On Monks and the Development of the @ Symbol

“The @ symbol is one of the Internet’s most ubiquitous characters; and modern writers would probably be hard-pressed to think of a way that they would use it in a non-digital context. However, the ‘at’ sign was actually invented hundreds of years ago, by monks, according to scholars.

“Before Gutenberg’s printing press, written material in the Western world consisted mainly of religious texts. The laborious process of book creation was mostly done by monks who painstakingly copied everything by hand. The number of pen strokes required to form each letter directly affected the speed of transcription, and scholars suggest that the ‘at’ sign arose as way to decrease the number of strokes needed.”

A recent Huffington Post article explained the connection between monks and the “@” symbol.

To access the complete article, please visit:

Huffington Post: ‘At’ Sign History Suggests Monks Invented The Symbol ‘@’ (23 AUG 13)

Thank you, Deacon Greg Kandra, for the tip.