medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Erick Kelemen wrote:
> Yes to all the letters except for the pleasant design, which is
> almost certainly an I/J, and except that they wouldn't have been
> called Alpha and Omega, but A and O, though everyone was to
> understand that the Greek letters are being invoked. See the first
> line of the Wakefield Creation play, "Ego sum alpha et O," spelling
> out 'alpha,' but rhyming 'O' with 'also' in the next line.
>
There's also a lovely carol with "Alpha est and O" in the refrain, & I
have found the same in one of my 15thC Venetian ms. But what strikes me
about this carved omega/O there is that it is made the way that Greek
handwriting & early print abbreviated -ou. Can anyone suggest why
omego/O would have been presented this way?
DW
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