THE 'M' OF THE L. ARTORIUS CASTUS INSCRIPTION: A NOTE ON A FUTURE APPROACH

https://lupa.at/24235?query=1824236709

https://christophergwinn.com/arthuriana/lac-sourcebook/

Among the few Arthurian who care about the original reading of the L. Artorius Castus stone, the argument rages on as to whether the /M/ of the ARM[...]S lacuna was or was not ligatured to an /E/. 

The argument for ARMENIOS as a proper reading for the lacuna is currently preferred by some top epigraphers. While it is not necessary to have a ME ligature to allow for ARMENIOS, the alternative - an NI ligature - is not elsewhere evinced on the stone.

But, then, neither is an ME.

Of the 12 Ms on the stone (2 of which are partially or mostly reconstructed in other lacunae), none exhibit ligatures. The 2 reconstructed Ms do not require ligatures for the words of which they are presumed to be a component.

At present, I'm attempting to sponsor an attempt in Croatia to subject the problematic /M/ of the ARM[...]S lacuna to special high-tech imaging. While there is no guarantee such imaging (assuming it can even be arranged!) will reveal anything, there is at least the remote possibility that we might pick up something important that is not visible to the naked eye.

If images of this nature do produce positive results, I will publish those here. My wildest hope, of course, is that we might finally be able to determine whether it is likely the M was, in fact, ligatured. If it was, well, the proposed ARMENIOS reading is pretty much assured to be correct. If not, then my ARM.GENTES remains a valid contender.

I consider this my parting gift to the Arthurian Community.