When Elizabethan＇s were trained to read and write, the handwriting they first learned was ＂Secretary＂ （or ＂Secretarial＂） hand, reflecting the style used by monks and scribes well back into the Middle Ages. Only...When Elizabethan＇s were trained to read and write, the handwriting they first learned was ＂Secretary＂ （or ＂Secretarial＂） hand, reflecting the style used by monks and scribes well back into the Middle Ages. Only in the mid-1500s did an alternative hand called ＂Italic＂ （or ＂Italianate＂） slowly begin to be adopted as a second hand, reflecting handwriting used on the continent, and Italic was rarer than Secretary until well after 1600. Today, extant Elizabethan handwriting samples normally show each person used both hand styles, and where only one hand is extant for a given person, it is usually a Secretary hand. Thus, it＇s a surprise that two noblemen, the great William Cecil, Lord Burghley, and his son-in-law Edward DeVere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, are each assumed to have only Italic hand samples among their voluminous collections of handwriting. Did they not learn and never use Secretary hands, or is it that any Secretary hands in their documents are simply presumed to be written by clerks？ This article begins with questioning whether the two men really were limited to Italic hands, fmds a few plausible Secretary hand samples for one of them （possibly for both）, reconstructs a hypothetical Italic alphabet for him, and nominates many candidate manuscripts （MSS, singular MS） for having been written or contributed to by him, some of which may be relevant to Shakespeare studies. Other subjects touched on are calligraphy, a clerk （or amanuensis）, and griffe de notaire （literally a ＂notary＇s scratch＂, or identifying scribble）.展开更多
This article compares two Latin poem dedications which may contain hidden sub-meanings and possible displays of a basic puzzle method called acrostics, each dedicated to the same nobleman. The Latin verse in 1579 by A...This article compares two Latin poem dedications which may contain hidden sub-meanings and possible displays of a basic puzzle method called acrostics, each dedicated to the same nobleman. The Latin verse in 1579 by Anthony Munday follows acrostic English poems and may refer to his patron as ＂a lover of Pallas Athena＂ （the Spear-shaker of Greek mythology）. The Latin verse in Robert Greene＇s 1584 book may contain a Latin acrostic and appears to identify Cupid, the ＂winged Love,＂ as a companion of the same patron as Munday＇s from five years earlier. That Cupid trope appears similar to ＂the little love god＂ allusions to Cupid in several of Shakespeare＇s sonnets （e.g., #s 153 and 154）. More than these discussions, this article explores difficulties of translating from Latin into English, or vice versa, and the pitfalls which can occur.展开更多
文摘When Elizabethan＇s were trained to read and write, the handwriting they first learned was ＂Secretary＂ （or ＂Secretarial＂） hand, reflecting the style used by monks and scribes well back into the Middle Ages. Only in the mid-1500s did an alternative hand called ＂Italic＂ （or ＂Italianate＂） slowly begin to be adopted as a second hand, reflecting handwriting used on the continent, and Italic was rarer than Secretary until well after 1600. Today, extant Elizabethan handwriting samples normally show each person used both hand styles, and where only one hand is extant for a given person, it is usually a Secretary hand. Thus, it＇s a surprise that two noblemen, the great William Cecil, Lord Burghley, and his son-in-law Edward DeVere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, are each assumed to have only Italic hand samples among their voluminous collections of handwriting. Did they not learn and never use Secretary hands, or is it that any Secretary hands in their documents are simply presumed to be written by clerks？ This article begins with questioning whether the two men really were limited to Italic hands, fmds a few plausible Secretary hand samples for one of them （possibly for both）, reconstructs a hypothetical Italic alphabet for him, and nominates many candidate manuscripts （MSS, singular MS） for having been written or contributed to by him, some of which may be relevant to Shakespeare studies. Other subjects touched on are calligraphy, a clerk （or amanuensis）, and griffe de notaire （literally a ＂notary＇s scratch＂, or identifying scribble）.
文摘This article compares two Latin poem dedications which may contain hidden sub-meanings and possible displays of a basic puzzle method called acrostics, each dedicated to the same nobleman. The Latin verse in 1579 by Anthony Munday follows acrostic English poems and may refer to his patron as ＂a lover of Pallas Athena＂ （the Spear-shaker of Greek mythology）. The Latin verse in Robert Greene＇s 1584 book may contain a Latin acrostic and appears to identify Cupid, the ＂winged Love,＂ as a companion of the same patron as Munday＇s from five years earlier. That Cupid trope appears similar to ＂the little love god＂ allusions to Cupid in several of Shakespeare＇s sonnets （e.g., #s 153 and 154）. More than these discussions, this article explores difficulties of translating from Latin into English, or vice versa, and the pitfalls which can occur.
