Leechdoms, wortcunning, and starcraft of early England. Being a ...

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PREFACE.
XXXI
mented cross ; this occurs but once. At fol, 94 a., chapter
xli., the mark I. is three times repeated III. The
marginal bimitce, fol. 108 b,, means that the scribe was
gettingf his task done : he was not aware of the additional
book III.
If these signs refer to native treatises,
unknown to us, and now irrecoverable, they go to illustrate
the existence of an English school of teaching
medicines ; as do the expressions " as leeches ken," not
of rare
occurrence.
Besides these marks and signs as given above, we More cypher,
find at fol. 30 b. by the end of the sentence, bo plytan
ro, etc., in chapter xxxiv., some writing in cypher,
thus :
and again at fol. 89 b., chapter xxxiv., thus :
l.fM pJMIf'-
!
/-
I
The key to writing of this sort has never been published,
and now for those who are skilled in such
matters an account of it shall be given,
The letters were divided into groups, and these, of The^iaw of this
course, were at the discretion of every man severally,
as regarded their number and how many letters they
miglit contain. The groups, first, second, third, and so
on were commonly denoted by dots ; the upstrokes
shewed by their number what place in the group each
letter held. Thus, to spell Oxa, if the first gi-oup
began at A, and contained six letters, then the second
would begin at H, and if it contained eight letters,
omitting J as
not ancient, then the third gToup would
begin at Q, and might go on, combining U and V, to
the end ; so that Oxa would be thus spelt :
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