Divinity Atlas

Open Questions

Browse Open Questions On

Things this atlas does not know. Each entry is a question that specialists have posed and not settled, recorded with what would actually resolve it and which expertise the answer needs.

These are kept deliberately, rather than quietly omitted. An atlas that shows only what it is sure of implies a confidence it has not earned, and the gaps are often where the interesting work is. Several sit exactly where two fields fail to meet: identifying the hyssop of the Hebrew Bible needs a botanist and a philologist of Biblical Hebrew, and neither one settles it alone.

You can send evidence on some of these. A pilot is open on 55 questions in one field, Palaeography. Each says what would resolve it; send something that meets that bar, with a source anybody can check, and an editor will weigh it. Sending evidence does not guarantee the question will be resolved, and it does not have to be your field to read what is being asked. See what is open.

Grouped by the part of the atlas the question sits in. Start here if you know the territory better than the technique.

Filter By Specialty 99 fields

Showing 321 to 340 of 610 open questions, page 17 of 31.

Kabbalah & the Tree of Life 54

Theban R R Where does the Theban sign for R come from, and does Trithemius's ascription of the script to Honorius of Thebes rest on anything but his own word?

Open Theban R R

Why It Is Open The three attributed-author facts recorded on Theban R are all marked unknown, and this is the question they leave open. Trithemius published the script in Polygraphiae libri sex in 1518, crediting Honorius of Thebes on the authority of Pietro d'Abano, but the credit has never been corroborated. The ascription is not known to appear in any writing attributed to d'Abano, the script is not known to appear in any manuscript of Honorius except British Library Sloane 3853, which names Agrippa as its own source, and no publication before 1518 has been found to carry it. A Trithemius era invention is widely assumed but has never been demonstrated, and no rival candidate has ever been named, which is why this is unknown rather than debated. It is one question about the whole Theban script rather than about this letter alone, and it is recorded on each of the twenty six letters because the atlas stores the attribution separately for every letter.

What Would Settle It A codicological survey of pre-1518 manuscripts in the ars notoria and Solomonic grimoire traditions for any script matching the Theban letterforms, together with archival work on Trithemius's own circle, including his students and correspondents such as Agrippa, and a collation of the Polygraphiae chart against the earliest surviving impressions. One dated witness earlier than 1518 would settle the priority; a draft, a letter or a working paper would settle the authorship.

Expertise Needed Palaeography and codicology of late medieval Latin manuscripts, history of the early modern printed book, history of Renaissance occultism

Codicology History of Renaissance Occultism History of the Book Palaeography

Question posed in Theban alphabet (reference article), Wikipedia contributors, Origin and attribution: the ascription is not known to be mentioned in any writing attributed to Pietro d'Abano, nor the script in any Honorius manuscript except Sloane 3853, which names Agrippa..

Theban S Where does the Theban sign for S come from, and does Trithemius's ascription of the script to Honorius of Thebes rest on anything but his own word?

Open Theban S

Why It Is Open The three attributed-author facts recorded on Theban S are all marked unknown, and this is the question they leave open. Trithemius published the script in Polygraphiae libri sex in 1518, crediting Honorius of Thebes on the authority of Pietro d'Abano, but the credit has never been corroborated. The ascription is not known to appear in any writing attributed to d'Abano, the script is not known to appear in any manuscript of Honorius except British Library Sloane 3853, which names Agrippa as its own source, and no publication before 1518 has been found to carry it. A Trithemius era invention is widely assumed but has never been demonstrated, and no rival candidate has ever been named, which is why this is unknown rather than debated. It is one question about the whole Theban script rather than about this letter alone, and it is recorded on each of the twenty six letters because the atlas stores the attribution separately for every letter.

Expertise Needed Palaeography and codicology of late medieval Latin manuscripts, history of the early modern printed book, history of Renaissance occultism

Codicology History of Renaissance Occultism History of the Book Palaeography

Theban T T Where does the Theban sign for T come from, and does Trithemius's ascription of the script to Honorius of Thebes rest on anything but his own word?

Open Theban T T

Why It Is Open The three attributed-author facts recorded on Theban T are all marked unknown, and this is the question they leave open. Trithemius published the script in Polygraphiae libri sex in 1518, crediting Honorius of Thebes on the authority of Pietro d'Abano, but the credit has never been corroborated. The ascription is not known to appear in any writing attributed to d'Abano, the script is not known to appear in any manuscript of Honorius except British Library Sloane 3853, which names Agrippa as its own source, and no publication before 1518 has been found to carry it. A Trithemius era invention is widely assumed but has never been demonstrated, and no rival candidate has ever been named, which is why this is unknown rather than debated. It is one question about the whole Theban script rather than about this letter alone, and it is recorded on each of the twenty six letters because the atlas stores the attribution separately for every letter.

Expertise Needed Palaeography and codicology of late medieval Latin manuscripts, history of the early modern printed book, history of Renaissance occultism

Codicology History of Renaissance Occultism History of the Book Palaeography

Theban U U Where does the Theban sign for U come from, and does Trithemius's ascription of the script to Honorius of Thebes rest on anything but his own word?

Open Theban U U

Why It Is Open The three attributed-author facts recorded on Theban U are all marked unknown, and this is the question they leave open. Trithemius published the script in Polygraphiae libri sex in 1518, crediting Honorius of Thebes on the authority of Pietro d'Abano, but the credit has never been corroborated. The ascription is not known to appear in any writing attributed to d'Abano, the script is not known to appear in any manuscript of Honorius except British Library Sloane 3853, which names Agrippa as its own source, and no publication before 1518 has been found to carry it. A Trithemius era invention is widely assumed but has never been demonstrated, and no rival candidate has ever been named, which is why this is unknown rather than debated. It is one question about the whole Theban script rather than about this letter alone, and it is recorded on each of the twenty six letters because the atlas stores the attribution separately for every letter.

Expertise Needed Palaeography and codicology of late medieval Latin manuscripts, history of the early modern printed book, history of Renaissance occultism

Codicology History of Renaissance Occultism History of the Book Palaeography

Theban V V Where does the Theban sign for V come from, and does Trithemius's ascription of the script to Honorius of Thebes rest on anything but his own word?

Open Theban V V

Why It Is Open The three attributed-author facts recorded on Theban V are all marked unknown, and this is the question they leave open. Trithemius published the script in Polygraphiae libri sex in 1518, crediting Honorius of Thebes on the authority of Pietro d'Abano, but the credit has never been corroborated. The ascription is not known to appear in any writing attributed to d'Abano, the script is not known to appear in any manuscript of Honorius except British Library Sloane 3853, which names Agrippa as its own source, and no publication before 1518 has been found to carry it. A Trithemius era invention is widely assumed but has never been demonstrated, and no rival candidate has ever been named, which is why this is unknown rather than debated. It is one question about the whole Theban script rather than about this letter alone, and it is recorded on each of the twenty six letters because the atlas stores the attribution separately for every letter.

Expertise Needed Palaeography and codicology of late medieval Latin manuscripts, history of the early modern printed book, history of Renaissance occultism

Codicology History of Renaissance Occultism History of the Book Palaeography

Theban W W Where does the Theban sign for W come from, and does Trithemius's ascription of the script to Honorius of Thebes rest on anything but his own word?

Open Theban W W

Why It Is Open The three attributed-author facts recorded on Theban W are all marked unknown, and this is the question they leave open. Trithemius published the script in Polygraphiae libri sex in 1518, crediting Honorius of Thebes on the authority of Pietro d'Abano, but the credit has never been corroborated. The ascription is not known to appear in any writing attributed to d'Abano, the script is not known to appear in any manuscript of Honorius except British Library Sloane 3853, which names Agrippa as its own source, and no publication before 1518 has been found to carry it. A Trithemius era invention is widely assumed but has never been demonstrated, and no rival candidate has ever been named, which is why this is unknown rather than debated. It is one question about the whole Theban script rather than about this letter alone, and it is recorded on each of the twenty six letters because the atlas stores the attribution separately for every letter.

Expertise Needed Palaeography and codicology of late medieval Latin manuscripts, history of the early modern printed book, history of Renaissance occultism

Codicology History of Renaissance Occultism History of the Book Palaeography

Theban X X Where does the Theban sign for X come from, and does Trithemius's ascription of the script to Honorius of Thebes rest on anything but his own word?

Open Theban X X

Why It Is Open The three attributed-author facts recorded on Theban X are all marked unknown, and this is the question they leave open. Trithemius published the script in Polygraphiae libri sex in 1518, crediting Honorius of Thebes on the authority of Pietro d'Abano, but the credit has never been corroborated. The ascription is not known to appear in any writing attributed to d'Abano, the script is not known to appear in any manuscript of Honorius except British Library Sloane 3853, which names Agrippa as its own source, and no publication before 1518 has been found to carry it. A Trithemius era invention is widely assumed but has never been demonstrated, and no rival candidate has ever been named, which is why this is unknown rather than debated. It is one question about the whole Theban script rather than about this letter alone, and it is recorded on each of the twenty six letters because the atlas stores the attribution separately for every letter.

Expertise Needed Palaeography and codicology of late medieval Latin manuscripts, history of the early modern printed book, history of Renaissance occultism

Codicology History of Renaissance Occultism History of the Book Palaeography

Theban Y Y Where does the Theban sign for Y come from, and does Trithemius's ascription of the script to Honorius of Thebes rest on anything but his own word?

Open Theban Y Y

Why It Is Open The three attributed-author facts recorded on Theban Y are all marked unknown, and this is the question they leave open. Trithemius published the script in Polygraphiae libri sex in 1518, crediting Honorius of Thebes on the authority of Pietro d'Abano, but the credit has never been corroborated. The ascription is not known to appear in any writing attributed to d'Abano, the script is not known to appear in any manuscript of Honorius except British Library Sloane 3853, which names Agrippa as its own source, and no publication before 1518 has been found to carry it. A Trithemius era invention is widely assumed but has never been demonstrated, and no rival candidate has ever been named, which is why this is unknown rather than debated. It is one question about the whole Theban script rather than about this letter alone, and it is recorded on each of the twenty six letters because the atlas stores the attribution separately for every letter.

Expertise Needed Palaeography and codicology of late medieval Latin manuscripts, history of the early modern printed book, history of Renaissance occultism

Codicology History of Renaissance Occultism History of the Book Palaeography

Theban Z Z Where does the Theban sign for Z come from, and does Trithemius's ascription of the script to Honorius of Thebes rest on anything but his own word?

Open Theban Z Z

Why It Is Open The three attributed-author facts recorded on Theban Z are all marked unknown, and this is the question they leave open. Trithemius published the script in Polygraphiae libri sex in 1518, crediting Honorius of Thebes on the authority of Pietro d'Abano, but the credit has never been corroborated. The ascription is not known to appear in any writing attributed to d'Abano, the script is not known to appear in any manuscript of Honorius except British Library Sloane 3853, which names Agrippa as its own source, and no publication before 1518 has been found to carry it. A Trithemius era invention is widely assumed but has never been demonstrated, and no rival candidate has ever been named, which is why this is unknown rather than debated. It is one question about the whole Theban script rather than about this letter alone, and it is recorded on each of the twenty six letters because the atlas stores the attribution separately for every letter.

Expertise Needed Palaeography and codicology of late medieval Latin manuscripts, history of the early modern printed book, history of Renaissance occultism

Codicology History of Renaissance Occultism History of the Book Palaeography

Theban J J Who first printed a Theban sign for J distinct from the sign for I, and where did that form come from?

Open Theban J J

Why It Is Open J was not a separate letter of the Latin alphabet Trithemius was ciphering in 1518, and the earliest Theban sets carry no sign for it: the sign for I served for both. The Theban J in circulation today is a later supplement, usually described as adapted from the I, but nobody has identified the chart or edition in which it first appears, or the hand that made it. The modern twenty six letter Theban set therefore contains one letter with no traceable origin at all.

What Would Settle It A bibliographic collation of printed Theban charts in sequence, from Polygraphiae in 1518 and Agrippa's De occulta philosophia in 1533, through the eighteenth and nineteenth century grimoire reprints, to the twentieth century witchcraft revival, to locate the earliest surviving witness of the supplementary sign and to name the edition that introduced it.

Expertise Needed History of the printed book, analytical bibliography of occult literature

Analytical Bibliography History of the Book

Question posed in Theban alphabet (reference article), Wikipedia contributors, Section on letters: the modern characters J and U are not represented and are often transliterated using the Theban characters for I and V..

Theban U U Who first printed a Theban sign for U distinct from the sign for V, and where did that form come from?

Open Theban U U

Why It Is Open U and V were one letter in the Latin alphabet Trithemius was ciphering in 1518, and the original Theban set has a single sign covering both. The separate Theban U now in general use is a later supplement, conventionally taken over from the V, but the chart in which it first appears has not been identified and neither has whoever added it. The sign is used daily in modern practice with no known first witness behind it.

Expertise Needed History of the printed book, analytical bibliography of occult literature

Analytical Bibliography History of the Book

Theban W W Which of the circulating Theban forms for W, if any, is the one Trithemius actually printed in 1518?

Open Theban W W

Why It Is Open W 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 Settle It 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.

Expertise Needed Analytical bibliography and description of early printed books, palaeography

Analytical Bibliography Palaeography

Question posed in Theban alphabet (reference article), Wikipedia contributors, Sections 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..

Deities & Sacred Figures 41

Geshtinanna Does Any Identifiable Image of Geshtinanna Survive?

Open Geshtinanna

Why It Is Open Sumerian art rarely labels its figures, and reference studies of Mesopotamian iconography have not been able to isolate a scene or attribute as distinctively Geshtinanna's, unlike her brother Dumuzi or her rival Inanna, both identifiable from repeated attributes across many surviving objects.

What Would Settle It A securely inscribed or otherwise firmly identified image of Geshtinanna, distinguishing her from the generic Mesopotamian goddess type, turning up in excavation or in a museum collection reassessment of unattributed glyptic art.

Expertise Needed Assyriology, Mesopotamian art history and archaeology

Question posed in Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary, Jeremy Black and Anthony Green.

Vali What Is the Origin of the Name Vali?

Open Vali

Why It Is Open A proposed link between Vali's name and Old Norse words for growing or ripening, motivated by how quickly the god reaches manhood in the myth itself, is treated in the reference literature as an unconfirmed coincidence with the story rather than an established derivation.

What Would Settle It A philological study weighing the proposed growing or ripening derivation against the alternatives, or an independent early attestation of the name outside the mythic narrative that could confirm or rule out the connection.

Expertise Needed Old Norse philology, historical linguistics of the Germanic languages

Question posed in Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs, John Lindow.

Bunjil What Is the Origin of the Name Bunjil?

Open Bunjil

Why It Is Open Bunjil is attested across the Kulin nation ethnographic record in several colonial-era spellings, recorded by nineteenth century observers working across related but distinct language groups with no shared orthography. The word plainly identifies the creator ancestor with the wedge-tailed eagle, but no confirmed derivation of the word itself, reconciling the recorded dialect variation into one settled origin, has been established.

What Would Settle It A linguistic reconstruction of the word across the Kulin language family from a qualified historical linguist, comparing the recorded spelling variants to establish whether one original form and meaning can be recovered, or an early wordlist or grammar predating the surviving colonial-era transcriptions.

Expertise Needed Historical and comparative linguistics of the Kulin languages, ethnohistory of south-eastern Australia

Question posed in The Native Tribes of South-East Australia, A. W. Howitt.

Catequil What Is the Origin of the Name Catequil?

Open Catequil

Why It Is Open Catequil is recorded only through Spanish colonial chronicles transcribing Andean-language testimony into Spanish orthography, none of which explain what the name itself means. The deity's association with thunder and lightning is well established from his recorded role and myths, but no confirmed derivation for the name has been established.

What Would Settle It A philological study of the name against Quechua and other Andean languages attested in the region, or an earlier colonial-era source recording the word alongside a stated meaning, neither of which has been identified in the existing chronicle record.

Expertise Needed Andean historical linguistics, ethnohistory of the pre-Columbian Andes

Question posed in Catequil: The Archaeology, Ethnohistory, and Ethnography of a Major Provincial Huaca (Topic and Topic), John R. Topic and Theresa L. Topic.

Gede What Is the Origin of the Word Gede?

Open Gede

Why It Is Open Gede is attested as a family and title name attached to individual spirits, Gede Nibo and Gede Zaraignen among them, rather than as one deity's own proper name. A West African, Dahomean origin has been proposed given Haitian Vodou's broader Fon and Kongo ancestry, but no single derivation has become the settled reading.

What Would Settle It A linguistic study tracing the word to a specific West African source language, Fon or otherwise, or an early colonial-era or immediate post-colonial record of the term predating its documented use as the spirit family's title.

Expertise Needed Haitian Creole linguistics, Africanist studies of Fon and Kongo antecedents

Question posed in The Faces of the Gods: Vodou and Roman Catholicism in Haiti, Leslie G. Desmangles.

Ixmucane What Is the Literal Meaning of Ixmucane's Name?

Open Ixmucane

Why It Is Open Ixmucane carries clear role-titles in the Popol Vuh's own text, Grandmother of Day and Grandmother of Light among them, but the literal root of her proper name draws competing candidate readings from the text's Mayanist translators, with no single derivation settled.

What Would Settle It A philological study of the K'iche' text against related Mayan languages, testing the existing translators' competing conjectures for the name's root against a wider comparative vocabulary, to reach a reading the field can agree on.

Expertise Needed K'iche' Maya philology, Mesoamerican historical linguistics

Question posed in Popol Vuh: The Definitive Edition of the Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life, translated by Dennis Tedlock.

Ixpiyacoc What Is the Literal Meaning of Ixpiyacoc's Name?

Open Ixpiyacoc

Why It Is Open Ixpiyacoc carries the Popol Vuh's feminine ix- prefix despite being the pair's male member, a detail the text's Mayanist translators note without a settled explanation, and the literal root behind piyacoc draws competing candidate readings rather than one agreed derivation.

What Would Settle It A philological study addressing both the root itself and why the text marks a male figure with the feminine ix- prefix, which existing commentary notes but does not resolve, tested against a wider comparative K'iche' and Mayan vocabulary.

Expertise Needed K'iche' Maya philology, Mesoamerican historical linguistics

Question posed in Popol Vuh: The Definitive Edition of the Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life, translated by Dennis Tedlock.

Chernobog Is there any surviving image or description of Chernobog?

Open Chernobog

Why It Is Open Chernobog is attested exactly once, by the twelfth-century German cleric Helmold of Bosau, who names the Black God only to say that Baltic Slavic tribes cursed him at their feasts for bringing misfortune. Helmold describes no idol, image, temple or cult object, and no earlier or independent later source, inscription or archaeological find corroborates or adds to his brief mention.

What Would Settle It An independent contemporary or near-contemporary textual witness describing a Chernobog cult image, or an archaeological find, such as the kind of carved Slavic cult idol recovered elsewhere on the Baltic coast, that can be identified with this god specifically rather than with the pantheon in general.

Expertise Needed Slavic archaeology, medieval Baltic and Wendish history, history of religion

Question posed in The Slavs (Gimbutas), Marija Gimbutas.

Switch Atlas

The Inner World

The Civil World

The Natural World

Open Questions