01.12.25: the Domesday Book; reading the manuscript [vii] types of abbreviation [vi]

(1) Image #1: calūpniat² = calumpniatur │ (here) claims

(i) -mn- in Classical Latin undergoes pronunciation change > -mpn-  e.g. (not from the text) sollemnis > sollempnis; the omission of the nasal /m/ is indicated i.e. ū = um

calūpniat² = calumpniatur

(ii) calūpniat² = calumpniatur: what looks like a 2 in the original manuscript (the transcription is not so clear) indicates –(t)ur i.e. a passive or, in this case, a deponent verb; he also uses the same symbol in bor² = Middle English ‘bordure’ (border)

(2) Image #2: the manuscript does not distinguish between /v/ and /u/ which is the most common convention now i.e. to differentiate between: [1] as a separate vowel either short or long e.g. sum or tū, and [2] as a semi-vocalic sound similar to English w before another vowel: videō [wideo], amāvī [amawi]

The manuscript only uses /u/: unuſ =unus;  amauit = amavit; inuaſit = invasit;  uenit = venit

However, some modern editions of Latin works still retain /u/ rather than /v/ for [2] above.

A wry remark concerning the last image: a plaque authorised by the National Domesday Committee which was issued to commemorate and celebrate 900 years of Norman heritage, the community having been recorded in the Domesday Book. I can’t imagine the Anglo-Saxons were jumping for joy at the prospect of a Norman invasion in 1066, but there is a legacy – a massive one – as all the words in bold demonstrate. And, of course, for most of those words, you know who you first need to be grateful to!

It is also interesting to note how merging of language evolved with examples of French words with Anglo-Saxon endings e.g. concerning, issued, grateful.

Links:

Book from which the extract is set

https://dn790000.ca.archive.org/0/items/domesdaybookorgr00jame/domesdaybookorgr00jame.pdf

Other links

https://opendomesday.org/

https://www.domesdaybook.net/home

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesday_Book

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ely_Inquiry

Dizionario Di Abbreviature (Latin / Italian)

https://share.google/lGVENPUvPj4RHeBcu

lexicon abbreviaturarum (Latin / German)

https://archive.org/details/LexiconAbbreviaturarum/page/n9/mode/2up

The elements of abbreviation in Medieval Latin paleography

https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/213385262.pdf

01.12.25: the Domesday Book; reading the manuscript [vi] types of abbreviation [v]; the long s

(1) Image #1: Look out for the long s: ſ, not to be confused with f; not an abbreviation but an alternative letter formation.

unuſ hō = unus homo │ a / one man

Note that the manuscript uses capitalised S rather than ſ when, for example, writing a person’s initials. But also compare certain transcriptions using what became the standardised form of [ſ] in that it was not written as a final letter whereas the manuscript does not adhere to that standardisation:

Manuscript: Comeſ . R . S ; transcript: Comes . R. S (comes: Earl).

Manuscript: ſuiſ; transcript: ſuis

(2) iſtā = istam; the derogatory use of iste in Classical Latin is not evident in Mediaeval i.e. in the same manuscript you have “in illa terra” and “istam terram” with the same meaning of ‘that’

(3) bȝ (as marked in the transcript); the sign [ȝ] is very often used to represent the dative and ablative plural endings of the third, fourth and fifth declension i.e. bus; in other manuscripts it can appear in superscript form e.g.  ſucceſſori^bȝ

b; (b + what looks like a semi-colon) has the same function

ſucceſſorib; (transcript: ſucceſſoribȝ) ſuiſ = successoribus suis │ and to his successors 

(4)  Image #2: what looks like 7 is an abbreviation for ‘et’ (and); an alternative abbreviation for ‘and’ is the ampersand (&) which we still use, and, thanks to one of our members, we can see that 7 is still used in Irish

7 pꝰea = et postea │ and afterwards

7 pꝰea ten̅ ille iſtā tr̅am = et postea tenuit ille istam terram │ and afterwards he held that land 

28.11.25: the Domesday Book; reading the manuscript [v] types of abbreviation [iv]; mind your p’s and q’s

Image #1: The most common letters with a horizontal stroke through them were p and q

[i] the /p/ with a stroke through it [ꝑ] can have different meanings i.e. par /por/ pre or, here, -per

ſēꝑ = semper │ always

[ii] ꝗ equals an entire word i.e. quam; can also appear with an additional diacritic indicating abbreviation i.e. ꝗ̃

(5) pꝰ: the letter which looks like a 9 indicates -os or -us or simply -s; it has a distinctive position written above the line

The small [ꝰ] is a good example of a superscript symbol; the term can apply to symbols or letters that are often smaller than the main text and written above the text line.

Combining our p’s and q’s we reach:

pꝰ • ꝗ ¦ rex uenit in iſtam patriā = postquam rex venit in istam patriam │  after ¦ the king came into this land

28.11.25: the Domesday Book; reading the manuscript [iv] types of abbreviation [iii]

(1) Images #1 and #2: In general, horizontal or diagonal lines through the letters: q, p, b, l, h, t indicate that some letters were omitted which needed to be supplied by the reader. In describing the formation of these letters you will come across the terms [i] ascender and [ii] descender:

[i] ascender: refers to the part of the letter that extends above the main body of the text e.g. in b, d; therefore, the horizontal line in ƀ and đ may be described as going through the ascender of the letter

[ii] descender: that part of the letter below the main body e.g. p or q; therefore, a horizontal line in ꝑ and ꝗ may be described as going through the descender of the letter

liƀ = liber; ſine liƀatione = sine liberatione │ transl. without livery i.e. without compensation

quidā liƀ hō = quidam liber homo │ a certain free man

hunđ (the manuscript does not mark the abbreviation [hun∂], but the transcription does) test̃ = hundredum testis / testatur │ witness the Hundred, the term ‘Hundred’ referring to an administrative unit of a county in Anglo-Saxon and Norman England. The entire phrase refers to a local jury i.e. from the Hundred, often comprising 12 men (6 English and 6 Norman) who were asked a set list of questions concerning, for example, tenancy and land values to which they gave sworn answers. The entry is then marked “witness the Hundred” i.e. it is acting as evidence.

https://www.domesdaybook.net/domesday-book/structure-of-domesday-book/hundred

(2) Money: before decimalisation in 1971, English currency was calculated as pounds, shillings and pence abbreviated to L ( = Latin: libra) S ( = Latin: solidus) D ( = Latin: denarius), the £ sign being a development of L i.e. £SD; two of the values are represented in the extract:

(a) ſēꝑ uał III ſoł │ has always been worth 3 shillings

uał = valet; ſoł = Latin solidus, but the term in Middle English refers to the shilling coin

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/solidus

(b) 1 shilling = 12 pence: in the Domesday book the smallest unit of currency recorded is the denarii i.e. the English ‘pence’; it is indicated in the manuscript by a stroke through d: [ð]

The manner in which he writes it is the same as an Old English letter with a specific pronunciation: ð, used interchangably with þ, = /th/ either as in think or in father, but its function here is not connected with OE, and is transcribed as [đ]: XVI ð [transcr. XVI đ] = 16 pence

Image #3: Mediaeval silver pennies

28.11.25: the Domesday Book; reading the manuscript [iii] types of abbreviation [ii]

Two words that crop up when dealing with the manuscripts are worth noting.

The term sigla encompasses different types of scribal abbreviation although it can also indicate the source of a manuscript. However, it is abbreviated forms that are the focus of these posts.

Diacritic refers to signs which are written above or below or through certain letters e.g. German: ä; French: ç; Old English: ð; Polish: ł; Spanish: ñ; Norwegian: ø; Portuguese: õ Czech: ř Our contemporary use of diacritics usually denotes change in pronunciation of the letter e.g. French: comme [hard /c/ = k] but ça [pron: sa]. However, in Mediaeval manuscripts, signs which can be similar to some of these are a tool used to indicate abbreviation, not pronunciation.

(1) Image #1: The horizontal line (which can resemble a Spanish tilde ˜) is not a Latin macron (which shows vowel length), but an indication of missing letters at the end of a word, most frequently, but not necessarily, /m/ or /n/ i.e. nasal consonants. Equally the abbreviation can indicate omission of entire syllables or missing letters within the body of a word.  There are many examples in the text of abbreviation but not the nature of it, the understanding determined by context.

Depending on the script and the scribe, the abbreviation mark can be written vertically or as a curved mark or stroke or as an apostrophe; it really is a question of examining the individual manuscript. While some reference works will give specific letters or letter combinations that an abbreviation represents, that isn’t guaranteed. In the Domesday extract, the writer uses both horizontal and vertical abbreviations that are above the letter but, in one example, it is below it.

(i) -ā = -am; -ē = -em; -ī = in; -ū = um

quidā = quidam │ a certain

in pinkenhā = in Pinckenham [Pickenham]; note that, in the second occurrence of the name, the writer omits the /n/ i.e. in pikenham

idē = idem │ the same

ad ſedū [ſ = s; we’ll look at this in a later post] = ad sedum │ for the purpose of residence

(ii) However, the line can indicate the absence of several letters:

dux̄ = duxit │ he led

fem̅ = feminam │ woman

hō = homo │ man

ten̅ = tenuit │ (he) held

(iii) references to land and land measurements

XXX ać [transcript: c̄; also written in this manuscript as c̃ and c̓] │ 30 ac(res) i.e. they all mark the abbreviation of the same word: Middle English acer / aker from OE æcer (field; unit of land measurement)

ī illa tr̅a = in illa terra │ on that land

tr̅ḛ = terrae │ of land

dim̅ [ = dimidium ] car̃ │ half a ‘plough’; car̃ refers to a ‘plough’, or a ‘car(r)ucate’, a measurement of land estimated at 120 acres: “The notional area of land able to be farmed in a year by a team of 8 oxen pulling a carruca plow” (Wiktionary); the word is derived from CL: carūca / carruca, -ae [1/f] chariot; carriage, but in French it acquired the meaning of ‘plough’ (charrue)

II . ac̃ . ¦ 7 [7 = and; will be discussed in a later post] ¦ dim̅ . ¦ p̆ti . [ = prati] │ 2 acres ¦ and ¦ a half ¦ of meadow; prātus, -ī [2/m] or prātum, -ī [2/n]

(iv) The 4th line of the manuscript begins: ſine dono . r . │ without a grant from the king / the king’s grant, i.e. a good example of a single letter – r – that needs to be understood in context as referring to rēx, rēgis [3/m]: king

25.11.25: the Domesday Book; reading the manuscript [ii] types of abbreviation [i] introduction

In the 21^st century we use abbreviations to save time

[i] symbols that represent an entire word e.g. £, $, %, &, @

[ii] letters missing from the middle or ends of words usually indicated by a full stop: etc. approx. dept. Mr. Mrs.

[iii] common in text messaging are entire phrases where only the initial letters are used or a single letter or number is the sound of an entire word: asap, brb, lol, c u 2moro

[iv] while [i] – [iii] above are more or less ‘universal’ in that most people would understand them, abbreviation can occur with words generally not abbreviated but are comprehensible to the target readersip. Grammatical abbreviations such as imperf(ect), adj(ective) and prep(osition) – full forms often listed at the beginning of the book – are used in language teaching texts worldwide on the assumption that the reader will understand them in context. Similarly, Mathematics is packed with symbols that refer to specific functions i.e. the symbols represent words.

The thinking that underpins our use of abbreviations is not dissimilar to that of the 11^th century Domesday book. Not only did it save time, but also – in terms of paper and ink – it saved money.

Mediaeval scribes used a staggering range of abbreviations with a variety of functions e.g. to indicate that an ending had been omitted, or there were letters missing from the middle of the word., and certain symbols could have specific meanings: we still use one i.e. & (ampersand) to indicate ‘and’.

Some points to note:

[i] Usage varied across Europe

[ii] The scribe’s handwriting may not match what is listed as exemplars of specific forms of abbreviation in printed reference works and in standardised type settings.

[iii] Writers are not always consistent in terms of how abbreviations are used, nor do they always adhere to the “rules” i.e. a manuscript has a “style”. Once you identify a specific word and / or method of abbreviation, you’ll see that the writer tends to repeat it with, at times, some variation, but the same word remains identifiable.

[iv] The posts here only focus on the context of the example, but it does contain many common abbreviated forms.

[v] If you’re reading a manuscript, try to find as high a resolution as possible because you very often need to magnify the text to get up close and personal with the scribe, examine his handwriting and look for patterns in both the way he forms his letters and the style / types of abbreviations he uses.

[vi] Ideally, you should work with the original and both a reliable transcript and translation so that you can “reverse engineer” it to identify exactly what’s going on and become familiar with words commonly abbreviated.

Image #1: manuscript

Image #2: transcription

Image #2: translation

https://dn790000.ca.archive.org/0/items/domesdaybookorgr00jame/domesdaybookorgr00jame.pdf

25.11.25: the Domesday Book; reading the manuscript [i]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesday_Book

If you conquer a country, it might be a good plan to find out about the country you’ve conquered. The Domesday book was commissioned in 1086 by William the Conquerer (1028 – 1087) in order to assess taxes and landholdings in England and Wales. It’s a massive ‘inventory’ which included details of landowners’ names, resources, land value and estimates of population in specific locations.

It’s fascinating from several points of view:

[1] The Domesday book records over 13,400 places, and is not a beautifully written and illuminated manuscript, but an example of a “working document” with the key information that William required.

[2] That “working document” is written in Latin and, once you’ve “cracked the code” of the abbreviations (which is our next topic), it is reasonably easy to interpret because it is quite repetitive.

[3] It gives considerable historical insight into different parts of England and Wales; in particular, what became major urban centres were little more than a handful of households.

Image: the village where I used to live (Carlby; Domesday: Carlebi) is listed: “It had a recorded population of 40 households in 1086, putting it in the largest 20% of settlements recorded in Domesday, and is listed under 3 owners in Domesday Book.”

https://opendomesday.org/place/TF0513/carlby/

However, Carlby has remained a village whereas other locations with far smaller numbers of households in 1086 have hugely increased in population size. Despite the obvious locations of Roman settlement nearby e.g. Little Casterton, the -by ending in Carlby is Old Norse for ‘farm’ or ‘village’, which Carlby still is.

[3] You can get as close as you possibly can to the people who wrote it over 900 years ago. Of course, there is something more “human” in reading handwriting than something beautifully “illuminated” in Word.

[4] Cracking that code can be challenging and time-consuming because the scribes don’t always do what you want them to, but it also rewarding when you finally work out what somebody is saying in 1086. And we will begin looking at that in the next post.

22.11.25: Level 2; Vincent (Latin Reader); XXXVI; a Roman Victory [ii]

While the Romans occupied Britain for 400 years, the legacy in terms of place-names is not from Latin itself but from Anglo-Saxon descriptors of the geographical locations of places near Roman settlements or camps. British place-names have Celtic, Saxon and Viking roots.

The English suffix -chester (and variant forms) is derived from Old English (OE) ceaster (fortress; fortified/ walled town), a loan-word from Latin: castra, castrōrum [2/n/pl] camp e.g. Chester, Dorchester, Manchester.

Locations in England with -ceaster did not have the suffix as part of an original Roman name. Some origins can be unclear and / or disputed, and are sometimes derived from Latinisation of Celtic terms pre-dating Roman occupation.

[1]

Chester: founded as a Roman fort was originally called Deva Victrix, a settlement then developing around it.

Mamucium (or Mancunium): the name of the Roman fort in an area of what is now known as Manchester, citizens of which are still called Mancunians. However, the Latin name has its origins in Celtic.

Image #1: Mameceſtre [ſ = s] (Manchester) listed in the Domesday Book, a manuscript survey of England and Wales written in Latin and completed in 1086 on the orders of William the Conqueror

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesday_Book

Colchester: known by the Romans as Camulodunum, it was first referred to as Colenceaster and Colneceastre in the 10th century; one view is that the name is a combination of colōnia and castra, the former word referring to a Roman colonial settlement, which is possible given that it was the original capital of Roman Britain, and the city of Cologne (Köln) in Germany is similarly derived from colōnia.

Image #2: (Domesday) Coleceſtra

[2] Variations of the OE ceaster exist in place-names such as:

Ancaster (Lincolnshire)

Doncaster (Yorkshire); (Domesday) Donecastre

Cirencester (Gloucestershire) < OE: Ċirenċeaster; (Domesday) Cirecestre

Worcester < OE: Weogornaċeaster; (Domesday) Wirecestre

Caistor (Lincolnshire); Castor (Cambridgeshire)

[3] In the present location of Leicester was the Roman settlement of Ratae Corieltauvorum, renamed in the Anglo-Saxon period as Ligera ceaster or Legoraceaster i.e. a walled settlement relating either to the name of the river or to a Celtic tribal name.

Image #3: (Domesday) Civitas de Ledecestre

[4]

Exeter: Roman Isca Dumnoniorum < Isca (Celtic): water (the river is still known as the Exe) + Dumnoniorum (of the Dumnonii tribe); the Anglo-Saxons adapted the name to Escanceaster > Exeter

Wroxeter: Roman Viroconium Cornoviorum < Viroconium (the name of a Celtic leader or tribe) + Cornoviorum (of the Cornovii tribe);

Image #4: (Domesday) Rochecestre

[5] An interesting example is Chesterton, a combination of OE ceaster and ton < OE: tūn (town) i.e. a settlement near a Roman camp.

The word tūn itself could refer to any enclosed piece of ground hence Modern Dutch: tuin (garden) or Modern German: Zaun (fence). Similarly: Casterton (Cumbria) and both Little Casterton and Great Casterton (Lincolnshire).

Image #5: (Domesday) Cestretone

[6] Gloucestershire shows the layers of linguistic influence in the British Isles: Roman: Glēvum (or colōnia Glēvum) + OE: ceaster (La: castra) > OE: Glowecestre

+ OE scīr  (administrative region), that word itself possibly related to La: cūra which can mean ‘administration’ or ‘management’ > Gloucestershire

Image #6: (Domesday) Glowecestre

Image #7: (Domesday Book) HIC ANNOTANTUR TENENTES TERRAS IN DEVENESCIRE │ Here are noted those holding lands in Devonshire

Image #8: note the use of CEASTRA in the Bayeux Tapestry

This is a good site: https://opendomesday.org/

Names of people and places can be easily searched with links to clear manuscripts and detailed extracts.