The r rotunda ⟨ ꝛ ⟩, "rounded r", is a historical calligraphic variant of the minuscule (lowercase) letter Latin r used in full script-like typefaces, especially blackletters.
Unlike other letter variants such as "long s" which originally were orthographically distinctive, r rotunda has always been a calligraphic variant, used when the letter Template:Angbr followed a letter with a rounded stroke towards the right side, such as Template:Angbr, Template:Angbr, Template:Angbr, Template:Angbr (and Template:Angbr in typefaces such as Fraktur where this letter has no vertical stroke, and appears similar to Template:Angbr). In this way, it is comparable to numerous other special types used for ligatures or conjoined letters in early modern typesetting.
FormEdit
This symbol came in several different shapes, all of which were of x-height. The shape of the letter used in blackletter scripts Textualis as well as Rotunda is reminiscent of "half an r", namely, the right side of the Roman capital Template:Angbr; it also looks similar to an Arabic numeral Template:Angbr.
Like minuscules in general, this shape for r originated in the style of cursive writing that was common during the medieval period, which ultimately derived from scribal practice during Late Antiquity.
The r rotunda shape of cursive Template:Angbr resembling the numeral Template:Angbr is also found in a number of medieval scribal abbreviations containing Template:Angbr, for example in the signs for the Latin word-final syllables ram, -orum and -arum.
There are several variant forms for the r rotunda glyph.
A very narrow second variant is found in some Textura manuscripts, in the form of one solid diamond atop another atop a vertical stroke. Another form found in German typefaces is a variant of that previous, with something like part of an Template:Angbr resembling an integral sign atop something rather like a Template:Angbr. It can be found used as the second Template:Angbr of a pair and after Template:Angbr. A fifth form, used in the 18th century in some French italic typefaces, was a derivative either of the Schrift form of the minuscule Template:Angbr or of similar typefaces used elsewhere. Its form was of a backwards Template:Angbr set just after the same shape rotated 180 degrees. They were separated by a space smaller than their stroke width, and the whole character was slanted as though it were cursive. As this typeface has the Template:Angbr whose ascender curves to the left (giving it a rounded right side), it was used after that character as well. By then, though, the character was the same width as a regular Template:Angbr, so it was maintained because it appeared to its users to have some elegance or to remind them of prestigious old calligraphy.
Use for Tironian etEdit
The abbreviation etc. was typeset using the Tironian et Template:Angbr, as Template:Angbr in early incunables. Later, when typesets no longer contained a sort for the Tironian et, it became common practice to use the r rotunda glyph instead, setting Template:Angbr for etc.
DemiseEdit
Use of this form of r was never widespread except in blackletter scripts, so it fell out of use in English in the 16th century as roman scripts became predominant. Some modern cursive scripts use a letter Template:Angbr that has a resemblance to the r rotunda.
EncodingEdit
In Unicode, the character is encoded as Template:Unichar and Template:Unichar
The letter was added to Unicode in 2005, in the Latin Extended-D block.<ref name="prelim">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is included in Unicode 5.1 in both lower case and upper case forms,<ref name="unicode 5.1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> although there seems to be no real evidence for the historical existence of a capital version and a normal capital R seems to have been used instead.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Before that, the Medieval Unicode Font Initiative (MUFI) had allocated it in the Private Use Area (PUA) of medievalist fonts at U+F20E and U+F22D.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Since the characters are now available in Unicode, MUFI recommends that the Unicode code points be used, not the PUA code points.
Some fonts treat the glyph as a mere stylistic variant of Template:Angbr and may make it available by smart font features, e.g. Open Type 'hist', 'hlig', 'calt', 'salt' or 'ss**'.
Latin Extended-D also has characters for medieval scribal abbreviations. Among them is the abbreviation for the syllable rum, consisting of a r rotunda with a cut, resulting in a shape very similar to the astrological symbol for Jupiter Template:Angbr. These symbols are encoded as Template:Unichar and Template:Unichar.
GalleryEdit
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See alsoEdit
- Long s
- Indian rupee sign Template:Char is based in part on the R rotunda.