Re: VMs: VMS symbols and early arabic numbers in Europe

[Nick Pelling <nickpelling@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Heikki,

At 21:30 06/08/2005 +0200, Heikki Qvist wrote:
> Arabic numbers were introduced slowly from end of first millenium to year 
> 1500, when the usage of arabic numbers started as we know them now.
> In the latest phase of this developing period Arabic numbers appears very 
> similar to certain VMS symbols.
>
> 1) A symbol presented as an EVA symbol "l" (loop) was for 4.
> 2) A symbol presented as an EVA symbol "v" (cap) was for 7.
> 3) A symbol presented as an EVA symbol "q" (number four) was for 5.
> (and these are more obvious:)
> 4) A symbol presented as an EVA symbol "r" was for 2.?
> 5) A symbol presented as an EVA symbol "s" was for 3.?
> 6) A symbol presented as an EVA symbol "y" was for 9.
> 7) A symbol presented as an EVA symbol "d" was for 8.
> 8) A symbol presented as an EVA symbol "o" was for 0.
>
> Also there's similar property in VMS compared in early way of writing 
> Arabic numbers (already used in India): Adding symbols (dots or 
> circles)  above the number to mark zeros.
>
> Has anyone researches this ?
> Where are symbols for 1 and 6?

Historically, a good number of people have, from examining the symbols 
themselves out of context, concluded that the Voynichese alphabet contains 
symbols much like the Arabic numerals circa 1400, but without 1 & 6 (and 
arguably a few others, as you indeed flagged)

However, examine those same symbols in context - ie where they appear 
within [what appears to be] words - and you might instead conclude (as I 
do) that they owe far more to those ragged remnants of Latin notae that 
were still in use circa 1400-1500. In particular, the VMs' word-final -9 is 
a particularly obvious example of something that is not based on an Arabic 
numeral heritage.

There's plenty on exactly this in the list archives, but I'd have to 
recommend D'Imperio as a more easily accessible starting point for this. :-)

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


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