Re: VMs: Shorthand vs cipher...

[Nick Pelling <incoming@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Richard,

At 08:27 18/11/2003 -0800, Richard Brzustowicz wrote:
> On Tue, 18 Nov 2003, Nick Pelling wrote:
> > All the same, remember that shorthand had an *extraordinarily* bad press
> > circa 1350-1500. Secret writing (of all kinds) was thought to be diabolic -
> > that is, the Thought Police of the day believed that if you were hiding
> > some thoughts in text, they was probably blasphemous... so, on the balance
> > of probability, better to burn you at the stake... just to be sure. :-o
>
> I've never heard of this; I was rather under the impression that
> short-hand was in raher wide use (for example, in legal contexts).
> Could you provide me with references re the history of the hostility
> toward shorthand between the 14th and 16th centuries?

A very valid request - though it'll take a while (as I don't have the 
references to hand, and will need to get back to the BL). Essentially 
you're correct for the 16th Century but not for the 14th Century - and as 
for the 15th Century, it depends on who (and where) you were. AFAICR, up to 
about 1450 shorthand was still thought of as diabolical (and hence remained 
clandestine) - but there are precious few references to it 1450-1550 (when 
it was presumably changing status).

IIRC, the strongest evidence for shorthand pre-Bright is in the context of 
religious shorthand (which is what GC has often cited), but that would seem 
somewhat hard to reconcile with a (say) pre-1525 date (IMO).

Cheers, .....Nick Pelling.....

PS: Patricia Brewerton recently had an interesting article published (in 
"The Sixteenth Century Journal", Vol XXXIII, No 4, Winter 2002, of which 
she very kindly sent me an off-print) on the political and religious 
dimensions of Bright's Characterie, his political patronage, and his 
career. (I'll review it on-list another day... ) 


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