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chirography - Word of the Day - Fri Nov 8, 2024


Myr

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chirography - (n) - handwriting, especially as distinct from typography

take notes GIF by US National Archives

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His elegant chirography made every handwritten letter a work of art.

 

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8 hours ago, sandrewn said:

While I was making my last comment I came across this interesting/fascinating read.

Diplomatics - Formats, Scripts, Seals | Britannica

An extract from the above:

From Roman times the two most important methods of validating documents were by appending the signature or the seal of the sender or promulgator. The practice of using seals for this purpose (and not merely to close a document) was carried over from imperial usage and, by the 8th century, was current among the Lombards and other Germanic tribes in western Europe. Until about the 8th century, the signature of the Merovingian ruler or his delegate was also required for the validation of public documents, but thereafter the seal alone, together with the recognition by a high chancery official, was held sufficient, the king’s signature dwindling into a monogram or mere stroke (the “stroke of execution”). This change was probably accelerated because many medieval kings could not write. Thus, in England, King John sealed, and did not sign, the Magna Carta.

 

:cowboy:

An interesting piece of trivia is that Queen Elizabeth II signed as Elizabeth R and on official documents (eg. acts of Parliament) at the top of the document, not at the bottom as you might expect.

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I took a mail in course in junior high, there was no online back then :P Anyone that comments asking if I had an inkwell and a feather will regret it 😠

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For me, I would define chirography as being able to write so others can read it, not just a bunch of squiggly lines.  

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