Codex Heinricus Pontarius: Difference between revisions
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The codex is believed to have originally had 528 pages, although 3 quires of 16 pages each are missing. Of the surviving pages, 34 are severely damaged to the point of being illegible. Of the remaining pages, there are approximately 58,000 words legible. It is written in a modified Greek alphabet. It has been radio2carbon dated to 880 AD ±25 years. The style of Greek script used in the Codex generally concurs with this date. The age of other grave goods in the tomb and the skeleton of an elderly adult male are of similar antiquity. | The codex is believed to have originally had 528 pages, although 3 quires of 16 pages each are missing. Of the surviving pages, 34 are severely damaged to the point of being illegible. Of the remaining pages, there are approximately 58,000 words legible. It is written in a modified Greek alphabet. It has been radio2carbon dated to 880 AD ±25 years. The style of Greek script used in the Codex generally concurs with this date. The age of other grave goods in the tomb and the skeleton of an elderly adult male are of similar antiquity. | ||
[[File:Codex Heinricus Pontarius fragment.jpg|thumbnail|Page from the Codex Heinricus Pontarius, written in Old Quadian, in which Heinric Pontari of Spalatum details his kin and place of birth.]] | |||
The relationship of the language in the codex to other Germanic languages is uncertain. Attempts to categorize it as North, West or East Germanic have proved to be inconclusive. It displays a number of unique phonetic, grammatical and lexical innovations:'''*hw''' evolved to [hj] In the codex, this is written with Greek Chi plus Iota. '''*þ''' evolved to [ts]. The exact realization of this phoneme is uncertain. In the codex it is rendered with the Greek letter Zeta so was most likely pronounced as [ts] or [dz]. The '''*þ''' phoneme had obviously changed from its original Proto-Germanic sound, as otherwise Theta would seem a much more obvious choice of letter. The phonology shows in any case little influence of the High Germanic consonant shift. | The relationship of the language in the codex to other Germanic languages is uncertain. Attempts to categorize it as North, West or East Germanic have proved to be inconclusive. It displays a number of unique phonetic, grammatical and lexical innovations:'''*hw''' evolved to [hj] In the codex, this is written with Greek Chi plus Iota. '''*þ''' evolved to [ts]. The exact realization of this phoneme is uncertain. In the codex it is rendered with the Greek letter Zeta so was most likely pronounced as [ts] or [dz]. The '''*þ''' phoneme had obviously changed from its original Proto-Germanic sound, as otherwise Theta would seem a much more obvious choice of letter. The phonology shows in any case little influence of the High Germanic consonant shift. | ||