Punctuation
Besides letters and decorations, the other marks typically found on the page of a manuscript are punctuation and abbreviations. The ways scribes have used them have undergone changes over time and through geographical areas of manuscript production. These are often taken into account when dating or otherwise establishing the origin of a manuscript.
In our example, both are typical of the later Middle Ages.
Punctuation
In the Middle Ages, the main function of the marks of punctuation is to aid in the oral delivery of texts that were meant to be read out loud or chanted. The scribe uses three marks of punctuation:
Punctus
The punctus is much in evidence throughout our text, resembling, in both shape and function, the modern full stop. Once used to indicate a minor pause, it evolved by the late Middle Ages to indicate a strong pause at the end of a sentence or a section of text.
“In chant, it indicated a gradual lowering of pitch in two different stages. This scribe, however, also seems to use a simple point for other purposes—such as to set off numerals."*
Punctus Flexus
The punctus circumflexus, or punctus flexus (seen 1v, lines 4, 9, 17, 19), “in reading would be equivalent to a light pause at the end of the shortest divisions (commata) of a sentence; in chanted text, this would perhaps indicate a lowering of pitch by a third.”* It is favored especially in Cistercian manuscripts.
Punctus Elevatus
The punctus elevatus (seen 1v, lines 5, 13, 18) "in reading would be equivalent to a stronger degree of pause following the larger sentence division known as a colon; in chanted form, the punctus elevatus indicated a stepwise lowering of pitch by a third, then a return to the chant tone."
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*Christopher Andrew Jones, from his commentaries accompanying the transcription and translation of some pages of this manuscript.