RE: VMs: RE: Re: michiton oladabas explained

["GC" <glenclaston@xxxxxxxxx>]

Nick wrote:
> Looking at my CopyFlo just now, I found some notes I
> made while talking
> with Sergio Torresella on this page, which I omitted to
> copy to the list
> (sorry).
>
> When Sergio looked at the VMS at the Beinecke, he felt
> reasonably sure that
> the first few words were:
>
> 	pulcher nomen pu[e]rem
>
> 	anchiton aladabas ...
>
> His opinion was that whoever wrote it had an "inability
> to write Latin",
> and so was instead parroting Latin-like phrases.


I would agree with "anchiton", although "oladabas" is very clearly
with an "o".  I'm not so sure about "pulcher".  I see "poxlebev"
or poxlcbcv".  What makes me think this is more of a "personal
cipher" than anything else are the various markings that are
related to "shorthand" systems of the time.  The "o" in the
supposed "multos" for instance, has two marks at the bottom.  This
is shorthand notation.  This also makes me think that the "an" of
"anchiton" is an astrological sign, not the letters "an".  A
physician or pharmacist's personal shorthand would include these
signs regularly.

There are various other shorthand markings, but I do agree with
the "valsch ubren so nim gaf mich".  I think the markings for the
"o" after this string make it a correction of the +ma +ma to read
+mo +ma, or at least the writer's way of saying he wasn't sure if
it was an "a" or an "o".  The "m" after "portas" also seems to be
an astrological sign.

Perhaps someone can make some sense of this one day.

GC

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