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MONOGRAM (from Late Lat. monogramma, ...

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Originally appearing in Volume V18, Page 731 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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MONOGRAM (from Late Lat. monogramma, in Late Gr. µovoypaµµov, from µovos, single, ypaµµa, letter)

MONOGRAM (from See also:
LATE
Late See also:
LAT
Lat. monogramma, in Late Gr. µovoypaµµov, from µovos, single, ypaµµa, See also:
LETTER (through Fr. lettre from Lat. littera or litera, letter of the alphabet; the origin of the Latin word is obscure; it has probably no connexion with the root of linere, to smear, i.e. with wax, for an inscription with a stilus)
letter) , originally a See also:

CIPHER, or CYPHER (from Arab. sifr, void)

cipher consisting of a single letter, now a See also:

DESIGN (Fr. desiin, drawing; Lat. designare, to mark out)

design or See also:

mark consisting of two or more letters intertwined together. The letters thus interlaced may be either all the letters of a name, or the initial letters of the See also:

Christian and surnames of a See also:

PERSON, OFFENCES AGAINST THE

person for use upon See also:

note-See also:

paper, See also:

SEALS

seals, &c. Many of the See also:

early See also:

Greek and See also:

ROMAN

Roman coins See also:

bear the monograms of rulers for whom or the towns in which they were struck. The Late Latin and Greek words were first applied to the signatures, which took this See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form, of the emperors of the Eastern See also:

EMPIRE

Empire. The signatures of the Frankish See also:

KINGS, FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF

kings also took the form of a monogram. The accompanying monogram, from a See also:

coin of See also:

Charles the Bald, is a See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good example of a " perfect " monogram, in which all the letters of the name Karolus can be traced (see See also:

DIPLOMATIC

DIPLOMATIC and AUTOGRAPH). The most famous of monograms is that known as the " Sacred Monogram," formed by the See also:

CONJUNCTION (from Lat. conjungere, to join together)

conjunction of the two initial letters of XpuoTOs, See also:

Christ. The most usual form of this is the See also:

SYMBOL (Gr. o-uµ(3oXov, a sign)

symbol and sometimes the a (See also:

ALPHA

alpha) and w (omega) of the See also:

Apocalypse were placed on either See also:

side of it. The symbol was incorporated in the See also:

LABARUM

Labarum (q.v.) when the imperial See also:

standard was Christianized. The interlaced I.H.S. (also called " The Sacred Monogram ") apparently possesses no See also:

GREAT

great antiquity; it is said to have been thecreation of St See also:

Bernard of See also:

SIENA

Siena in the See also:

MIDDLE

middle of the 15th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century.

Monograms or ciphers were often used by the early printers as devices, and are of importance in fixing the identity of early printed books. Similar devices have been used by painters and engravers. The middle ages were, indeed, extremely prolific in the invention of ciphers alike for ecclesiastical, See also:

ARTISTIC

artistic and commercial use. Every great personage, every possessor of See also:

FINE

fine See also:

TASTE (from Lat. taxare, to touch sharply; tangere, to touch)

taste, every artist, had his monogram. The See also:

mason's mark also See also:

WARS

wars, in effect, a cipher. As the See also:

MERCHANT (O. Fr. marcheant, modern marchand; from Lat. mercari, to trade, merx, goods, merchandise)

merchant had as a See also:

RULE

rule neither right nor authority to employ heraldic emblems, he therefore See also:

fell back upon See also:

PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain See also:

SIMPLE

simple letters arranged very much in monogram form. These " merchants' marks " generally took the form of a monogram of the owner's See also:

INITIALS (Lat. initialis, of or belonging to a beginning, initium)

initials together with a private See also:

DEVICE

device. They nearly always contain a See also:

CROSS

cross, either as a See also:

PROTECTION

protection against storms or other catastrophes, or as a Christian mark to distinguish their goods from See also:

MAHOMMEDAN

Mahommedan traders in the See also:

East. There is a fine example of a 16th century See also:

gold See also:

RING (O.E. hring; a word common to Teutonic languages; and probably cognate with the Lat. circus, Gr. KtpKOS or KpLKOS, Skt'. chakra, wheel, circle, cf. also " harangue "); in art, a band of circular shape of varying sizes, made of any material and used f

ring with a merchant's mark in the See also:

BRITISH

British Museum. One of the most famous of See also:

SECULAR (Lat. saecularis, of or belonging to an age or generation, saeculum)

secular monograms is the interlaced " H.D." of See also:

HENRI

Henri II. and Diane de See also:

POITIERS

Poitiers. Upon every See also:

BUILDING

building which that See also:

king erected it was sown profusely; it was stamped upon the buildings in the royal library, together with the See also:

BOW (pronounced " bo ")

bow, the See also:

QUIVER

quiver and the interlocked crescents of See also:

DIANA

Diana. It has been argued that " H.D." is a misreading of " H.C.," which would naturally point to See also:

HUSBAND

husband and wife; but the question is set at See also:

REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest by the fact that Henri II. sometimes signed his letters to Diane with this very monogram.

Henri IV. invented a punning cipher for his See also:

MISTRESS

mistress Gabrielle d'See also:

ESTREES, GABRIELLE

Estrees, the surname being represented by a See also:

capital S. with a trait, or stroke through it. See F. Builliot, Dictionnaire See also:

des monogrammes (1832-1834, 3 parts) ; G. K. Nagler, See also:

Die Monogrammisten (1857-1876, 5 parts) ; Ris-Paquot, Dictionnaire encyclopedique des marques et monogrammes, chiffres, &c. (1893); also Du Cange, Glossarium (s.v. Monogramma), with plates giving examples of the monograms of early popes, the emperors of the Western Empire, and of other kings.

End of Article: MONOGRAM (from Late Lat. monogramma, in Late Gr. µovoypaµµov, from µovos, single, ypaµµa, letter)

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