The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #6288   Message #36466
Posted By: Bruc O.
30-Aug-98 - 03:16 PM
Thread Name: Pedantry II
Subject: RE: Pedantry II
Amen.

The superfulous e at the end of words had disappeared in print by 1600, but compilers of MSS used them to about 1660. Also the in the common script, called secretary hand, e and o were so similar that sometimes it was impossible to tell the difference. Shoo that one sees fairly often in transcriptions from old MSS is actually shee (if context tells you it isn't shoe).

'Ye' still puzzles me. The y was originally the old English thorn, the script of which was rather like a p, (pronounced th) but evolved to look rather like a y, and y with superscript e was then became 'the'. But when did 'ye' start being used for 'you'?