nomina sacra

Nomina Sacra

In the medieval system of commonly- (and uncommonly) used abbreviations, there existed a special class of abbreviation called the nomina sacra. These were abbreviations used to signify the various names of God in shortened form, and can be taken to signify a Christian humility in the presence of the divine logos or the Word, conceived of as synonymous, coterminous and intersubstantial with the deity (vide Genesis I:I). They can also be taken as efforts to conserve both space on pricey parchment and rapidly dwindling mobility in arthritic fingers, though this probably not would have been the reason prioritized (at least admittedly) by the scribes themselves.