[gothic-l] The Letter H (was Re: Gothic word for King)

[M. Carver]

I suppose this argument will lead back to the original spelling of (h)Eruls,
as well as lend support for *Ala- over against *Hala-

Keth, the only problem I see here with your theory concerning the h in
manuscript tradition is that because Latin no longer pronounced the 'h' in
the period, following a trend that had been ongoing since the 2nd c. AD, its
scribes could no longer recognize its proper place or proper usage. It is
thought that the h was kept in spelling out of tradition rather than as a
reflection of colloquial pronunciation, which was thus like Spanish or
Italian or French (or any other Romance language) in respect to the 'h'.
Since the h was not pronounced in spoken Latin, scribes often had to do
their best to remember when it should be written, and, in lieu of the many
errors, probably seldom resorted to ancient texts for correction. H had
become a vestige, a sort of symbol of antiquity, and therefore perhaps also
of learnedness. Whether the h was etymological, eventually, through
ignorance or apathy, came to have diminished importance. The evidence of
such treatment is apparent in much of the vulgar latin texts of the early
medieval period.

Cheers,
Matþaius


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