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Paper short abstract

This poster examines alphabetic letters inscribed within the illustrations of AM 673 a II 4to. Their sequence, together with the fragment's atypical opening with the Hydrus, suggests that the surviving leaves preserve a later portion of the illustrated cycle.

Paper long abstract

This poster presents observations on alphabetic letters inscribed within the illustrations of the Icelandic Physiologus fragment AM 673 a II 4to (c. 1190–1210). Several illustrations on the recto leaves contain letters integrated into the pictorial field, forming what appears to be a sequence (i–p) across the surviving leaves. While marginal annotations have received some scholarly attention, these letters remain little discussed. I examine the distribution, sequence, and placement of these letters. Their position within the pictorial field sets them apart from conventional identificatory labels of animals and suggests that they fulfilled a different function. The fragment opens with the Hydrus, which does not normally appear at the beginning of the Physiologus cycle. Combined with the alphabetic progression (i–p), this suggests that the extant leaves preserve a later portion of a longer illustrated sequence and that an earlier portion of the cycle has been lost, although the original function and extent of the lettering system remain uncertain. I also discuss evidence of tracing and pricking preserved on selected illustrations. These features may point to a later phase of engagement with the manuscript in which some of the images were reused as exemplars.