RE: Atoms and elements of the Voynichese alphabet - by Jorge_Stolfi - 19-06-2026, 10:59 AM

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