[conspire] Alphabet stuff

[Rick Moen]

Quoting Texx (texxgadget at gmail.com):

> When you look at a typecase, the Caps are always in alphabetical ("moxxon")
> order.

ITYM 'Moxon', from Joseph Moxon of London (1627-1691, among other things
the author of a detailed and highly influential series of instructions
for printers, including typefounding, composition, press-work, etc.

There's a picture from one of Moxon's book of one of his type cases in 
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/93784/10-everyday-phrases-come-printing .
Comment below says:

  The type case clearly ruled the compositors’ lives. But more than
  that, it changed the way we think about the alphabet. Look back at that
  image of the type case from Moxon’s book published in 1683. The case is
  tilted up slightly. All the capital letters are on the top, or the
  uppercase. The ones in the lower part of the case are, you guessed it,
  all lowercase.



> Im not sure Elizabeth eben spoke English.

I'm not sure _you_ speak English.  Have you found your apostrophe key,
yet?

Yes, of course Elizabeth Tudor spoke English -- natively.  She could
also speak and read by age 11 French, Italian, Greek, Spanish, and Latin.
Contemporary authors also claim that she'd picked up Welsh, Cornish,
Scottish, and Irish during her time on the throne.

> Languages spoken in court would have been Latin or French.
> Speaking English in court probably would have gotten you bodily thrown out
> violently.

Not in the 1500s.  In the 1300s, maybe.

-- 
Cheers,             
Rick Moen                 "Anger makes dull men witty, but it keeps them poor."
rick at linuxmafia.com                                   -- Elizabeth Tudor
McQ!  (4x80)