Notae and Suspensions
Examples from the
Lebor na Núachongbála
(Book of Leinster)
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ed on, id est |
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One of the notae, or shorthand signs, attributed to M. Tullius Tiro,
Cicero's secretary. Still in use in Irish-language printing.
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ocus, et |
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Another Tironian note, standing for et in Latin
and ocus in Old Irish. Still in use.
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ocus, et |
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The digraph of 'e' and 't', standing for et,
ocus, and also for
the letters '-et' in other words, such as etir.
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nó, vel |
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Tironian note for Latin vel, and carried over to Old Irish
nó. Identical
to the sign showing a suspension following 'l'.
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ar |
tarb |
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Tironian note. Originally a 'q' with a stroke through the descender,
it stands for Latin quia (because) and Old Irish ar (because),
and also for the letters '-ar-' in any word.
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air |
tairiuc |
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Simply the previous nota with an added 'i'.
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con |
Conall |
Conchobar |
A Tironian note standing for the syllable "con".
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us |
gus |
tusso |
A nota borrowed from Latin for the ending "-us", not limited
to final syllables in Old Irish.
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ur |
fogur |
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A nota borrowed from Latin for the ending "-ur".
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de |
side |
cride |
An elegant digraph of 'd' and 'e'.
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ae |
laech |
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Another simple digraph.
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r |
or |
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A variant of 'r': never initial, and usually found following 'o'.
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e |
Cet |
oen |
A common variant of 'e'.
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suspension |
duine |
mac |
An all-purpose suspension mark, often indicating a following 'n',
but also used to show that any other letters have been left out.
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m |
comram |
chucumsa |
A suspension mark, indicating that 'm' or a
vowel + 'm' follows.
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punctum
delens |
fhir |
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Originally the punctum delens, used to indicate the erasure of
a letter. Used in Old Irish to show lenition of 'f' and 's', and sometimes
for an eclipsing 'm' or 'n'.
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spiritus
asper |
chomram |
chucumsa |
In origin, the Greek "rough breathing" sign, used to show lenition
of 't', 'c', and 'p'.
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superposed
vowel |
frim |
cride |
Any vowel "V" written above a consonant "C" represents
CrV or CVr; that is, the consonant followed by that vowel,
with an 'r' before or after.
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Bibliography:
The Irish Hand, by Timothy O'Neill (and especially the introduction by
Francis John Byrne), The Dolmen Press, Portlaoise, 1984
An Introduction to Old Irish, by R.P.M & W.P. Lehmann,
New York 1975
Latin Palaeography: Antiquity and the Middle Ages, by Bernhard Bischoff,
Cambridge University Press, 1990
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