[B-Greek] Greek accent perispomeni question
James Ernest
jdemail at charter.net
Thu Jun 17 09:10:31 EDT 2004
Interesting about this history. I had always thought, based on the idea that
the circumflex "is formed from the union of the acute and the grave" (see
Smyth para. 156) that the original form was neither the tilde nor the
rounded ("lunate") form but tent-shaped, i.e., like the lunate but formed of
straight segments and so pointed at the top. I see this is the form of the
circumflex in Codex Marchalianum, which is the earliest accented ms. in
Metzger, Manuscripts of the Greek Bible. (The accents in Vaticanus, which
uses a rounded or lunate circumflex, are not original; Metzger does not date
them.)
The lunate form is used in a number of mss. in the Metzger book. I don't see
the tilde form used as perispomeni in any of them.
I don't recall ever seeing the pointed perispomeni in a Greek font.
For Patrick's font, my vote would be for the lunate form.
James
--------------------------------
James D. Ernest, Ph.D., Editor
Baker Academic
jernest at BakerAcademic.com
http://www.BakerAcademic.com
--------------------------------
> -----Original Message-----
> From: b-greek-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org
> [mailto:b-greek-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of
> Patrick Durusau
> Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2004 7:36 AM
> To: b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
> Subject: [B-Greek] Greek accent perispomeni question
>
>
<snip>
> ****Question on the Greek perispomeni accent****
>
> The Greek accent perispomeni may take two different forms.
> The first and older of these forms is similar to the Latin
> tilde, a kind of wavy form, although the Greek may have a
> different ductus (i.e. a different pattern of contrast
> between thick and thin). This is the form of perispomeni that
> is found in most manuscripts and in printing types prior to
> the 19th century.
>
> In the 19th century, the English classicist Richard Porson
> had a new typeface cut based on his own Greek handwriting.
> This Porsonic style was hugely influential on the publishing
> of classical texts in the English-speaking world. One of the
> characteristics of the style is the second, lunate form of
> perispomeni, which resembles an upturned breve.
<snip>
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