From an up-coming book, Where the Line Breaks + A Codex for ALT Poems

by Sarah B. Royal

UNIFIED MEDIEVAL and MODERN SYMBOL COMPENDIUM
INTRODUCTION

This compendium unites two traditions: the practical scribal marks of medieval manuscript culture and a contemporary, poetic system of ALT/Unicode symbols used for modern textual ornament and semantic shorthand, adding poetic meaning for ALT Poetry use.
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STRUCTURAL NOTE

Legend:
[POD‑SAFE] survives PDF, POD (KDP/Ingram), and most EPUB engines.
[EXPRESSIVE] survives Print/PDF reliably; may degrade in some EPUB engines.
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HOW TO USE THIS COMPENDIUM

• Each table lists Symbol, ALT/Unicode, Name/Description, and Function/Meaning.
• If a symbol lacks an ALT code, Unicode (U+####) is provided.
• Use the Unicode Typing Appendix instructions to enter characters on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
• Fonts recommended: Gentium Plus, Charis SIL, Noto Sans Symbols.

SECTION I — SCRIBAL ABBREVIATIONS & DIACRITICS

[POD‑SAFE]
Symbol | ALT/Unicode | Name/Description | Function/Meaning
̄ | U+0304 | Macron / Overline | Indicates omitted letters such as m, n, us, con; Poetic use: something omitted
⁊ | U+204A | Tironian et | Shorthand for “and”; poetic continuation
& | ALT+0038 | Ampersand | Ligature for et; something added
⁀ | U+2040 | Overline ligature | Multiple omitted letters; withheld meaning
[EXPRESSIVE]
˜ | ALT+0152 | Tilde | Indicates nasal sounds or noise
ꝯ | U+A76F | Con‑abbreviation | Represents “con/com”
ꝰ | U+A770 | Us‑abbreviation | Represents “‑us” ending
ꝓ | U+A753 | Pro‑abbreviation | Forward, vow, allegiance
ꝑ | U+A751 | Per‑abbreviation | Through

SECTION II — MEDIEVAL PUNCTUATION & STRUCTURE

[POD‑SAFE]
· | ALT+0183 | Punctus | Light pause
: | ALT+0058 | Punctus elevatus | Rising pause
; | ALT+0059 | Punctus flexus | Falling pause
. | ALT+0046 | Punctus versus | Full stop
¶ | ALT+0182 | Pilcrow | New voice, ontological shift
§ | ALT+0167 | Section sign | Codified division; fate, or law

• | ALT+0042 | Asterisk | Gloss or missing text
  [EXPRESSIVE]
  ⁘ | U+2058 | Four‑dot mark | Major structural break
  ⁋ | U+204B | Reversed pilcrow | Return to earlier thought
  ⸙ | U+2E19 | Double obelus | Questionable or sacred passage
  ⸎ | U+2E0E | Editorial coronis | Reverent closure
  ⸜ ⸝ | U+2E1C/U+2E1D | Half brackets | Secret commentary

SECTION III — SACRAL & ORNAMENTAL MARKS

[POD‑SAFE]
† | ALT+0134 | Obelus (dagger) | Sacral annotation
‡ | ALT+0135 | Double obelus | Layered memory
☩ | U+2629 | Jerusalem cross | Divine names
✠ | ALT+10016 | Maltese cross | Sacred time
★ | ALT+9733 | Black star | Dominant emphasis
☆ | ALT+9734 | White star | Gentle emphasis
[EXPRESSIVE]
❦ | ALT+10086 | Fleuron | Ornamented memory
❧ | ALT+10087 | Hedera | Narrative hinge
☞ | U+261E | Manicule | Attention marker
☼ | U+263C | Sun symbol | Ecstatic illumination
☾| ALT+9782 | Cresent moon | night, quiet, introspection
✨ | ALT+10024 | Sparkles | Magical emphasis
⌂ | ALT+8962| House | Seat of authority
⌛ | U+231B | Hourglass | Measured depletion of time; time as a finite resource; countdown toward inevitability
SECTION IV — ARROWS, CYCLES, & TEMPORAL MARKERS
[POD‑SAFE]
→ | ALT+26 | Forward arrow | Progression
← | ALT+27 | Return arrow | Memory
↑ | ALT+24 | Ascension
↓ | ALT+25 | Descent
↔ | ALT+29 | Duality
⇒ | ALT+8658 | Double arrow | Consequence
✓ | ALT+10003 | Confirmation
∞ | ALT+236 | Infinity | Endless process
ⁿ | ALT+252 | Iterative marker | Again, altered
[EXPRESSIVE]
↬ | ALT+8620 | Curved arrow | Return with change
↺ | U+21BA | Anticlockwise open arrow | Revisiting past
↻ | U+21BB | Clockwise open arrow | Renewal
⟲ | Alt + 8634 | U+27F2 | Gapped circle arrow | Interrupted recursion; revision
⟳ | U+27F3 | Open circle arrow | Ongoing process
⧖ | U+29D6 | Wiggly fence | Suspended time

SECTION V — SHAPES, THRESHOLDS & CONTAINERS

[POD‑SAFE]
□ | ALT+9633 | White square | Absence
■ | ALT+254 | Black square | Presence
◊ | ALT+9674 | Diamond | Choice
△ | ALT+30 | Triangle | Change
√ | ALT+251 | Root | Origin
Σ | ALT+228 | Summation | Gathering
[EXPRESSIVE]
⌠ | ALT+244 | Integral top | Accumulation
⌡ | ALT+245 | Integral bottom | Measured turn
⧉ | U+29C9 | Joined squares | Shared space
⧁ | U+29C1 | Circled triangle down | Contained descent
⟡ | U+27E1 | Concave diamond | Unstable choice

SECTION VI — VOICE, QUESTION, NEGATION

[POD‑SAFE]
¬ | ALT+0172 | Logical negation | Refusal
¯ | ALT+0175 | Overline | Sustained emphasis
± | ALT+0177 | Plus‑minus | Duality
≈ | ALT+247 | Approximation | Near‑truth
[EXPRESSIVE]
‽ | ALT+8253 | Incredulous question | Moral pressure
⸮ | U+2E2E | Irony mark | Sarcasm
?̸ | ? + U+0338 | Ironized question | Doubting inquiry
‥ | ALT+8229 | Two‑dot leader | Held breath
… | ALT+0133 | Ellipsis | Dissolution

SECTION VII — VALUE, MEASURE, MUSIC

[POD‑SAFE]
€ | ALT+0128 | Euro | Value systems
¢ | ALT+0162 | Cent | Small worth
£ | ALT+0163 | Pound | Burden
♪ | ALT+13 | Eighth note | Lyric beat
♫ | ALT+14 | Paired notes | Chorus
SECTION VIII — MISCELLANEOUS & SUPPLEMENTAL SYMBOLS
[POD-SAFE]
⁂ | ALT+8258 | Asterism | Scene or section break; cyclical return; ritual pause; repetition with difference
· · | ALT + 0183 (two times | Asterism variant | Minor scene break; recursive marker
∇ | ALT+8711 | nabla, gradient | subtle change
∝ | ALT+8733 | proportional | relational
∴ | ALT+8756 | therefore | consequence
∵ | ALT+8757 | because | origin
∟ | ALT+8735 | right angle | shift; direction
⌁ | Alt + 8961 | U+2301 | Electric Arrow | reflection; distortion
∿ | Alt + 8767 | U+223F | Sine Wave | continuous reflection
⌭ | Alt + 9005 | U+232D | veiwdata| Reflection contained, encoded, or transmitted

SECTION IX — DECISION, HINGE, & TEMPORAL DIRECTION

[POD-SAFE]
Symbol | ALT/Unicode | Name/Description | Function/Meaning
⟞ | U+27DE | Right open-headed arrow | Decisive hinge; outward-opening choice
⤷ | U+2937 | Bend / hinge | Narrative turn without rupture
↫ | U+21AB | Leftwards arrow with loop | Memory resisting forward motion
⤿ | U+293F | Right curved arrow | Gradual transformation
⤾ | U+293E | Left curved arrow | Soft reversion
↗ | ALT+8599 | Rising arrow | Ascent; hopeful trajectory
↘ | ALT+8600 | Falling arrow | Decline; closing arc

SECTION X — TEMPORAL DEPTH & LINEAGE

[POD-SAFE]
Symbol | ALT/Unicode | Name/Description | Function/Meaning
⫷ | U+2AF7 | Triple nested less-than | Deep past; layered time
⫸ | U+2AF8 | Triple nested greater-than | Deep future; generational recursion
⧟ | U+29DF | Double-ended multimap | Dual inheritance; split lineage

SECTION XI — ENCLOSURE, CONTAINMENT, & DENSITY

[POD-SAFE]
Symbol | ALT/Unicode | Name/Description | Function/Meaning
⧘ | U+29D8 | Left double parenthesis | Protective enclosure; parenthetical memory
⧙ | U+29D9 | Right double parenthesis | Protective enclosure; parenthetical memory
⃝ | U+20DD | Enclosed arrow | Agency trapped within structure
⧫ | U+29EB | Black lozenge | Dense truth; compressed meaning

SECTION XII — REFERENCE, VOICE, & EXTERNAL AUTHORITY

[POD-SAFE]
Symbol | ALT/Unicode | Name/Description | Function/Meaning
※ | ALT+8251 | Reference mark | Footnote; archetypal authority
⁁ | ALT+8257 | Caret-like mark | Utterance from law, fate, or unknown voice
⁄ | ALT+8260 | Fraction slash | Disembodied or collective speech

SECTION XIII — INTERROGATION, EMPHASIS, & PAUSE

[POD-SAFE]
Symbol | ALT/Unicode | Name/Description | Function/Meaning
¡ / ¿ | ALT+0161 / 0191 | Inverted exclamation / question | Destabilized emphasis or inquiry
◐ | ALT+9680 | Half-filled circle | Rupture; irreversible fracture

SECTION XIV — STARS, ORNAMENT, & DECORATIVE EMPHASIS

[POD-SAFE]
Symbol | ALT/Unicode | Name/Description | Function/Meaning
✦ | ALT+10022 | Four-point star | Authority; lineage
✧ | ALT+10023 | Sparkle | Ephemeral wonder
✖ | ALT+10006 | Cross ornament | Visual pause

SECTION XV — DIALOGUE, QUOTATION, & RHYTHM
[POD-SAFE]
Symbol | ALT/Unicode | Name/Description | Function/Meaning
– / — | ALT+0150 / 0151 | En / Em dash | Soft hinge or hard interruption
“ ” | ALT+0147 / 0148 | Double quotes | Spoken or framed authority
‘ ’ | ALT+0145 / 0146 | Single quotes | Interior or unstable speech
« » | ALT+0171 / 0187 | Angle quotes | Archaic or distant register
′ ″ | ALT+8242 / 8243 | Prime / double prime | Beat; echo; reverberation

SECTION XVI — MEASURE, RATIO, & CONSTRAINT

[POD-SAFE]
Symbol | ALT/Unicode | Name/Description | Function/Meaning
‰ | ALT+0137 | Per mille | Obscure proportion
‱ | ALT+8241 | Per ten-thousand | Near impossibility
× | ALT+0215 | Multiplication | Crossing; union or conflict
÷ | ALT+0247 | Division | Separation; loss
≤ | ALT+243 | Less-than-equal | Constraint; boundary
≥ | ALT+242 | Greater-than-equal | Threshold crossed
= | ALT+0061 / U+003D | Equals sign | Denotes equivalence, assignment, or balance; asserts sameness between two expressions
≠ | ALT+8800 / U+2260 | Not equal to | Formal negation of equivalence; indicates inequality, distinction, or non-identity within logical, mathematical, or editorial systems
∅ | ALT+0216 / U+2205 | Empty set / Null | Absence; nullified chance; the set that contains nothing and therefore refuses prediction

SECTION XVII — PLAYING CARDS & AFFECTIVE SYMBOLS

[POD-SAFE]
Symbol | ALT/Unicode | Name/Description | Function/Meaning
♥ | ALT+3 | Heart | Life; vulnerability
♦ | ALT+4 | Diamond | Value; clarity
♣ | ALT+5 | Club | Growth; rooting
♠ | ALT+6 | Spade | Death; winter

SECTION XVIII — BULLETS, SHADE, & STRUCTURAL MATERIAL

[POD-SAFE]
Symbol | ALT/Unicode | Name/Description | Function/Meaning

• | ALT+0149 | Bullet | Fragmented thought
  ⁃ | ALT+8259 | Hyphen bullet | Breath-unit fragmentation
  ◦ | ALT+9702 | Hollow bullet | Openness; Threshold
  ░ ▒ ▓ | ALT+176 / 177 / 178 | Shade blocks | Gradated density

SECTION XIX — BOX-DRAWING & REDACTION

[POD-SAFE]
Symbol | ALT/Unicode | Name/Description | Function/Meaning
│ | ALT+179 | Vertical line | Structural boundary
─ | ALT+196 | Horizontal line | Structural span
┼ | ALT+197 | Intersection | Constraint; crossing
⟂ | ALT+10178 |Up Tack | Interruption; intrusion that cuts across
█ ▄ ▌ ▐ ▀ | ALT+219–223 | Block fills | Silence; redaction; visual mass
┌ ┐ └ ┘ | ALT+218 / 191 / 192 / 217 | Corners | Containment
╞ ╟ ╠ ╡ ╢ ╣ ║ ═ ╬ ╧ ╨ ╤ ╥ ╙ ╘ ╒ ╓ ╫ ╪ ╔ ╗ ╚ ╝ ╩ ╦ | ALT+180–216 | Double box-drawing | Reinforced structure

(All remaining box-drawing characters function as scaffolding rather than semantic operators.)

SECTION XX — GREEK, CURRENCY, & IDENTITY MARKERS

[POD-SAFE]
Symbol | ALT/Unicode | Name/Description | Function/Meaning
α / Ω | ALT+224 / 234 | Alpha / Omega | Origin and closure
µ | ALT+230 | Micro | Near-invisible force
σ | ALT+229 | Sigma | Accumulation
τ | ALT+231 | Tau | Joining; stabilization
Θ | ALT+233 | Theta | Pierced boundary
δ | ALT+235 | Delta | Inflection point
ε | ALT+238 | Epsilon | Minimal quantity
∩ | ALT+239 | Intersection | Shared essence
≡ | ALT+240 | Identity | Ontological sameness
© ® ™ | ALT+0169 / 0174 / 0153 | Ownership marks | Ironized authorship
° | ALT+0176 | Degree | Measure; intensity
⌐ | ALT+169 | Reversed not | Conditional denial
ß | ALT+225 | Sharp S | Split lineage
Γ | ALT+226 | Gamma | Emergent corner
π | ALT+227 | Pi | Irrational continuity
φ / Φ | ALT+232 / 237 | Phi | Hidden proportion
¥ | ALT+0165 | Yen | Forked exchange
₧ | ALT+158 | Peseta | Obsolete economy
₿ | ALT+8383 | Bitcoin | Modern value emblem
◆ | ALT+9670 | Black diamond | Irreversible rupture

UNICODE TYPING APPENDIX

Windows:
ALT codes 0–255; Unicode hex via Alt+X
Example: How to type ⟞ (Hinge symbol)
If your system supports Unicode hex input:
Type: 27DE
Then press: Alt + X

Mac:
Unicode Hex Input; Character Viewer

Linux:
Ctrl+Shift+U
NOTE: These instructions are valid as of 2025 and may change.

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EDITORIAL NOTE

This compendium unites medieval scribal marks and modern Unicode symbols as semantic instruments, not decoration. Meanings are suggestive rather than prescriptive, emerging through repetition, placement, and restraint. Symbols are offered as affordances for poetic thinking, not rules to be enforced.