How did medieval scribes use abbreviation?
What is it about?
Scribes throughout the Middle Ages used abbreviation for a number of reasons, not least to save time and space when writing. This study takes a statistical look at how abbreviation is used in one particular manuscript unit, Merton College Library MS 249, in order to get a glimpse of how medieval scribes may have used abbreviation differently from each other.
Why is it important?
When looking at manuscripts, scholars take all sorts of information into account, including the forms of the letters, and the layout of the page, but very little attention has been paid to how words are abbreviated, despite the fact that abbreviated words can be found in almost every manuscript from the Middle Ages. This manuscript seeks to start a conversation, for Old French studies in particular, about how scribes used abbreviation and what, in turn, this can teach us about manuscripts.