Home›Open Questions›Which of the circulating Theban forms for W, if any, is the one Trithemius actually printed in 1518?Open QuestionsWhich of the circulating Theban forms for W, if any, is the one Trithemius actually printed in 1518?Citation FormatsGeneral ReferenceGeneral Reference Citation TextDivinity Atlas. "Which of the circulating Theban forms for W, if any, is the one Trithemius actually printed in 1518?." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://dev-divinity.interactiveatlas.org/open-questions-index/which-of-the-circulating-theban-forms-for-w-if-any-is-the-one-trithemius-actually-printed-in-1518.Copy General ReferenceAPA StyleAPA Style Citation TextDivinity Atlas. (n.d.). Which of the circulating Theban forms for W, if any, is the one Trithemius actually printed in 1518?. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://dev-divinity.interactiveatlas.org/open-questions-index/which-of-the-circulating-theban-forms-for-w-if-any-is-the-one-trithemius-actually-printed-in-1518Copy APA StyleBibTeXBibTeX Citation Text@misc{divinityatlas-which-of-the-circulating-theban-forms-fo, author = {Divinity Atlas}, title = {Which of the circulating Theban forms for W, if any, is the one Trithemius actually printed in 1518?}, year = {2026}, url = {https://dev-divinity.interactiveatlas.org/open-questions-index/which-of-the-circulating-theban-forms-for-w-if-any-is-the-one-trithemius-actually-printed-in-1518}, note = {Accessed August 30, 2026} }Copy BibTeXOpen QuestionCross-Tradition ConnectionsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)Open QuestionW is the awkward letter of the set. It was not a letter of the Latin alphabet the cipher was built on, and in the original chart it stands after Z rather than in alphabetical position, as a recent addition. Later copyists appear to have misread that presentation, and the printed sign for W differs between sources. Which of the circulating forms is faithful to the 1518 chart has never been established, so the atlas cannot say which sign for W it is showing.What would resolve this A collation of the surviving copies and early impressions of Polygraphiae against the Theban charts in Agrippa's De occulta philosophia and the later grimoire reprints, reading the 1518 sign for W from the earliest surviving impressions directly rather than from any redrawing, and tracing where the divergent forms enter the tradition.OpenAnalytical bibliography and description of early printed books, palaeographyWikipedia contributors, Theban alphabet (reference article)Cross-Tradition ConnectionsDiscipline NeededAnalytical Bibliography, Scholarly Disciplines Well-attested Source Theban alphabet (reference article)Wikipedia contributorstier 3Palaeography, Scholarly Disciplines Well-attested Source Theban alphabet (reference article)Wikipedia contributorstier 3Question OnTheban W W, Alphabet Letters Well-attested Source Theban alphabet (reference article)Wikipedia contributorstier 3SourcesTheban alphabet (reference article)tier 3Wikipedia contributorsSections on letters and on the original chart: in the original chart by Trithemius the letter W comes after Z, as it was a recent addition to the Latin alphabet.View the SourceComments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.View At A Past YearThe atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.Show This Year