Page:The Statutes of the Realm Vol 1 (1101-1377).pdf/63

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THE general Character and Appearance of the Charters and Records copied in this Collection, are exhibited in engraved Specimens. With respect to the, it is to be observed, that wherever the Manuscript is abbreviated, the Print has a Mark of Contraction, as similar to that of the Manuscript as the Types will admit. The different Manuscripts vary a little from each other in the Mode of making the several Contractions. The following Explanation of the Marks of Contraction used in the Print (applying both to the Latin and French Text, though the latter is generally less abbreviated than the former), may serve as well to render the printed Copy intelligible, as also to explain the Contractions in the Manuscripts, and to make the reading and consulting of them, when necessary, more easy to Persons not used to antient Records.

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