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Modern English
In the orthography of Modern English, thorn (þ), eth (ð), wynn (ƿ), yogh (ȝ), ash (æ), and ethel (œ) are obsolete. Latin borrowings reintroduced homographs of ash and ethel into Middle and Early Modern English, though they are not considered to be the same letters[citation needed] but rather ligatures, and in any case are somewhat old-fashioned. Thorn and eth were both replaced by th, though thorn continued in existence for some time, its lowercase form gradually becoming graphically indistinguishable from the minuscule y in most handwriting. Y for th can still be seen in pseudo-archaisms such as “Ye Olde Booke Shoppe”. The letters þ and ð are still used in present-day Icelandic. Wynn disappeared from English around the fourteenth century when it was supplanted by uu, which ultimately developed into the modern w. Yogh disappeared around the fifteenth century and was typically replaced by gh.
The letters u and j, as distinct from v and i, were introduced in the sixteenth century, and w assumed the status of an independent letter, so that the English alphabet is now considered to consist of the following 26 letters:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Originally posted by JunoJive
But for what purpose? Why go to such lengths to keep your grocery list secret?
Originally posted by JunoJive
Perhaps the 'key' is hidden in plain sight? I'm no cryptographer, so I'll stick to what I can speculate on.
You do not need a "key" when writing a second language, look at some of the languages from the north, Old Icelandic, Old West Norse and so on.
You need to "understand" the language, not find a cipher.
It is likely that were it an arcane language, someone would have recognized it by now. A German professor I knew well could sight read and translate any Germanic language, including ancient Norse and Icelandic. I would imagine that she was not the only one.
The manuscript is likely to be encrypted. As to the ease of writing, a philosopher or a person who had based a livelihood on advanced medical skills skirting heresey may have been writing in this code for a lifetime. It could even be a copy of an encyclopedic work of alchemists and physicians sharing knowledge in their own codes. One can't be too careful with defenestrations in the offing.
Originally posted by JunoJive
Just another indicator that it IS a language and not a code. One that perhaps requires a cultural reference to understand as opposed to the correct cipher. Either way its an impressive work, i mean its remained a mystery for 509 years and count.
I know I've been flip flopping between whether its a code or a language, but I guess its both, so no sense arguing semantics.
[edit on 15-12-2009 by JunoJive]
Originally posted by pteridine
The German code was cracked by the Allies, as was the Japanese Naval Code.