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Tironian et,
U+204A "⁊".
Tironian notes (notae
Tironianae) is a system of
shorthand said to have been invented by
Cicero's scribe
Marcus Tullius Tiro.
Tironian
et in context (third line from
bottom), from a Bible written by a Belgian scribe.
Its first use is reported by
Plutarch to be
63 B.C., when Tiro noted a speech of
Cato the younger against
Catiline. Tiro's system consisted of about 4,000 signs,
somewhat extended in classical times to 5,000 signs. In the
Medieval period, Tironian notes were taught in monasteries and
the system was extended to about 13,000 signs. The use of
Tironian notes declined after A.D. 1100 but some use can still
be seen for the 17th century.
Two Tironian notes are still used today: the Tironian et
in Ireland also used elsewhere in
blackletter texts as late as 1821 , and the z of viz
(short for videlicet),
which denotes a Tironian symbol shaped somewhat like a z.
The Tironian et can
look very similar to an r
rotunda, depending on the
typeface.
See also
A
pay and display sign in Dublin with the Tironian
et for the Irish
agus (and).
External links
-
Karl Eberhard Henke: άber Tironische Noten Manuscript
B 16 of the "Bibliothek der
Monumenta Germaniae Historica", c. 1960 (German)
Categories:
Shorthand systems |
Ancient Rome
