§ I.     The letter "V" — or is it a "U"?

The script usually shows two forms of the letter u, either of which can also be used where we would normally expect a v. The letter we designate as u looks much like the modern cursive script letter, but is usually indistinguishable also from the n of the period. The letter we designate as v has a greatly elongated left arm, sometimes curved, sometimes straight. However, the v form, rather than the otherwise interchangeable u, is always used in Roman numerals, and also tends to be used when the implied u or v is the first letter of a word (or occasionally, the first letter of a syllable). When it is used, we know that the letter in question is not an n ! As a diacritic, it sometimes is written over another vowel, e.g. above the a in Damont to indicate it should be read as Daumont (family name, derived from the village of Aumont, Fribourg). In names such as Bovat (Payerne, 15th-16th Centuries), the v form was probably used to rule out the other possible reading, Bonat. The examples are from the registers of notaries in the district of Payerne (ACV Dp) or from terriers (ACV F).

1. "per verba", ACV Dp 108/2, fol. 75, 1419. The stroke across the base of the p is a typical abbreviation for the syllables "per" or "par". The hook following the u is typically used to indicate the letters er, but the "rule" that the v form is used at the beginning of a word is not followed in this example.
2. "ad sancta dei evangeliam", ACV Dp 108/2, fol. 75v insert, 1419. The sign at the beginning of the word evangelia that resembles the outline of a violin bow is thought to have originated as a flattened form of the letter a. It usually represents the combination ra, but in this case it is apparently representing only the a, or perhaps an. The stroke over the end of the word simply indicates that letters have been omitted (notably the final m, but also the e in the middle. For this scribe, and others in the same area, the abbreviation is easiest to explain if he thought the word should be spelled "evvangeliam". Search on Google for evvangelium, and you will see many occurrences of this old variant spelling.
3. "schoeneveis", a family name from Fribourg, ACV Dp 108/2, fol. 75v insert, 1419. Notice that the u (representing a v) is indistinguishable from the n. The only way such a word can be deciphered is by knowing something about the linguistics (German and French languages coexisting, in this instance) and the family and place names of a particular area.
4. "ex una parte", ACV Dp 108/2, fol. 88, 1420, showing the typical script x (easily confused with the letter p), the v form of the letter u, typically used at the beginning of a word, and another form of the sign for the syllable "per" or "par".
5. "Perrissona uxor guilliermi vuarbaz douz montelliez prope muretum", ACV Fl 400, index, about 1495. This example has 3 different forms of the letter r ! The abbreviation of the name Guilliermi (genitive case of the name Guilliermus) consists of leaving out some letters in the middle, and adding a stroke over the abbreviated name. Notice that the abbreviation preserves at least a hint of the correct ending, i. This style of abbreviation is frequently used for common words and names. In the name Vuarbaz, the "rule" that the a u as the first letter of a word should use the v form is followed, and in this case we recognize the name as typical of the region, spelled either Vuarbaz or Warbaz. In the dialect of the area, the combination vu was interchangeable with w.
6. "viii", folio number, ACV Dp 8, fol. 8, 1439. The v form is always used in Roman numerals, never the u form.
7. "anthonius daumont", ACV Dp 8, fol. 130, 1454. The name Anthonius is abbreviated by removing some of the letters from the middle, yielding anthus, and adding a broad stroke over the word to indicate that the word has been abbreviated. The family name Daumont (or d'Aumont, derived from the village of Aumont, in the modern Canton of Fribourg, Switzerland) uses the v form above the a. If the scribe had instead placed the u directly on the baseline, between the a and the m, the name would be difficult or impossible to read. When we see the v form used this way, at least we can be sure the letter is not an n !
8. "daumont", Dp 8, fol. 130, 1454. This is the same family name, Daumont or d'Aumont, derived from the village of Aumont. In this case, the n has been omitted, replaced by the stroke over the t.
9. "vi^xx xvii", folio number 137, ACV Dp 8 fol, 137, 1455. The superscript indicates that the folio number is 6 x 20 + 17, thus 137. In Roman numerals, we typically find that the last i is written with a tail, thus like a j, in order to indicate that it is the final character in the number. Occasionally, a scholar claims that the j form in such a number is not part of the number at all, but following the folio numbers in large volumes such as this register proves otherwise!
10. "vi^xx xviii", folio number 138, ACV Dp 8, fol 138, 1455. The next folio of the same register, and here the scribe has switched to a less formal cursive script.
11. "uno vel pluribus", ACV Dp 15/1, fol. 8v, 1536. Note the use of the v form at the beginning of the words, regardless of whether the modern letter would be a v or a u.
12. "providus vir", ACV Dp 15/1, fol. 11v, 1535. Note use of the v form in the middle of a word, making "providus" easier to read.
13. "universis", ACV Dp 15/1, fol. 11v, 1535. The v form is used at the beginning of the word, but everything up to the letter e is a series of identical minims. The i is dotted, but exactly where the dot belongs is not obvious unless you already know the word. The key here is that the word is in the phrase "universis et singulis", which occurs frequently in legal documents concerning property rights. The context is what makes the word recognizable.
14. "veluti", ACV Dp 15/1, fol. 11v, 1535. The left arm of the v form has become an exuberant loop.
15. "venerabili", ACV Dp 15/1 fol. 11v, 1535.
16. "et Anno domini", ACV Dp 15/1, fol. 12, 1535. The unusually decorated letter A and the first minim of the first n run together, giving the impression of an elaborate v form (see above, the example "veluti"). It is only by the context (Anno domini is followed by a date in this case) that we understand the way the word Anno is written — count the minims to see how the letters are drawn. The word domini is abbreviated dni, leaving out all but the first letter and the last two letters, with a stroke over the word, and just enough clues in the context of a date to reveal what the word is.

§ II.     The "er" combination.

The form we see most often is a sharp hook (frequently with a tiny "barb" on the end) extending back over the letter to which the -er syllable should be attached, although the placement of the symbol is sometimes not very precise. When the preceding letter allows (t, notably), the hook neatly attaches to it. In other cases, it is simply placed somewhere above the letter, often a bit to the right of it. Sometimes the hook has a short horizontal extension on the right side. There is no sign in the Junicode font that clearly represents this symbol. Sometimes this symbol is seen where we would expect an inverted breve, in the syllable pre-, see § IV.

1.     "ex certa nomina et cuiuslibet nomine", ACV Dp 108/2, inserted at fol. 55v, 21 may 1417. The -er hook is an extension of the top of the c in certa.
2.     "laudare", ACV Dp 108/2, inserted at fol. 55v, 21 may 1417. Note that the abbreviation sign in fact represents only the letter r, and attaches to the letter e that it logically precedes!
3.     "confitetur tenere", ACV Dp 67, fol. 206v, 13 sep 1442.
4.     "per verba", ACV Dp 108/2, fol. 75, 27 jul 1419. This example uses the u instead of the v (see above, § I), as a convenient place to attach the -er hook.
5.     "ex altera", ACV Dp 108/2, inserted at fol. 75v, circa 1419.
6.     "Johanneta relicta Mermeti Gervex", ACV Dp 67, fol. 239, 20 feb 1445. The first two words use a stroke over the word to indicate a "general abbreviation". The next two words use the -er hook. The name Mermeti begins with the alternate form of the m that resembles the letters aj, sometimes a cause for confusion with some abbreviations of the name Aymonetus, when the script is not very clear.
7.     "Roletus, Mermetus, et Perrissona fratres filii quondam Williermi dicti Barbeir", ACV Dp 67, fol. 242, 10 jul 1446. There is no punctuation, we have to use the context to see that this is a list of the children of the late Vuilliermus (here spelled Williermus, the W is interchangeable with the letters Vu in this region) dictus Barbeir (the modern name is Barbier). Note that the words fratres and filii are both grammatically masculine, but they are used here to refer to a combination of males and females, exactly as is done in modern Spanish, for example.

§ III.     The "ar" or "ra" combination.

The symbol we see most often in cursive script looks somewhat like the outline of a violin bow. However, the symbol used for this purpose is more often described by modern authors (possibly not working with the Gothic cursive script?) as a "flattened a", and is described that way in the MUFI documentation. Adriano Cappelli does in fact mention that the sign is similar to a flattened a, but that remark needs to be viewed in context: in section 3.4 of the Preface to his Lexicon Abbreviaturarum, he describes it as a wavy line, sometimes similar to a u, indicating a syllable such as -ra or -ar, with a further evolution to indicate simply an a, because of the resemblance of the symbol to a flattened a. He also notes that the sign further evolved into two heavy dots or horizontal strokes, which in our manuscripts seems to represent exclusively the syllable -re (see below, § XIV). Further complicating the situation, a sign that closely resembles the "flattened a" included in the Junicode and Palemonas fonts appears in our manuscripts, but in those instances, it represents -ur! A further example of "evolution" for this sign, we found a notary who first added a retroflex stroke over the "wavy line", then later turned this stroke into a clockwise loop, resulting in a sign that would have taken more time to write than the letters it replaced!

1.     "contra predictam", ACV Dp 108/2, inserted at fol. 55v, 21 may 1417.
2.     "contractu", ACV Dp 108/2, inserted at fol. 75v, circa 1419.
3.     "mei notarii subscripti", ACV Dp 108/2, fol. 88, 25 sep 1420. There are two abbreviation signs here, the "violin bow" over the much-contracted word notarii, and the symbol over subscripti (see § XIV).

§ IV.     "Per", "par", "pro", "pre" symbols.

The are three distinct symbols involved here. The word per, as well as the prefixes per-, pri-, prae-, pre-, and par- (perhaps others as well) are often abbreviated by a p with a diagonal stroke through the tail. Frequently this stroke forms a clockwise loop extending from the bottom of the tail of the p and then crossing the tail. A second form, frequently used for pre- or pri-, makes a sort of inverted breve over the p, often connected by a long stroke with the bottom of the tail. The third form, indicating pro-, starts with a diagonal stroke through the tail of the p, but this time looping back in a counter-clockwise direction. The Junicode font has forms similar to all of these, but the additional strokes are far shorter than what we usually see in the cursive scripts: ꝑ p̑ ꝕ ꝓ.

1.     "per verba", ACV Dp 108/2, fol. 75, 27 jul 1419.
2.     "ex una parte", ACV Dp 108/2, fol. 88, 25 sep 1420.
3.     "contra predictam", ACV Dp 108/2, inserted at fol. 55v, 21 may 1417.
4.     "prenominato", ACV Dp 67, fol. 238v, 15 feb 1445. The abbreviation sign over the p in this case is the -er hook, rather than the expected inverted breve.
5.     "pro", ACV Dp 108/2, fol. 75, 27 jul 1419.
6.     "promisimus" (we promise, should be spelled promissimus), ACV Dp 108/2, inserted at fol. 55v, 21 may 1417.
7.     "prope", ACV Dp 108/2, inserted at fol. 75v, circa 1419.
8.     "procuratorum", ACV Dp 67, fol. 206v, 13 sep 1442. In this example, the counterclockwise loop around the tail of the p is strongly elongated and easily mistaken for a simple stroke that would signify per-.

§ V.     "Con" and "com" symbol, 9.

The symbol that represents the syllables con- or com- (and occasionally others) looks like the numeral 9, but it is often drawn in a way that suggests the letter q. A similar symbol, which looks even more like the numeral 9, represents the suffix -us, see below. Some scribes made these symbols almost alike, others wrote them very differently. The form representing con- and -com is frequently seen in French manuscripts as well, right up to the 17th Century.

1.     "consuetudines", ACV Dp 108/2, inserted at fol. 55v, 21 may 1417. The word is written ꝯsuetuɖ.
2.     "confitetur tenere", ACV Dp 67, fol. 206v, 13 sep 1442.
3.     "confiteor", ACV Dp 67, fol. 255v, 05 jun 1447.

§ VI.     Letters omitted in the middle of a word, or from the end of a word.

The idea behind this type of abbreviation is to leave just enough of the word to suggest the root plus the grammatical ending. Some of the abbreviations of this type are encountered repeatedly, others seem completely ad hoc and arbitrary. The abbreviation sign itself is usually a stroke or flourish over all or part of the word. In cursive scripts, this stroke frequently arises from a convenient letter toward the end of the word. Or, at times, the stroke indicating a "general abbreviation" may be completely absent. The same sort of sign — a stroke over the word — is often used to represent a final m, and in this case, the stroke is attached to the final vowel, usually a, e, or u. On occasion, this practice can lead to confusion.

1.    "acquisicionis", ACV Dp 108/2, inserted at fol. 55v, 21 may 1417. The word appears to be written acquisicois.
2.     "Anno domini millesimo", ACV Dp 108/2, inserted at fol. 55v, 21 may 1417. Domini is reduced to do. Millesimo begins with the cursive form of the "uncial" m, easily mistaken for aj- (especially because the i and j at that period were usually not dotted!), and written as millio.
3.     "contra predictam", ACV Dp 108/2, inserted at fol. 55v, 21 may 1417. Note that the stroke over the last half of the word predictam represents not only letters omitted from the middle of the word, but also the final m.
4.     "ex certa nomina et cuiuslibet nomine", ACV Dp 108/2, inserted at fol. 55v, 21 may 1417. We assume the ending for the second "nomine" should be -e, to agree with cuius? But the abbreviation makes the word look like it should be nomini.
5.     "clamam", ACV Dp 15/1, fol. 12, 31 jul 1535. In this case, the abbreviation sign covers most of the word, even though it is only the final m that has been omitted.
6.     "nominibus", ACV Dp 15/1, fol. 12, 31 jul 1535. The various inflections of nomen are routinely abbreviated in a way that preserves the first two letters plus a hint as to the ending. Here, the abbreviation is nobꝫ.
7.     "prenominato", ACV Dp 67, fol. 238v, 15 feb 1445. The "general abbreviation" sign, the stroke over most of the word, follows the usual procedure for derivatives of nomen: to the standard abbreviation for nomina (noia) is added the rest of the suffix, -to.
8.     "nativitatis beate Marie Virginis", ACV Dp 67, inserted at fol. 281, dated Saturday after the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 1447. The abbreviation bte preserves the grammatical ending of beate.

§ VII.     Endings -us, -is, -ibus, -rum.

There are characteristic symbols for each of these suffixes, but the same signs sometimes show up in other contexts. The -us symbol looks very much like the numeral 9, and in some hands it is virtually indistinguishable from the sign that represents the syllables con- and com-. In many other hands, however, the -us symbol is significantly and consistently smaller and much simpler. The -is symbol is best described as a long s connected by a short loop to the preceding letter; however, in practice, this symbol can represent almost any suffix. For -ibus, the plural ending for many nouns and adjectives in dative and ablative cases, we usually find it written -ibꝯ. The -rum ending in our manuscripts generally looks like a combination of the "rotunda" form of the r connected to the -is symbol, but the available fonts separate the final stroke: ꝝ. The -us suffix is sometimes represented by the lowered "3" sign, ꝫ, when it follows a b, see below, § X.

1.     "ex certa nomina et cuiuslibet nomine", ACV Dp 108/2, inserted at fol. 55v, 21 may 1417. The word cuiuslibet is written cuiꝯɮ.
2.     "minus", ACV Dp 108/2, inserted at fol. 55v, 21 may 1417. The word contains two abbreviations. We can represent it this way: mi͡ꝯ or miꝯ. Compare the -us symbol here with the larger and more elaborate symbol for con-, see § V, above.
3.     "promisimus" (we promise, should be spelled promissimus), ACV Dp 108/2, inserted at fol. 55v, 21 may 1417. In the Junicode font, we can represent the word this way: ꝓmiʃimꝯ.
4.     "obligatus", ACV Dp 67, fol. 206v, 13 sep 1442.
5.     "procuratorum", ACV Dp 67, fol. 206v, 13 sep 1442. This is the typical form of the -rum symbol in the cursive scripts we have encountered.
6.     "nativitatis beate Marie Virginis", ACV Dp 67, inserted at fol. 281, dated Saturday after the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 1447. Typical uses of the -is symbol, replacing many more letters than just -is.

§ VIII.     Combinations involving the letter "q".

Latin has a large number of special "q" words that function as pronouns, conjunction, etc. They occur frequently, and thus gave rise to a large number of abbreviations. Abbreviation signs used with the letter q often take on a new meaning, different from the way we would interpret them if they occurred with any other letter. When more than one symbol is applied to a q, the scribe frequently connected the symbols in some way, resulting in various swirls or flourishes.

1.    "Jaqueto", ACV Dp 67, fol. 206v, 13 sep 1442. Compare the procedure for abbreviating the syllable pri- or pre-. In effect, the symbol is an inverted breve over the q, but arising from the tail of the letter. This word could be represented in modern fonts as Jaq̑to.
2.     "Quod cum", ACV Dp 15/1, fol. 12, 31 jul 1535. This phrase. meaning Whereas, occurs with great frequency in legal documents, where it is almost always followed by an account of actions or circumstances that occurred in the past, after which we find the phrase "Hinc est quod", introducing the action being taken in the present. Quod cum occurs so often in this context, at the beginning of an important section of a legal document, and thus occasioning the use of a capital letter, that it came to have its own abbreviation sign, distinct from the usual abbreviation for quod, often just a diagonal stroke through the stem of a small q ( ꝙ ). However, as the capital Q is sometimes highly ornamented, the stroke across the tail can be hard to spot among the decorations!
3.     "quibus sibi tenebatur", ACV Dp 67, fol. 206v, 13 sep 1442. Note the spelling q̑bꝫ.
4.     "Johannes Serraliod filius quondam Jaqueti Serraliod alias Allamant de Chevro confitetur pro se", ACV Dp 67, fol. 209, 31 dec 1442. Note that the superscript o when combined with a q signifies something like quo-, but the same sign after another letter signifies -ro. Here we have a typical series of abbreviations: Johes raliod filius q^onɖ Jaq̑ti raliod al allamant de chev^o ꝓ se.
5.     "quondam", ACV Dp 67, fol. 242, 10 jul 1446. The abbreviation is written q^onɖ.
6.     "quo supra", ACV Dp 67, fol. 247v, 15 dec 1446. Quo supra means "as stated above", and appears frequently in legal documents. Here it is given the most minimal abbreviation possible, something like q^o s̃.
7.     "Aymoneto Quidor de Chevro pro se etc.", ACV Dp 67, fol. 255v, 05 jun 1447. The passage is written ay^to q̑dor de chev^o ꝓ se etc.
8.     "quantitate", ACV Dp 67, fol. 92 (1), 11 dec 1435. Although the abbreviation could stand for any inflection of quantitas, the word is found in the phrase ipsam pecunie quantitate (accusative case). Hence, the -is sign at the end simply indicates that the word has been truncated; it is up to the reader to work out the correct ending. The more interesting abbreviation is the treatment of the first syllable, which combines a stroke through the tail of the q with an elaboration of the "wavy line" or "flattened a" symbol above the q. Some scribes first wrote the stroke through the tail, then continued up to the top of the q, ending with a horizontal line over it. The notary here, Roletus de Montagniaco, sometimes used a simple "wavy line", sometimes the same "wavy line" with a retroflex curved stroke over it, and at other times, the present symbol, in which the extra stroke loops back on itself.

§ IX.     "Chi-rho".

"Chi-rho" refers to the Greek letters that formed the traditional Latin abbreviation for Christus, but in the cursive scripts, the x looks very much like a p, with the result that the "chi-rho" abbreviation (with a stroke over these letters, to indicate that it is in fact an abbreviation) may closely resemble a double p, rather than xp. This can lead to confusion! Even when the xp combination is recognizable, and even when there is a stroke over the word, there are words beginning in exp- that might be abbreviated, for example various words derived from exprimo or expromo. The following examples will illustrate the problem.

1.     "Cristine", ACV Fg 6, part 2, fol. 10v, 27 feb 1440. This is Mermetus Cristine, the notary or "commissaire" who compiled the second section of this terrier, for property in the vicinity of Morges subject to the Priory of Romainmôtier. The name is written xpine. The same notary wrote his name in full at the beginning of the same section:
2.     "Mermetum Cristine", ACV Fg 6, part 2, fol. 1, 08 apr 1439. The notary who compiled the first section of the same terrier was Mermetus Pippini. He wrote his name this way:
3.     "Mermetum Pippini", ACV Fg 6, part 1, fol. 1, 22 feb 1424. Notice the close resemblance between the first example, an abbreviation for Cristine, and this example, Pippini. It is easy to mistake the abbreviation for Cristine as an abbreviation for the name of the earlier notary, Mermetus Pippini. In fact, it is very easy to confuse the x and p in this hand, but the long tail of the letter x usually curves toward the right, while the tail of the p is usually straight. Also visible in these examples is the typical way of dotting the i, with a fine, elongated diagonal stroke or loop.

§ X.     Symbol 3 used for -et, or sometimes -us.

The traditional symbol looks very much like the numeral 3, or else a form of the letter z. It occurs frequently, in abbreviations for such words as videlicet, quodlibet, scilicet, and others. The combination  represents the word or suffix que. When this symbol follows a b, it can also represent the suffix -us.

1.     "ex certa nomina et cuiuslibet nomine", ACV Dp 108/2, inserted at fol. 55v, 21 may 1417.
2.     "et levetur pro fratribus videlicet", ACV Dp 108/2, inserted at fol. 55v, 21 may 1417.
3.     "nominibus", ACV Dp 15/1, fol. 12, 31 jul 1535.
4.     "lictera cum omnibus clausulis suis universis et opportunis", ACV Dp 15/1, fol. 12, 31 jul 1535. This is a typical example of medieval legalese found in contracts.
5.     "quibus sibi tenebatur", ACV Dp 67, fol. 206v, 13 sep 1442. Note the spelling q̑bꝫ.

§ XI.     The "ser" and "vir" symbols.

A long s with an extra stroke down the right side generally means ser- or any other convenient syllable containing an s, such as -sis or even -ensis, -enses, -ensium, and so forth (Junicode symbol  ). When it is used at the end of a word, then, the word ending itself may thus be hidden, leading sometimes to ambiguities in translation. The traditional symbol for vir-, often seen in Virginis, is simply a v with a diagonal stroke through it (Junicode symbol ꝟ ). However, another tradition is often seen in the Gothic cursive manuscripts we have studied, where vir- or ver- is abbreviated with a u connecting to the -er hook described above in § II.

1.     "universis et singulis", ACV Dp 108/2, inserted at fol. 55v, 21 may 1417.
2.     "Johannes Serraliod filius quondam Jaqueti Serraliod alias Allamant de Chevro confitetur pro se", ACV Dp 67, fol. 209, 31 dec 1442. Here we have a typical series of abbreviations: Johes raliod filius q^onɖ Jaq̑ti raliod al allamant de chev^o ꝓ se.
3.     "servire", ACV Dp 108/2, fol. 87v, 25 sep 1420.
4.     "mensis", ACV Dp 67, fol. 239, 20 feb 1445. The missing n is signified by the stroke over the first half of the word, and the abbreviation is thus written m͡e.
5.     "census", ACV Dp 67, fol. 255v, 05 jun 1447.
6.     "ab Anselmo de Chastynaye alias Bella", ACV Dp 67, fol. 93 (1), 27 dec 1435. The passage could equally well be read "ab Ansermo de Chastynaye aliter Bella", because the name is sometimes spelled Ansermus instead of Anselmus, the "official" form today (for example, Saint Anselm), and the abbreviation al can stand for either alias or aliter, which have essentially the same meaning. Alias is usually abbreviated als, probably to prevent this ambiguity, and aliter is usually abbreviated with the -er hook (see § II).

§ XII.     Superscripts.

Recognizable letters, or sometimes symbols such as the one representing -us, can be used as superscripts to indicate abbreviations. Most often this is done by truncating a word and then writing the last one or two letters of the word as a superscript at the end, such as Jac^bi for Jacobi. In this way, the superscript helps us guess which word has been abbreviated, as well as its grammatical case or tense. Another usage of superscript letters appears to be intended to express German diphthongs (writing Schoͤneveis instead of Schöneveis) or to avoid ambiguity in certain spellings of French names (do^u Fort or doͧ Fort, Da^umont or Daͧmont). Finally, a small circle, in effect a superscript o, can be used for the syllable ro-.

1.     "trossello", ACV Dp 108/2, fol. 75, 27 jul 1419. While it is tempting to use the degree symbol here, ° , in some fonts a word containing this symbol will break at the end of a line. It seems safer to use a small o as a superscript to represent this abbreviation: t^ossello.
2.     "schoeneveis" (refers to Franciscus Schoeneveis, ch�telain at Montagny), ACV Dp 108/2, inserted at fol. 75v, circa 1419. Where today we would probably write Schöneveis, earlier scribes who worked in or near the German-speaking areas of Switzerland often added the extra vowel as a superscript, either directly above, or to the right. The "combining e above" character in the Junicode font can be used to represent this situation, but we had to adjust its weight and size to resemble the script more closely: ʃchoͤneveis.
3.     "foeguilli", ACV Dp 15/1, fol. 12, 31 jul 1535. This is a variant of a family name from Fribourg, here written ƒoͤguilli.
4.    "Anthonius dou Fort", ACV Dp 67, fol. 94(2), 10 apr 1436. The superscript representing the letter u is the "v" form (see above, § I), and extends over the entire word "do". At this period, French family names beginning with "du" were spelled "dou" or else used the form shown here, when used in Latin documents. Some historians have mistakenly transcribed such names as "Don", perhaps because they never encountered this abbreviated form, or else never realized what it was!
5.     "Johannes Serraliod filius quondam Jaqueti Serraliod alias Allamant de Chevro confitetur pro se", ACV Dp 67, fol. 209, 31 dec 1442. Two words use the superscript o, but in different contexts. Here we have a typical series of abbreviations: Johes raliod filius q^onɖ Jaq̑ti raliod al allamant de chev^o ꝓ se.
6.     "Aymoneto Quidor de Chevro pro se etc.", ACV Dp 67, fol. 255v, 05 jun 1447. The passage is written ay^to q̑dor de chev^o ꝓ se etc.

§ XIII.     Word endings that begin with d.

A d with a tail, ɖ, is found in many situations, generally representing the end of a word. Used alone, it frequently means denarius (French denier), a coin. From this usage, we get the "penny" symbol in several languages. In French, the same sign often represents dit, dite, dits, or dites, in words that we would translate as "the said" or "of the said" in legal records at least as late as the beginning of the 18th Century (ledit, dudit, de ladite, susdit, and many similar words). In Latin, we frequently find it in words meaning "the same" or "the said", such as eiusdem, but also in almost any word where a d occurs near the end of the word.

1.     "consuetudines", ACV Dp 108/2, inserted at fol. 55v, 21 may 1417. The word is written ꝯsuetuɖ.
2.     "quondam", ACV Dp 67, fol. 242, 10 jul 1446. The abbreviation is written q^onɖ.

§ XIV.     Other signs involving the letter r.

Other symbols are encountered that involve the letter r in various combinations. They are quite variable, and one, the flame-like symbol, seems quite rare in the manuscripts we have studied. For the use of a superscript o to indicate the syllable ro-, see above, § XII.

1.     "non scripto", ACV Dp 108/2, inserted at fol. 55v, 21 may 1417. The abbreviation symbol is similar to the -er hook (above, § II) with a horizontal extension on the right side, somewhat similar to the "combining rotunda r" in the Junicode font, so perhaps we can represent the word this way: non sc ᷣpto — but to achieve this effect, we had to leave a space after the c, so that the symbol would not appear directly over it, enlarge the symbol, and give it "bold" weight, to compensate for the placement, small size, and weight of the glyph in the Junicode font! For added realism, we can select a "long s" from the Junicode font as well, non ʃc ᷣpto.
2.     "Nos vero Johannes", ACV Dp 108/2, inserted at fol. 55v, 21 may 1417. The symbol used here in vero is similar to the mirror image of a tilde, rotated by 90°, but the corresponding glyph in the Junicode font has the opposite orientation, Nos vo̾ Johes.
3.     "et levetur pro fratribus videlicet", ACV Dp 108/2, inserted at fol. 55v, 21 may 1417. The symbol representing -ur in levetur is similar to a sign in the Junicode font, levet ᷑, or perhaps the tilde could be used, levet ̃ .
4.     "future", ACV Dp 108/2, inserted at fol. 75v, circa 1419.
5.     "exigetur", ACV Dp 108/2, fol. 87v, 25 sep 1420.
6.     "tenetur", ACV Dp 108/2, fol. 87v, 25 sep 1420.
7.     "quibus sibi tenebatur", ACV Dp 67, fol. 206v, 13 sep 1442. In this example, we see the "flattened a" sign, which in fact is more like a u. In this case, we can represent the abbreviation in the Junicode font as tenebat ᷓ.
8.     "confitetur tenere", ACV Dp 67, fol. 206v, 13 sep 1442.
9.     "mei notarii subscripti", ACV Dp 108/2, fol. 88, 25 sep 1420. There are two abbreviation signs here, the "violin bow" over the much-contracted word notarii, and the symbol over subscripti (see the first example in this section, scripto).
10.     "tres", ACV Dp 108/2, fol. 75, 27 aug 1419. This abbreviation can be represented in the Junicode font by playing with the "combining double grave" character: t ̏s .
11.     "nativitatis beate Marie Virginis", ACV Dp 67, inserted at fol. 281, dated Saturday after the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 1447. Note the minimalist abbreviation of Marie, m ̏.
12.     "quo supra", ACV Dp 67, fol. 247v, 15 dec 1446. Quo supra means "as stated above", and appears frequently in legal documents. Here it is given the most minimal abbreviation possible, something like q^o s̃ — and this notary, at least, does not use the "violin bow" symbol over any abbreviation of supra.
13.     "confiteor", ACV Dp 67, fol. 255v, 05 jun 1447.