The Historical Origins of Punctuation

In the 1530s, Henry VIII declared himself to be the ‘Supreme Head’ of the Church of England, and he demanded absolute loyalty from his subjects. Those who crossed him risked the loss of their heads. Meanwhile, the modern punctuation system started to emerge with the introduction of the comma and other punctuation marks. In this episode, we look at the intersection of ‘capital’ offenses, ‘capital’ letters, and the origin of modern punctuation.

TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 150