Ecclesiastical Abbreviations

Most manuals of palaeography (Greek and Latin) contain lists of Abbreviations (ancient and medieval), some of which are yet of ecclesiastical interest, while others have long since become obsolete or rare, and concern only the reader of manuscripts. Some manuals of diplomatics, likewise, have useful lists of pontifical chancery abbreviations, e.g. QUANTIN, Dict. de diplomatique chrétienne (Paris, 1846). 26-42, and Prou (Paris, 1902). in the latter work may be seen the original script-forms of these Abbreviations. Facsimiles of abbreviated pontifical documents may be seen, e.g. in DENIFLE, Specimina Palaeographica ab Innoc. III ad Urban. V. (Rome, 1888) The Abbreviations in Greek manuscripts were first scientifically studied by the Benedictine MONTFAUCON in his famous Palaeographica Graeca (Paris, 1708); see the lntroductions to Greek Palaeography of GARDTHAUSEN and WATTENBACH The little work, Modus legendi abreviaturas in jure tam civili quam pontificio occurrentes (Venice, 1596), is one of the earliest attempts at a dictionary of medieval abbreviations. A very useful work for all Latin abbreviations is that of CAPELLI, Dizionario delle abbreviature latine ed italiane (Milan, 1900); it is written mostly in Latin and describes all the abbreviations ordinarily used in Latin and Italian documents, civil or ecclesiastical. Other valuable works dealing specifically with abbreviations in pontifical documents are DE LA BRANA, Signos y Abreviaturas que se usan en los documentos pontificios (Leon, 1884); RODENBERG, Epistolae saec. XIII e regestis RR. PP. selectae (Berlin, 1883), I, 323. For an extensive list of the abbreviations in the epitaphs of the Catacombs see KRAUS, Real-Encycl. der Christi. Alterth. (Freiburg, 1886), I, 47-51. The chapters on abbreviations of medieval manuscripts in the palaeographical manuals of DE WAILLY (Paris, 1843), CHASSANT (Paris, 1885), PAOLI (Florence, 1891), REUSENS (Louvain, 1899), CARINI (Rome, 1889), and THOMPSON (London, 1903) are recommended, also the excellent Lateinische Paläographie of STEFFENS (Freiburg, Switzerland, 1903, 3 vols. fol. with many plates). See BATTANDIER, Abbréviations, in Ann. Pont. Cath. (Paris 1900), 527-538.