Nuevas aportaciones sobre la evolución de F- en documentación notarial abulense de los siglos XV y XVI

Abstract

This paper is focused on the evolution of F- and its graphic representation in documentation written in Avila and bordering areas during the 15th and 16th centuries and preserved in The Hispanic Museum & Library. This corpus is composed of various chancellery letters and ecclesiastical documentation related to the Cathedral of Avila and the monastery of San Jeronimo de Guisando. We analyze the substitution of <f> by <h> in the transition from the 15th to the 16th century and we relate it to other graphic phenomena, such as the various uses of <h>, as well as the different handwrittings used in Castille during this period. Our data show how the phenomenon of graphic change seems widespread in the second half of the 16th century, although <f> is preserved in certain words.