A Puzzling Religious Inscription from Medieval Tuscany: Simbology and Interpretation

Stefano Vicari; Francesco Perono Cacciafoco

doi:10.20944/preprints202305.1493.v2

Preprint Article Version 2 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Version 1 : Received: 19 May 2023 / Approved: 22 May 2023 / Online: 22 May 2023 (10:01:35 CEST)
Version 2 : Received: 23 June 2023 / Approved: 26 June 2023 / Online: 26 June 2023 (15:02:04 CEST)

At the entrance of some churches in Tuscany (Italy), the reproduction of an apparently undecipherable inscription can be found. At least from the 18^th century, this epigraphic puzzle has originated a debate on its interpretation. This study proposes a hypothesis based on the Latin alphabet used in texts contemporary to the churches where the inscription is reproduced and a possible interpretation of the message consistent with the official religious doctrine. The proposed deciphering is extended to the full text, including some signs that were previously considered as geometric forms or a specific elaboration of letters not attested in other contemporary documents.

Middle Ages symbolism; Latin inscriptions; Tuscany monuments; Saint Michael; religious epigraphy; inscription decipherment

Arts and Humanities, History

Comment 1

Received: 26 June 2023
Commenter: Stefano Vicari
Commenter's Conflict of Interests: Author

Comment: An integration of the reasearch adds interesting details and supports a complete deciphering of the inscription.

+ Respond to this comment

Not displayed online.

Please leave your comment to this article below.

Mathematical equations can be typed in either LaTeX formats \\[ ... \\] or $$ ... $$, or MathML format <math> ... </math>. Try the LaTeX or MathML example.

Type equation:

Preview:

Copy equation into message below

Close menu

Please click a symbol to insert it into the message box below:

Please enter the link here:

Optionally, you can enter text that should appear as linked text:

Copy link into message below

Close menu

Please enter or paste the URL to the image here (please only use links to jpg/jpeg, png and gif images):

Copy image into message below

Close menu

Type author name or keywords to filter the list of references in this group (you can add a new citation under Bibliography):

No existing citations in Discussion Group

Wikify editor is a simple editor for wiki-style mark-up. It was written by MDPI for Sciforum in 2014. The rendering of the mark-up is based on Wiky.php with some tweaks. Rendering of mathematical equations is done with MathJax. Please send us a message for support or for reporting bugs.

Close menu

Please declare any conflicts of interest you may have with this paper, financial or otherwise.

I do not have a conflict of interest

I would like to declare a conflict of interest

Display my name on the website

Captcha

Renew

I accept the following conditions:

Comments must follow the standards of professional discourse and should focus on the scientific content of the article. Insulting or offensive language, personal attacks and off-topic remarks will not be permitted. Comments must be written in English. Preprints reserves the right to remove comments without notice. Readers who post comments are obliged to declare any competing interests, financial or otherwise.

* All users must log in before leaving a comment

Notify me about updates to this article or when a peer-reviewed version is published.

A Puzzling Religious Inscription from Medieval Tuscany: Simbology and Interpretation

Abstract

Keywords

Subject

Comments (1)