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From:  Charles Butler Date:  Mon Sep 28, 1998  4:38 pm Subject:  An article on historical research in sign language

Chironomy, Chirology, Mime, Gesture and Sign Language. (A short article on documentation of sign language from medieval period sources) [This is the draft of an article submitted to Tournaments Illuminated, the scholarly journal of the Society for Creative Anachronism, a medieval historical recreation society) I thought that the Sign Writing list would enjoy it.] Within the current SCA culture, there has been the gradual acceptance of Signing Heralds, communicating the knowledge of the court to those not hearing. There has been some concern that the language they are using is not "strictly" medieval and also some discussion as to what were the uses of Sign Languages in the period of the Middle Ages, were they an aid to the deaf, a secret language, a mnemonic device, a musical notation? This brief overview gives some sources and methods for continued research in "period" sign language and its uses. 1) Oldest sources: There is evidence from Egyptian heiroglyphics and Greek monuments that conductors of music and court magicians used some sort of gesture language. Greek theatre had an entire competition category for mime and gesture, of which there are some descriptions (in theory) but unfortunately none of those sources have come down to us. What remains are the following: Some interpretations of the Masoretic text (the accepted text of the Torah and other Hebrew writings) include markings which have been extensively researched as "chieronomy" (i.e, gesture markings) for use by conductors to mark the melodies in chanting Torah portions and the psalms. (Footnoted source) Some evidence from Coptic temple worship of the transmission of melodies through a sign language/chieronomy through the often blind musicians. Some objections have been raised of how the blind could read sign language, but current (i.e., 20th century) evidence from deaf-blind schools show that sign language is not a visual language but a spatial one, accessible to both the deaf and the blind. It has been interpreted by a few zealous researchers that the Coptic melodies have been transmitted in whole from Egypt to the monastic system of Europe. One Coptic musicologist when asked the question commented: "that is truly a creative anachronism, chieronomy (as far as that musicologist has been able to determine) refers primarily to a 19th century recreated system calling itself cheironomy (for conducting music) and no clear evidence exists to show an unbroken chain of melody by chieronomic forms." There is large evidence of various conducting styles which have been labeled cheironomy, however, in many of the branches of the Orthodox church, particularly Russian and Bulgarian music. This may be a fruitful area of research for other readers but is beyond the scope of this article. 2) Monastic sign language There is more than ample evidence from many sources of a common body of sign language in use in the Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries. Current texts exist, but the most significant findings are the following: (th)is sindon (th)a tacna (th)e mon on mynstre healden soml (th)aer mon aefter regiles beloude swigan halden wile and geornlice mid godes faltume begyman sceal.... [Direct Anglo-Saxon text translated into Anglo-Saxon from Latin] [Translation] These are the signs that are to be used in the monastery, and observed diligently with God's help, where it is desired to keep silence according to the command of the rule. from Anglo_Saxon_Monastic_Sign_Language, 1991, Translation from Anglo-Saxon descriptions (originally in Latin) for the Rule of St. Benedict, published by Anglo-Saxon books, Monasteriales Indicia (Monastic Sign Language), D. Banberry, ISBN O-95-16209-40. This is partial translation of medieval sign language manuscript with illustrations from mid-11th century British library manuscript Cotton Tiberius III. Oldest continental sign lists are in two customaries from Cluny, written by two monks from that house in 1075 and 1083. Identical lists of sign language to Monasteriales Indicia. Examples follow: "If you want cheese, then put your two hands together flat, as if you were pressing it". [This is also the current ASL sign for cheese] "If you want salt meat for any reason, then pinch with your right hand low down on your left, where the flesh is thickest, and make with your three fingers as if you were salting it." [This is also the current ASL sign for meat] [Editor's note: this sign is significant, as the monastic rule only fed meat to the infirm or young children. One boy in the text was asked for meat and he commented (in sign) that he was not yet under orders and so could eat meat.] To this compiler, this indicates that the sign language was used in the instruction of illiterate children as well.] The sign for king is that you turn your hand downwards and hold the top of your head with all your fingers in the sign of a crown. (This is also the sign in current Danish Sign Language, which tells me that the rule of St. Benedict pervaded the continental sign language. Note that this is not the sign in current ASL usage. [the original article inserts Anglo-Saxon Sign, ASL sign, and Danish sign side by side for comparison] The sign for queen is that you stroke round your head (for a circlet) and then put your hand on top of your head (headband + king). 3) Courier sign language. The first published British pamphlet of the British manual alphabet dates from 1698 (slightly out of period), but the first illustration of sign language still extant is John Bulwedi's Chirologia, the Natural Language of the Hand, a treatise on sign language used to serve for privy crypters, and secret information in 1644. This was a manual for couriers and spies, not for Deaf persons. The manual is over 150 pages long and all of its descriptors of vocabulary are in Latin, which would indicate that it was not purely British in origin. This manual also notes the work of the Venerable Bede (11th century) and his use of a signed alphabet for indicating numbers in code (e.g., G=7). Current overview is by John A. Hay & Raymond Lee (both Deaf persons from Great Britain), ISBN 0-9524419-X, A Pictorial History of the Evolution of the British Manual Alphabet. Evidence of other manual alphabets in common use in the Middle Ages for the purpose of silent communication exist and three distinct alphabets are noted in Rosellius Thesauras Artificiose_Memorie (1579). Considering that the title refers to "aids to memory", one would presume that these are in common usage. 3) Continental and other non-English sources: Because several of the countries of modern Europe are still constitutional nobilities, the sign language of those countries retains signs for King, Queen, Prince, Princess, and occasionally other offices (Sir, Master). It is interesting to note the differences in current sign language systems for royalty, which are often mime-related signs, and how they relate to ASL signs. [ASL King, Danish Koenig, Norwegian Koeniga, Spanish Rei, Mexican Rei] ASL's sign is based on a baldric with an initial "K", the Danish Koenig is based on a crown set on the head (similar to British), Norwegian Koenig has the crown upright, Spanish Rei mimes an "R" being placed on the temples. Mexican Spanish Rei reduces this to a one handed sign. 4) Current use by royalty (an aside). In terms of signs in current usage by royalty, we have the following. Queen Victoria was a fluent fingerspeller due to her regular communication with her deaf daughter-in-law Alexandra, Princess of Wales. Prince Philip signed with his deaf mother, Princess Alice of Greece. 5) Current use in the SCA (briefly) Because the signed languages of medieval Europe (at least as far as current research has been able to find) were not used as everyday speech and there are many words specific to the SCA and its historical recreation, the SCA heralds have been forced to make compromises between history and usefulness. a) If the sign exists in ASL (American Sign Language), we use it. As the most pervasive sign language used by SCA members is ASL, the systematic creation of signs has started with users of that language. Although the SCA has members in Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and Australia, we currently in the U.S. have not been in steady communication with our counterparts and so have relied on ASL usage rather than British, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, German, or Australian Sign Language. We understand that all of these rich cultures may have signs to teach us and we welcome them, but at present we do not have the vocabulary. b) If the sign does not exist in ASL, we create it using specific restrictions. (1) start with an ASL sign and initialize it for special use: For Master of Arms we use an "M" moved across the body like a baldric, miming off of the ASL sign for King. Though this is also the ASL Ecclesiastical sign for "Messiah" there is usually no confusion in context. (2) Where a sign does not exist at all, or a parallel, like the names of of some of the Kingdoms, we create using the heraldry as our guide. An Tir's badge is of a leaping deer, our ASL-patterned sign is that of a deer (antlers to the temple), leaping forward. (3) As further research becomes available, we hope to incorporate appropriate Monastery signs if there will not be confusion between ASL (our primary informants) and medieval sign language. The following is an illustration of a possible confusion. [Mother in ASL and Devil in Benedictine Sign Language] [Allow one inch and one column wide] The difference between ASL Mother (the 5-hand on the chin) and the Benedictine Devil (winged speech) (5 hand at the right side of the mouth touching the lips) is not visually very distinct. Though a mother may sometimes imitate the Devil and vice-versa, it is not our intent to confuse the two. In conclusion, the study of Sign Languages from period sources is a ripe field for research, and will take many years to complete. It also includes mime, gesture, and chieronomic musical notation, all of which are beyond this overview article. We welcome all comments, critiques, and greater search materials. A complete guide to "Signing in the Current Middle Ages" is being prepared for distribution at Pennsic in 1999. Charles Butler/Cadwan Gwydion Galwiddoe/Signing Herald/Atlantia 11348 Cherry Hill Road, #302, Beltsville, MD 20705-3741. Sources: Monasteriales Indicia, The Anglo-Saxon Monastic Sign Language, 1991, Debby Banberry, Anglo-Saxon Books, ISBN O-9516209-4-0. A Pictorial History of the British Manual Alphabet, John A. Hay and Raymond Lee, ISBN O-9524419-X. Communicacion Manual, (c) 1991, Ma. Esther Serafin Garcia, ISBN 968-499-822-8. Lingauagem das Maos, Eugeno oates, Ministerio da Educacao e Cutarao, Rio de Janeiro, 1946. Las Senas Los Sordamos de Mexico, Ronald Hanson, 1983, Gallaudet University, private printing. <https:\\www.signwriting.org> All illustrations of sign language from modern sources are transcribed using Sutton Sign Writing, used in the Danish, Norwegian, U.K., Nicaraguan, and U.S. school systems in pilot projects and by the Rochester Institute of the Deaf in Rochester, NY.

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