#onomatomancy

[indyflanery]

"Are you making fun of me?" William gave Indy a questioning look. He wasn't wearing his full outfit, as this was only an impromptu practice session on the grass in the commons, but the loose flowing shirt and leather breeches was not his usual day to day attire.

@onomatome

The archaeologist blinked, not so subtly staring at the professor that had decided to ambush him with random conversation a few weeks prior. Indy hadn't had much reason to go past the English department again and he hadn't seen the other man, so he was quite obviously surprised to see him with the LARPers scattered across the open grounds in the middle of campus. Not exactly the best place to stage a mock battle in his opinion, but surprising nonetheless.

"No, not making fun of. More...well,i don't know how to describe it. Surprised? Like I'm surprised you're into this but at the same time you seem like the romantic type."

#Asks #Onomatome

[onomatome]

Rumours

@indyflanery continued from this ask

“A man needs something to proceed himself, other than mere rumour.” ~ William (onomatome)

~~~

Indy's brow raised. The two of them didn't have much occasion to run into each other before now. Just a casual passing in the lecture halls more than anything, so one could only assume what the man had heard about Indy. Or vice versa. As it was, Indy was well aware his reputation preceeded him at times. How much of it was rumor and how much of it was actual truth - no matter how fantastic - was a matter for debate.

"Rumor. Reputation. They tend to go hand in hand at some point, don't they?" he countered instead. The corner of his mouth tilted upwards. "Are you worried about your own or what mine will do to yours? Because I wouldn't think someone attached to the English department would have any use of an archaeologist."

~~~

William leaned against the wall just outside of his office, reviewing the latest flyers on the notice board when he caught sight of the other man walking by. His comment was both one of greeting and the hope of a small bit of conversation to pass his open hour since no students had stopped by.

He pointed to a pink flyer that stood out amid the mostly white and couple of yellow. "Calling me the university's most eligible bachelor is bound to give the impression I am something more than I actually am. I don't mind helping the honors group out with their annual fundraiser, but maybe I should have just given them money for the trip. Two years now and I have still not learned."

#indyflanery #rumours

[thoroughlyfagged]

The Science of Letters, ‘ilm al-ḥurūf' in Arabic, is a theoretical and practical science based on the letters the Arabic alphabet.

This science is also often called sīmiyā’, which comes from the transcription of the Greek word σημεῖον, meaning 'sign', 'symbol'. The proximity of this word with the Arabic, kīmiyā’, 'alchemy', left the door open to multitude of speculations and comparisons. As most Semitic alphabets, the Arabic alphabet only consists of consonants: the Arabic script has a system for vowels, but they do not pertain to the alphabet; they are diacritical signs, which were introduced in the script at a later stage. This script made of consonants implies that, when reading Arabic, the person reading it needs to understand the text, or at least the vocalization of most of the words: a young English child will be able to read a treatise about organic chemistry, even if he does not understand the content, but this proves impossible in Arabic (or else this child would be quite ahead of its age). Semitic alphabets are sometimes compared to flutes, the flute being the script, the player being the reader, and the breath of the player being the vowels.

The origin of the science of letters is quite obscure. One of the most often quoted hypothesis is the <i>jafr</i>, the Shī‘ite system of divination, an ‘onomatomancy’, namely a system of divination based on names; but no convincing date can be given, in fact. The science of letters quickly developed in various overlapping trends: a mystical ‘ilm al-ḥurūf, a philosophical one, an alchemical one, a magical one, and so on. Actually, ‘ilm al-ḥurūf is not restricted to letters. Very often, if not in the majority of the cases, it is a science of the words rather than a science of letters. It appeared in the context of Islamic culture, maybe because of the peculiar status it gives to speech. In Islam, the Qur’ān is considered the words of God, and God's words are the sensible possibility to access to God. The importance of the Qur’ān status may have led scholars to focus on language in a very specific manner. For many medieval scholars, who were interested in the science of letters, speech not only has an epistemological value, as is the case in the Western modern culture, but also an ontological value. This means that, in their eyes, the words, and therefore the letters, not only provide information about things, but also reflect their inner nature. Their name reflects their being.

And some Medieval thinkers went even further and asserted that the name of things is not only a reflection of their nature, but it is their very nature, their being. If the name of the thing is or reflects its nature, this means that knowing the name of the thing is the same as knowing the thing itself.

Coursera, Magic in the Middle Ages by Universitat de Barcelona, Week 4, Magic in Islam, The Science of Letters

[lexiconjure]

onomatom

n. [mass noun] [CHEMISTRY] a protein present in the cell walls of some solutions of oxygen and its respiratory disease.

#lexiconjure #dictionary #definition #onomatom

[indyflanery]

“A man needs something to proceed himself, other than mere rumour.” ~ William (onomatome)

@onomatome

Indy's brow raised. The two of them didn't have much occasion to run into each other before now. Just a casual passing in the lecture halls more than anything, so one could only assume what the man had heard about Indy. Or vice versa. As it was, Indy was well aware his reputation preceeded him at times. How much of it was rumor and how much of it was actual truth - no matter how fantastic - was a matter for debate.

"Rumor. Reputation. They tend to go hand in hand at some point, don't they?" he countered instead. The corner of his mouth tilted upwards. "Are you worried about your own or what mine will do to yours? Because I wouldn't think someone attached to the English department would have any use of an archaeologist."

#asks #Onomatome