Some time back, we wrote a post on deciphering the script of the court of Ferdinand and Isabella. That script was difficult and relied heavily on abbreviations. It came from a court scribe. Example is below.
But among the hardest to read, beyond that of the Spanish, is Mercantesca, the script used by the Italian merchants during the Renaissance. So take a look below and see how much you can read.
“Al nome di Dio a di iiii di febraio 1454.” [In the name of God, on the 4th of February 1454(5)]. Note the use of lower case, joined, Roman numerals, as well as the abbreviation for “di.”
Line 1: “Sono venute le galee” [The galleys have arrived]
Line 2: “del arcipelago” [from the archipelago, Indonesia]
“pure veduto la pace fatta” [given the peace made – a reference to the Peace of Lodi]
“L’amicho da Roma questa altra volta” [the friend from Rome next time]. Note that words are grouped together into one word and the abbreviation for Questa, as in other languages, swallows the “ue.”
