740:, for instance, has for its date the earliest printed chronogram, ืืืจื ("Gemara") = 244 (1484 C.E.). Words like ืจื ื ื ("rejoice ye!"), ืฉืืื ("joy"), ืืจื ื ("with rejoicing") were especially used for this purpose, as they express happiness. Later on, entire verses of the Bible, or sentences from other books, having some reference to the contents or title of the book, or to the name of the author, publisher, printer, etc., were used. In longer sentences, in which some of the letters were not utilized in the chronogram, those that counted were marked by dots, lines, or different type, or were distinguished in other ways. Innumerable errors have been made by bibliographers because the distinguishing marks were missing or blotted, or had been omitted. To this source of confusion must be added the varying methods of indicating the "thousand" of the Jewish
604:
599:
131:
375:
819:, which laid especial stress on the formal side of verse, also cultivated chronograms. A number of Hebrew poems were produced in the first half of the 19th century, in which the letters of each verse have the same numerical value, being generally the year in which it was written. A New-year's poem in this style, written in the year 579 (=1819), is found in Shalom Cohen's "Ketab Yosher" (ed.
341:
317:
32:
1028:
710:ืืืื (Lieben, "Gal 'Ed," p. 36); and the numerical value of the marked initial letters therein amounts to 440; i.e., 5440, the Jewish year in which Menahem died. The year of death of the associate rabbi of Prague, Zalman, who perished in the great fire of 1689 (=5449 Jewish era), is indicated by the words '
735:
still remain to be determined, or at least rectified. Down to recent times the custom of indicating dates by means of chronograms was so prevalent in Jewish literature that all but few books are dated by numerals only. In the earliest printed books the chronograms consist of one or two words only:
657:
epitaphs of that century four chronograms have been preserved (Horowitz, "Inschriften... zu
Frankfurt-am-Main", Nos. 8, 29, 36, 68). The German Jews seem to have possessed little skill in the composition of chronograms, there being only about twenty-five (and these very simple) in a total of some
519:
68:2) gives 1625 as the year of building. One double chronogram, in Latin and
English, on the year 1642, reads, "'TV DeVs IaM propItIVs sIs regI regnoqVe hVIC VnIVerso." โ "O goD noVV sheVV faVoVr to the kIng anD thIs VVhoLe LanD." The English sentence demonstrates that the origin of the letter
637:, Hebrew chronograms date back to 582; but the inscriptions cited by him are probably forgeries. In the thirteenth century chronograms are found in the epitaphs of German Jews (Lewysohn, "Nafshot Zaddikim", No. 14, of the year 1261; No. 16, of the year 1275).
296:
are reported but not confirmed. The earliest confirmed chronograms using Roman numerals were devised in the mid 14th century but retrospective chronograms which express earlier dates are known. Chronograms were particularly popular during the
726:
While the epitaphs, in addition to the chronograms, in many cases directly mention the dates, many manuscripts, and an even greater number of printed books, are dated simply by means of chronograms; authors, copyists, and
453:("Christ the Leader so a triumph"), on a coin struck by Gustavus Adolphus in 1627, gives MDCXVVVII or 1627. Although chronograms are relatively scarce on coins, many inscriptions on medals incorporate chronograms.
799:
are indicated by their respective chronograms; e.g., the year 1492 by ืืืจื ("scatterer" = 252, after Jer. xxi. 10, which says that God scattered Israel). This was the year when the Jews were expelled from Spain
831:, pp. 50โ53). While this poem is really a work of art, in spite of the artifice employed, Eichenbaum's imitators have in their translations merely produced rhymes with certain numerical values.
256:. Certain words were assigned their specific number, and poetic phrases were formed from these selected words to describe particular events that have their own numerical meanings. For example, the
614:
The great popularity of chronograms in Jewish tradition, and the extent to which they have been cultivated, may be explained by the fact that they are a variety of the Jewish mystical practice of
835:(in "Ha-Kokabim", i. 31) wrote an excellent satire on these rimesters, each line of his poem having the numerical value of 618 (=1858). The first two verses of the poem are as follows:
479:, such as Austria and Czechia, or Hungary and Slovakia. These often commemorate the building of houses in the form of prayers or quotations from the Bible. For instance,
305:
and foundation stones to mark the date of the event being commemorated. They were popular during the
Baroque as well. In 1711, Joseph Addison compared chronograms to "
1179:
790:, 1711), shows how artificial and verbose chronograms may be: "Let him who wishes to know the year of the Creation pour the contents out of the cup and seek aid
949:
666:, chronograms in epitaphs occur more frequently, and are often very clever; for example, the epitaph of the physician Menahem b. Asher Mazzerato, who died at
471:(in Latin, meaning "murder of Szรฉkelys") written SICVLICIDIVM, gives exactly 1764. Only the beginning letter "S" is not used from the one-word chronogram.
1118:
1174:
782:; but as neither the former nor the latter is employed throughout the respective editions, many errors arise. The following chronogram, which Rabbi
379:
653:
in the first half of the fourteenth century are indicated by chronograms (Almanzi, "Abne
Zikkaron", pp. 4, 6, 9); and among sixty-eight
585:
115:
1372:
1331:
467:
An example of a short chronogram is on the monument commemorating the 1764 Massacre at Madรฉfalva in
Transsylvania. The script
592:
53:
1387:
1111:
731:
rivaling one another in hiding the dates in intricate chronograms, most difficult to decipher. Hence, many data of Jewish
96:
1392:
855:
have a great weakness for the ืืคืงืื ("minor eras"), though employing them only in the super-scriptions to their poems.
68:
1162:
603:
49:
943:
598:
1326:
75:
42:
1253:
1377:
1104:
1382:
1046:
82:
444:
475:
Many lengthy examples of chronograms can be found in
Germany and the countries that had been part of the
827:
wrote a poem in honor of a friend, each line of which had the numerical value of 581 ("Kol Zimrah", ed.
816:
64:
924:
1 (I) + 100 (C) + 5 (V) + 50 (L) + 1 (I) + 100 (C) + 1 (I) + 500 (D) + 1 (I) + 5 (V) + 1000 (M) = 1764
130:
852:
245:
1304:
1278:
182:), stand for a particular date when rearranged. The word, meaning "time writing", derives from the
1031: One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
848:
1321:
1141:
905:
1041:
1309:
1186:
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645:
It is evident, therefore, that for a period of five hundred years chronograms occurred in the
634:
622:
476:
280:= 1) corresponds to the year 1400 in the Saka calendar (1478 CE), the date of the fall of the
20:
1351:
824:
650:
281:
1268:
953:
783:
630:
626:
135:
1068:
792:
in the sixth millennium." The days of the month and week are indicated in the same way.
89:
1299:
1191:
1127:
1081:
Website-program to calculate of the year from chronogram. (HTML/JavaScript; languages:
1037:
864:
805:
796:
349:
321:
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447:. The capitals read MDCIII, which corresponds to 1603, the year of Elizabeth's death.
253:
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633:, while the earliest Latin chronogram is dated five years later. According to
533:
383:
248:
Hindu-Buddhist tradition, especially in ancient Java, chronograms were called
1078:
515:("Rise, oh Jehovah, and destroy your enemies", a slightly altered version of
1294:
875:
832:
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787:
749:
654:
302:
230:
991:
Chronograms, 5000 and More in Number, James Hilton, google books, page vii.
973:
Chronograms, 5000 and More in Number, James Hilton, google books, page xi.
964:
Chronograms, 5000 and More in Number, James Hilton, google books, page vi.
1073:
889:
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1314:
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174:
is a sentence or inscription in which specific letters, interpreted as
820:
767:. The German and Polish editions omit the thousand, considering only
737:
667:
663:
345:
584:
ares " showing the year 1770 can be read above the entrance of the
1243:
1096:
649:
of
European Jews. Thus the dates of the epitaphs of the family of
516:
373:
339:
315:
129:
460:, published in 1652, the date is indicated by the author's name:
252:
and usually used in inscriptions to signify a given year in the
1100:
25:
1063:
591:
Modern (1993) stealth chronogram under the balcony of the
205:
shows all numerals in the correct numerical order, e.g. A
264:" ("the wealth of earth disappeared and diminished") (
1022:
1020:
1018:
1016:
1014:
1012:
1010:
16:
Inscription whereby specific letters stand for a date
1287:
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1200:
1150:
1134:
56:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
982:The History of Mathematics, Anne Rooney, page 21.
443:is a chronogram commemorating the death of Queen
1002:The Wordsworth Dictionary of Phrase & Fable
752:editions frequently designate the thousand as
1112:
8:
838:
775:
768:
760:
753:
320:Chronogram at statue near church in Dolany (
1074:Chronogram Explorer and Solver (Javascript)
1119:
1105:
1097:
536:in the North of Germany, the inscription "
718:(bolded letters equal 448) (ib. No. 59).
116:Learn how and when to remove this message
936:
917:
588:which was built in the year indicated.
946:Sengkalan: Mystery of words and forms
301:, when chronograms were often used on
804:'s Introduction to his Commentary on
378:Chronogram above the entrance of the
7:
896:Ancient Hindu methods of chronograms
786:adds to his work "Kos ha-Yeshu'ot" (
201:, each word contains a numeral; the
54:adding citations to reliable sources
776:
769:
761:
754:
221:TAS = MMVI = 2006. Chronograms in
14:
1040:; et al., eds. (1901โ1906).
1050:. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
1026:
823:, p. 146). Two years later
602:
597:
532:was recognised historically. In
30:
441:My Day Closed Is in Immortality
41:needs additional citations for
944:Jakarta Post, March 30, 2003:
593:Grand Ducal Palace, Luxembourg
1:
458:Hugo Grotius his Sophompaneas
1069:Chronograms at Bad Salzuflen
464:. This gives MDCLII or 1652.
736:the Soncino edition of the
670:in 1680, reads as follows:
621:The earliest chronogram in
451:ChrIstVs DuX ergo trIVMphVs
380:Hospital of the Five Wounds
1409:
1327:Observer-expectancy effect
262:sirna ilang kertaning bumi
19:For the genetic term, see
18:
1254:Paranoiac-critical method
842:ืืืืื ืืืืื ืืื ืืื ืืฉืืื
839:
773:
758:
629:poem of the year 1205 by
837:
795:Many important years in
1373:Monuments and memorials
1047:The Jewish Encyclopedia
952:25 October 2014 at the
658:6,000 inscriptions. In
586:Hospital of Five Wounds
344:Chronogram at cross in
237:if they are written in
229:if they are written in
445:Elizabeth I of England
436:
371:
337:
167:
788:Frankfort-on-the-Main
377:
343:
319:
313:". Examples include:
292:Chronograms from the
133:
1388:Inscriptions by type
867:(Arabic chronograms)
847:But even poets like
194:(ฮณฯฮฌฮผฮผฮฑ, "letter").
190:(ฯฯฯฮฝฮฟฯ "time") and
50:improve this article
1393:Constrained writing
1332:Pattern recognition
1305:Clustering illusion
1279:Visual cryptography
456:In a work entitled
225:are referred to as
1142:Subliminal message
1064:Modern chronograms
1004:, Wordsworth, 1994
906:Vicarius Filii Dei
840:ืขื ืืืคืงืื ืื ืืจืืื
817:Neo-Hebraic poetry
780:, "the minor era")
765:, "the major era")
625:is one found in a
437:
372:
338:
246:ancient Indonesian
203:natural chronogram
168:
134:Chronogram on the
1360:
1359:
1310:Cryptic crossword
1187:Phonetic reversal
1079:Chronogram โ anno
635:Abraham Firkovich
623:Jewish literature
477:Holy Roman Empire
462:FranCIs GoLDsMIth
355:TVrpIs aMor VeXat
329:InsIgnIs athLetae
138:in Belgium: " reรฆ
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21:phylogenetic tree
1400:
1352:Unconscious mind
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825:Jacob Eichenbaum
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411:t Anno Abbas Spe
357:ChrIstI DILeCtIo
282:Majapahit Empire
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784:Samuel Schotten
744:. The Italian,
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610:Hebrew numerals
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365:gens eXVo tVrpe
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363:aD CrVCeM pLan-
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250:chandrasengkala
199:pure chronogram
136:Belfry of Thuin
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774:( =
759:( =
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67: โ
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61:Find sources:
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39:This article
37:
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1170:Hidden track
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1042:"Chronogram"
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901:Memento mori
886:Sator Square
849:I. L. Gordon
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733:bibliography
729:typographers
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65:"Chronogram"
60:
48:Please help
43:verification
40:
1249:Hidden text
1180:pregap list
1158:Backmasking
888:(a type of
641:In epitaphs
435:ares. 1770.
386:, Germany.
333:IneXstrVCta
299:Renaissance
1367:Categories
1342:Simulacrum
1337:Palindrome
1322:Easter egg
1264:Psychorama
1259:Pareidolia
1228:Cryptology
1223:Bible code
1218:Theomatics
1213:Numerology
1208:Chronogram
932:References
712:ืืืฉ ืืฆื ืื
534:Hildesheim
384:Hildesheim
327:In honoreM
303:tombstones
172:chronogram
76:newspapers
1295:Apophenia
1000:Cited in
876:Isopsephy
833:Gottlober
812:In poetry
802:Abravanel
762:ืืคืจื ืืืื
750:Amsterdam
655:Frankfort
631:Al-Harizi
311:acrostics
231:hexameter
178:(such as
950:Archived
890:acrostic
871:Gematria
859:See also
777:ืืคืจื ืงืื
746:Oriental
722:In books
647:epitaphs
616:Gematria
307:anagrams
176:numerals
1315:Anagram
1201:Numeric
1035::
881:Epitaph
829:Leipsic
660:Bohemia
576:at Hos
556:o Praef
501:SPERGE
407:o Praef
244:In the
239:distich
197:In the
188:chronos
158:anฬe so
146:or bapt
90:scholar
1237:Visual
821:Warsaw
738:Talmud
668:Prague
664:Poland
627:Hebrew
564:tatos
540:ra Bon
485:RGE O
427:at Hos
415:tatos
391:ra Bon
361:sanat
346:Uniฤov
192:gramma
186:words
92:
85:
78:
71:
63:
1288:Other
1244:Fnord
1151:Audio
912:Notes
806:Kings
698:ืืจืดืจ
694:ืืืืฃ
517:Psalm
493:A ATQ
367:nefas
276:= 4,
274:kerta
272:= 0,
270:ilang
268:= 0,
266:sirna
184:Greek
97:JSTOR
83:books
1175:list
1163:list
1135:Main
851:and
770:ืืคืดืง
755:ืืคืดื
706:ืืคื
702:ื ืื
690:ืขื ื
678:ืืืง
662:and
552:o, Q
548:, Pr
509:OS T
507:IMIC
403:o, Q
399:, Pr
370:1775
336:1729
309:and
278:bumi
233:and
209:ORE
150:stรฆ
69:news
1091:de:
1087:en:
1083:hu:
808:).
742:era
686:ืื
682:ืฉืจ
674:ืืฉ
546:CII
528:or
489:EHO
397:CII
382:in
352:).
162:ert
154:her
52:by
1369::
1093:).
1089:,
1085:,
1044:.
1009:^
714:ืช
618:.
570:LL
558:VI
550:IM
544:fa
538:CV
513:OS
499:DI
497:E
431:e
421:LL
409:VI
401:IM
395:fa
389:CV
324:).
284:.
241:.
213:AT
170:A
166:a"
144:IC
140:DI
1120:e
1113:t
1106:v
892:)
800:(
716:ื
708:ื
704:ืจ
700:ื
696:ื
692:ื
688:ื
684:ื
680:ื
676:ืฆ
672:ื
582:L
580:e
578:C
574:C
572:o
568:o
566:C
562:C
554:V
542:I
530:u
526:v
522:w
511:V
505:N
503:I
495:V
491:V
487:I
483:V
481:S
433:L
429:C
425:C
423:o
419:o
417:C
413:C
405:V
393:I
348:(
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219:I
217:R
215:V
211:M
207:M
164:I
160:L
156:M
152:C
148:I
142:f
119:)
113:(
108:)
104:(
94:ยท
87:ยท
80:ยท
73:ยท
46:.
23:.
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