Page:The Statutes of the Realm Vol 1 (1101-1377).pdf/63

APPENDIX. D.

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Explanation of the Contractions,

Used in printing the Records and Manuscripts copied in this Collection.

THE general Character and Appearance of the Charters and Records copied in this Collection, are exhibited in engraved Specimens.^[1] With respect to the Printed Contractions, it is to be observed, that wherever the Manuscript is abbreviated, the Print has a Mark of Contraction, as similar to that of the Manuscript as the Types will admit. The different Manuscripts vary a little from each other in the Mode of making the several Contractions. The following Explanation of the Marks of Contraction used in the Print (applying both to the Latin and French Text, though the latter is generally less abbreviated than the former), may serve as well to render the printed Copy intelligible, as also to explain the Contractions in the Manuscripts, and to make the reading and consulting of them, when necessary, more easy to Persons not used to antient Records.

A strait Line over a Vowel denotes the Omission of the Letter m or n following:

quā	quam	nō	non	statī	statim
antiqa͏̄	antiquam	cōmun	commun	volūtatē	voluntatem
hōīū	hominum	avaūdiz̵	avauntditz

The strait Line over m in the Middle of a Word denotes the Omission of the Letter n following:

om̄es

omnes

om̄ia

omnia

A Crooked Line over some Letter, or a Line through some Letter, of the Word contracted, denotes the Omission of one or more Letters of the Word:

Gr̃a	Gratia	Ep̃is	Episcopis	c͠o, tõ		cio or tio
Bal̴l̴is	Ballivis	om̃s	omnes			cion or tion
nob̴	nobis	lib̴tates	libertates	coronac͠ois		coronacionis
h̴eat	habeat	Dñs	Dominus	expeditac͠o		expeditacio
Sal̵t̃	Salutem	dict̃	dictum, &c.	malic͠ose		maliciose

A small superior Letter denotes an Omission, of which such Letter forms a Part:

qam		quam	occaone	occasione	pimis	primis	si	sibi
qa͏̄			impisonetr	imprisonetur	piꝰ	prius	ni	nisi

The following Characters or Abbreviations have certain explicit Significations, viz.

Character.

Signification.

ꝫ

us

At the End of Words in the Dative or Ablative Plural:

Abbatibꝫ

Abbatibus

quibꝫ

quibus

sometimes
et

sꝫ

set (sed)

possꝫ

posset

Or as a comprehensive Mark of Abbreviation:

quil̵ꝫ	quilibet	videlꝫ	videlicet
qnꝫ	quandoque

ꝰ
above the Line.

us

Not being the Dative or Ablative Plural:

hujꝰmodi		hujusmodi	dedimꝰ	dedimus
hꝰi
hujꝰ		hujus	excꝰare	excusare

sometimes
os, or ost.

pꝰ		post	pꝰtea	postea
pꝰt

ꝯ
even with the Line.

com, or con

ꝯtenta

contenta

ꝯmuni

communi

ꝯseil

conseil

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1. For Specimens of Original Charters, and of the Charter Roll, See the Plates at pages 3, 6, 9, 20, 22, 28, and 33, of the Charters prefixed to the Statutes in this Volume: of the Patent Roll facing page 4, of the Statute Roll page 114, and of the Close Roll page 118 of the Statutes in this Volume.