Methods of Abbreviation
The use of abbreviations is due, in part, to exigencies
arising from the nature of the materials employed in the making of records, whether stone, marble,
bronze, or parchment. Lapidaries engravers, and copyists are under the same necessity of making
the most of the space at their disposal. Such abbreviations, indeed, are seldom met with at the
beginning of the Christian era material of all kinds was plentiful and there was consequently, no
need to be sparing in the use of it. By the third or fourth century, however, it had grown to be
scarce and costly, and it became the artist's aim to inscribe long texts on surfaces of somewhat
scanty proportions. We shall not pause here to discuss the use of abbreviations in ordinary writing.
The Romans possessed an alphabet known by the name of Notae Tironienses, which served the
same purpose as our modern systems of Stenography. Its use necessitated a special course of study
and there is still much uncertainty as to the significance of the characters employed.
It is when we come to consider the subject of inscriptions cut in stone that we find the most
frequent use of abbreviations. At certain late periods for example, in Spain in the Middle Ages
this custom becomes abused to such an extent as to result in the invention of symbols which are
undecipherable. In the best period of epigraphy certain rules are strictly observed. The
abbreviations in common use fall under two chief heads:
- The reduction of the word to its initial letter;
- The reduction of a word to its first letters in a bunch or to several letters taken at intervals in the body a the word and set side by aide.
This latter arrangement is almost
conclusively
Christian, whereas in
heathen inscriptions the number of letters left in the
abbreviation is more or less limited, yet no intermediate letter is omitted. The following readings
may be noted: PON., PONT., PONTF., for
Pontifex; DP., DEP., DPS., for
Depositus; MCP for
Municipii. Occasionally a phrase which has become stale by constant use and has grown into a
formula, is rarely found in any other form than that of its
abbreviation e.g.
D.M. for
Diis Manibus,
IHS for
Jesus, just as we have kept
R.I.P. for
requiescat in pace. Lastly a whole
epitaph is often met
with on tombs where the husband's
epitaph to his wife takes the following form: DE qua N(ullum)
D(olorem) A(cceperat) N(isi) M(ortis).
Another form of Abbreviation consisted in doubling the last consonant of the word to be
shortened as many times as there were persons alluded to, e.g. AVG for Augustus, AVGG for
Augusti duo. Stone cutters however, soon began to take liberties with this rule, and, instead of
Putting COSS for Consulibus duobus, invented the form CCSS. Still, when there was occasion to
refer to three or four people this doubling of the last consonant gave way of necessity, in
abbreviations, to the simple sign of the plural. A horizontal line over a letter or set of letters was
also much used, and was destined indeed, to become almost universal in the Middle Ages. There is
never any difficulty in settling the date of monuments where this sign of abbreviation occurs; the
undulating line, or one curved at each end and rising in the middle only came into use at a
comparatively late period.
Certain marks of Abbreviation have had so widespread a use as to merit special note. The
ancient liturgical manuscripts which contain recensions of Masses, and are known as
Sacramentaries all have the letters VD at the beginning of the Preface, set side by side and joined
by a transverse bar. Mabillon interprets this monogram as being that of the formula, "Vere dignum
et justum est, aequum et salutare", an interpretation which is certainly the correct one. According
to the various manuscripts, the monogram stands for the words vere dignum, or else for the whole
formula; in the majority of instances the letters VD stand for the phrase Vere dignum et Justum
est, which is followed by the rest of the context, oequum et, etc. In a large number of manuscripts
these letters VD have fired the imagination of illuminators And copyists. It is however, impossible
to enter into a general description of the subject. Under a growth of arabesques of foliage, of fancies
of all kinds the outline of the two letters is sometimes hard to distinguish. The symbol encroaches
more and more, and grows from a mere initial into an ornamental page. The essential type varies
little, though variants of some importance are met with. It was inevitable that medieval writers
should build a whole system of mysticism and allegory on the VD of the Preface. John Beleth rector
of the theological school at Pads, devised an interpretation which found acceptance. The D, he
wrote, a letter completely closed, signifies the Godhead, Which has neither beginning nor end; the
half open V means the Manhood of Christ, which had a beginning, but has no end; the bar which
intersects the upright lines of the VD and forms a cross, teaches us that the cross makes us fit for
the life of God. Fancies of the same kind are to be found in Sicardus of Cremona and in Durandus
of Mende. Various manuscripts contain hundreds of variable prefaces; the initial letters however
are not drawn on a uniform pattern and tie chief attempts at ornamentation are invariably
confined to the Praefatio Communis immediately preceding the Canon of the Mass. The first two
letters of the Canon TE have also been made the theme of various decorations, though less curious
and less varied than those above referred to.
A word may be said concerning the abbreviation D.O.M., sometimes seen over the doors of our
churches and which whatever may be said to the contrary, has never been a Christian symbol. The
formula in full is Deo Optimo Maximo and referred originally Jupiter. The abbreviation, IHV, is
found on a great number of different objects: ancient gems, coins, epitaphs, dedications and
diplomas. The symbol IHS was destined to endure for many ages, but it is only since the time of
St. Bernardine of Sienna that it has come into such widespread use. It is impossible, with the
information available, to say whether it is of Greek or Latin origin. Lastly, the abbreviation, XM(GAMMA),
meaning, Christon Maria genna is often found on monuments of eastern origin.
LECLERCQ, in Dict. d arch ol. chr t. et de liturgie, I, 155-183, s.v.; MURATORI, Novus thesaurus veterum
inscriptionum (Milan, 1739); DE ROSSI, Inscr. christ. urb. Romae (Rome, 1861); DUCHESNE, Origines du culte
chr tien (Paris, 1898); ZELL, Handbuch der r mischen Epigraphik, 1850-57.
H. LECLERCQ
The 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia