Visual and verbal components of Latin chronograms

Abstract

Language games exist in almost every language and they provide a wide range of techniques. Among them there are сhronograms – words or phrases, in which letters of a different font or/and a color, simultaneously denoting also Roman numerals, form a specific date while composing. Chronograms have several levels of perception and they are characterized by the synthesis of verbal and visual components, that allows to emphasize the date of a particular event and concentrate the attention of a reader on the information focused in the message. The scope of the use of chronograms and, accordingly, their typology are extremely diverse. Chronograms can be found in biographical and historical works, they decorate the title pages of books of various contents, hide on commemorative medals and objects of everyday life, appear through the stone of buildings and sculptural compositions. Chronograms can look like one word, laconic expression or even form several tens and thousands of lines of a poetic work. They enjoyed the greatest popularity in the XVII-XVIII centuries, when the lives of ordinary citizens, not to mention outstanding personalities, became the reason for creating a chronogram. Birth and death, marriage, military victory, solemn visit – any event, serious or mediocre, was reflected in the chronograms. Due to the contents Latin chronograms can be divided into several types as follows: chronograms-events and dates, chronograms-congratulations (on the occasion of birth, death, marriage, ascension to the throne, receiving a priest's rank, the publication of a scientific research or invention etc.); biographical chronograms; zodiac or calendar chronograms; sacred chronograms, chronograms-legends on medals. The most common are chronograms-dates and chronograms-epitaphs.