The Old English Latin alphabet generally consisted of about 24 letters, and was used for writing Old English from the 8th to the 12th centuries. Of these letters, most were directly adopted from the Latin alphabet, two were modified Latin letters (Æ, Ð), and two developed from the runic alphabet (Ƿ, Þ). The letters Q and Z were essentially left unused outside of foreign names, while the letter K was used by some writers but not by others. The Middle English manuscripts Stowe MS 57 and Cotton Titus D 18 do not present the letters in the exact same order, but both place the non-standard Latin letters at the end of the alphabet.
A table entitled "The Saxon-Alphabet" on the last page of John Fortescue's The Difference between an Absolute and Limited Monarchy (1st ed., 1714)[1] The first column ("Figure") of the table shows the letters of the Old English Latin alphabet, and the second column ("Power") their modern equivalents.
Old English was first written in runes (futhorc) but shifted to a (minuscule) half-uncial script of the Latin alphabet introduced by Irish Christian missionaries[2] from around the 8th century. This was replaced by Insular script, a cursive and pointed version of the half-uncial script. This was used until the end of the 12th century when continental Carolingian minuscule (also known as Caroline) replaced the insular, along with a shift in spelling conventions toward the Old French alphabet, leading to Middle English.
The letter ðæt ⟨ð⟩ (called eth or edh in modern English) was an alteration of Latin ⟨d⟩, and the runic letters thorn ⟨þ⟩ and wynn ⟨ƿ⟩ are borrowings from futhorc. Also used was a symbol for the conjunctionand, a character similar to the number seven (⟨⁊⟩, called a Tironian et or ond), and a symbol for the relative pronounþæt, a thorn with a crossbar through the ascender (⟨ꝥ⟩). Macrons ⟨¯⟩ over vowels were rarely used to indicate long vowels[citation needed], but it was also used occasionally as a nasal indicator (sort of like a tilde) if the vowel was succeeded by an s (ms or ns would turn into ◌̄s).
References
^John Fortescue (1714), The Difference between an Absolute and Limited Monarchy: As it More Particularly Regards the English Constitution. Being a Treatise Written by Sir John Fortescue, Kt. Lord Chief Justice, and Lord High Chancellor of England, under King Henry VI. Faithfully Transcribed from the MS. Copy in the Bodleian Library, and Collated with Three Other MSS. Publish'd with some Remarks by John Fortescue-Aland, of the Inner-Temple, Esq; F.R.S. (1st ed.), London: John Fortescue Aland; printed by W[illiam] Bowyer in White-Fryars, for E. Parker at the Bible and Crown in Lombard-Street, and T. Ward in the Inner-Temple-Lane, OCLC 642421515.
^Crystal, David (1987). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge University Press. p. 203. ISBN0-521-26438-3.
. Omniglot. omniglot.com. Archived from the original on 7 April 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
January 13, 2023
english, latin, alphabet, generally, consisted, about, letters, used, writing, english, from, 12th, centuries, these, letters, most, were, directly, adopted, from, latin, alphabet, were, modified, latin, letters, developed, from, runic, alphabet, letters, were. The Old English Latin alphabet generally consisted of about 24 letters and was used for writing Old English from the 8th to the 12th centuries Of these letters most were directly adopted from the Latin alphabet two were modified Latin letters AE D and two developed from the runic alphabet Ƿ TH The letters Q and Z were essentially left unused outside of foreign names while the letter K was used by some writers but not by others The Middle English manuscripts Stowe MS 57 and Cotton Titus D 18 do not present the letters in the exact same order but both place the non standard Latin letters at the end of the alphabet Letter IPAA a ɑ ː B b b C c k tʃ D d d E e e ː F f f v G g g ɣ j H h h x c I i i ː K k k L l l M m m N n n O o o ː P p p R r r S s s T t t U u u ː w rare X x ks Y y y ː Ƿ ƿ w D d 8 d TH th 8 d AE ae ae ː Digraph IPAcg dʒ ea aeɑ ː eo eo ː gc rare dʒ ie perhaps iy ː io perhaps iu ː sc sk ʃ th rare 8 d uu rare w A table entitled The Saxon Alphabet on the last page of John Fortescue s The Difference between an Absolute and Limited Monarchy 1st ed 1714 1 The first column Figure of the table shows the letters of the Old English Latin alphabet and the second column Power their modern equivalents Old English was first written in runes futhorc but shifted to a minuscule half uncial script of the Latin alphabet introduced by Irish Christian missionaries 2 from around the 8th century This was replaced by Insular script a cursive and pointed version of the half uncial script This was used until the end of the 12th century when continental Carolingian minuscule also known as Caroline replaced the insular along with a shift in spelling conventions toward the Old French alphabet leading to Middle English The letter daet d called eth or edh in modern English was an alteration of Latin d and the runic letters thorn th and wynn ƿ are borrowings from futhorc Also used was a symbol for the conjunction and a character similar to the number seven called a Tironian et or ond and a symbol for the relative pronoun thaet a thorn with a crossbar through the ascender ꝥ Macrons over vowels were rarely used to indicate long vowels citation needed but it was also used occasionally as a nasal indicator sort of like a tilde if the vowel was succeeded by an s ms or ns would turn into s References Edit John Fortescue 1714 The Difference between an Absolute and Limited Monarchy As it More Particularly Regards the English Constitution Being a Treatise Written by Sir John Fortescue Kt Lord Chief Justice and Lord High Chancellor of England under King Henry VI Faithfully Transcribed from the MS Copy in the Bodleian Library and Collated with Three Other MSS Publish d with some Remarks by John Fortescue Aland of the Inner Temple Esq F R S 1st ed London John Fortescue Aland printed by W illiam Bowyer in White Fryars for E Parker at the Bible and Crown in Lombard Street and T Ward in the Inner Temple Lane OCLC 642421515 Crystal David 1987 The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language Cambridge University Press p 203 ISBN 0 521 26438 3 Bibliography EditJ Bosworth amp T Northcote Toller An Anglo Saxon Dictionary Clarendon Press Oxford 1898External links Edit Old English Anglo Saxon Englisc Omniglot omniglot com Archived from the original on 7 April 2010 Retrieved 17 July 2010 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Old English Latin alphabet amp oldid 1126348639, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
