Version 1.0, 5 October 2021
Version history:
Version 1.0, 5 October 2021
Manichaean script
The Manichaean script is an abdjad-based, right-to-left writing system, developed from the Imperial Aramaic script. The script is associated with the spread of Manichaeism from southwest to central Asia and beyond, beginning in the third century CE. The script was named after the prophet Mani, after whom Manichaean texts attribute its design. Several Middle Iranian languages can be written in this script: (Manichaean) Middle Persian, Parthian, Sogdian, Early New Persian, and Bactrian; as well as Tocharian (Arśi-Kuči, Agnean-Kuchean or Kuchean-Agnean) and the Turkic language Old Uyghur.
Font and font sizes
The font Noto Sans Manichaean can be downloaded freely from the Google Noto Fonts site.
- Brill 11 pt ~ Noto Sans Manichaean 11.5 pt
- Brill 10 pt ~ Noto Sans Manichaean 10.5 pt
- Brill 9 pt ~ Noto Sans Manichaean 9.5 pt
Baseline shift: 0.5 pt
Typesetting software
At the time of writing (October 2021), InDesign does not support typesetting Manichaean script: the script is not recognized as a right-to-left script and therefore, Manichaean text becomes corrupt when rendered in InDesign (both in the native Adobe text renderer Lipika and InDesign’s version of HarfBuzz). Only TeX can be tweaked to render Manichaean script correctly, and therefore, Manichaean text can and must only be typeset by TAT, who use an installation of LuaTeX.
Web fonts
See Web Fonts and Script Proportions on Brill Websites 034 for web font, font license and font rights holder information; script and language tag and script proportion.
