Theta nigrum

Ꝋ

Roman gladiator mosaic. The two gladiators Astivus and Rodan lying on the ground are marked as dead by a theta nigrum.

Epitaph for Conrad Celtis in St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. The line below for the date of death and the age of death is introduced by a theta nigrum.

The theta nigrum ( Latin for black theta ) is a death symbol used in Greek and Latin texts and inscriptions . It consists of a circle crossed in the middle by a horizontal line, and thus resembles the capital letters Θ ( theta ) of the Greek alphabet . In Greek texts it is understood as an abbreviation for Greek θάνατος (thanatos, "death"), in Latin texts as an abbreviation of the Latin obiit "died" . The name theta nigrum (black theta) is derived from a line by the Roman poet Persius et potius est nigrum praefigere vitium theta (Persius, 4, 13). The Roman poet Juvenal calls it in his poems theta infelix (unhappy theta) O multum ante alias infelix litera Theta (Juvenal, Sat, 4).

use

It is no longer possible to clarify the origin of the mark. It appears on Greek vases before the turn of the ages and after the turn of times more frequently in Roman texts and inscriptions (memorial stones), also with an inclined bar similar to the characters Ø, ∅ or ø. The Roman poet Persius wrote poetically nigrum praefigere theta ("put a black theta in front") for a death sentence; the same was called the Roman poet Juvenal with the infelix litera Theta , the "ominous letter Theta". In neo-Latin texts and biographies it was used as a symbol of death well into the early modern period . Well-known examples of its use are tombs , such as the epitaph for Conrad Celtis († 1508) in St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, or the printed biographies of Melchior Adams († 1622).

interpretation

The scholars agree that the sign is a sign of death, as interpreted in Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL), in the Latinist Du Cange , in the Hebraist William Robertson or in the edition of the works of Giraldus Cambrensis . Whether it comes from the Greek θάνατος (thanatos, "death") or from another tradition can no longer be answered with certainty. The reading in Latin obiit “died” is probably younger and not the starting point.

Representation in printing works and computer systems

In printed works, the character is often represented by the capital letters Θ of the Greek alphabet .

In Unicode , a distinction is made between the characters Θ (U + 0398 greek capital letter theta ), ϴ (U + 03F4 greek capital theta symbol ) and Ꝋ (U + A74A latin capital letter o with long stroke overlay ). Here, the theta nigrum can be most accurately represented by the last-named Unicode character, since only with this the crossbar always protrudes beyond the circle.

Web links

Commons : Theta nigrum  - collection of images, videos and audio files

supporting documents

1. ↑ CIL 1, indices, p.613 ( litterae singulares )
2. ^ "Th" (par C. du Cange, 1678), dans du Cange, et al., Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis , éd. augm., Niort: L. Favre, 1883-1887, t. 8, col. 092b. On-line
3. ^ William Robertson : A Dictionary of Latin Phrases: Comprehending a Methodical Digest of the Various Phrases from the Best Authors , London 1824, p. 229. Online
4. ^ JS Brewer, James F. Dimock, George F. Warner: Giraldi Cambrensis Opera , Cambridge University Press, 2012, ISBN 978-1-108-04297-0 , Glossary, p. 260 online