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{{culture
|image=
|world=Roshar
|universe=[[Cosmere]]
|books=[[The Stormlight Archive]]
}}
{{for|Glyphs/Index|an index of all known glyphs}}
{{image|Herald Glyph Jezrien.svg|Jezrien's Honorblade swordglyph|width=100px|side=right}}
The usage of glyphs may predate even the [[Heraldic Epochs]], as they can be found inscribed, along with other patterns, on the [[Honorblade]]s themselves.{{book ref|twok|part=prelude}} They came into common usage among humans during the [[Era of Solitude]]; and are said to have been given to the Rosharans by the [[Dawnsingers]].{{book ref|twok|33}} Glyphs seem to have a common origin with [[Thaylen script]], due to the presence of many similar graphemes. Though [[women's script]] became the primary writing system used in [[Vorin]] nations, glyphs are still used in many contexts.
{{image|TWoK Front Endsheet.jpg|The Ten Fundamental Glyphs|side=left|width=200px}}
Glyphs are inexplicably tied to the Heralds and [[Knights Radiant]]. The "ten fundamental glyphs" are derived from or related to the "swordglyphs" of the
== Usage ==
Shops often use glyphs and glyphpairs to indicate which type of goods are available for sale. For example, bookstores may display the glyphpair for "book", stylized into the shape of a book so that even illiterate servants will recognize it as a bookstore.{{book ref|twok|8}} Signs may also be used to indicate specific items for sale as well as associated prices.{{book ref|wor|43}} Books, folios, and scrolls intended for men may use glyphs and glyphpairs, along with images. Textbooks use glyphpairs to designate body parts in anatomical diagrams{{book ref|twok|31}} while a guide on [[Shardblade]] stances may use glyphs to indicate specific movements.{{file ref|Scroll_of_Stances.jpeg|Ironstance Scroll}} These will often be accompanied with women's script for further clarification. While official documents may make use of glyphs, they are typically written with women's script.{{book ref|twok|25}}
Highborn lighteyed families often have a distinct glyph and a glyphpair. For example, the Kholin family uses the "khokh linil" glyphpair; stylized as a tower and a crown, this crest appears on the armor, clothing, and banners of Dalinar's army and servants.{{book ref|twok|18}} Maps of the [[Shattered Plains]] use these glyphs and glyphpairs to indicate ownership of camps and plateaus.{{book ref|twok|24}} Slaves are branded on the forehead with a glyphpair of the district in which they were enslaved, to signify their new caste. The addition of a "shash" glyph brand, marking a dangerous slave, can make it difficult to get a good price for the slave.{{book ref|twok|4}} Upon earning their freedom, slaves may opt to cover these brands with a tattoo, including glyphs that reference the record of their release.{{book ref|wor|2}}
=== Art and Religion ===
{{image|Glyphward1.jpg|glyphward|width=200px|side=right}}
Glyphs are also pervasive in decorations and religious practices, where they tend to be portrayed in a very stylized manner. Greater value is placed on beauty and aesthetics than on making the symbol easily recognizable. Glyphs are occasionally used on clothing for decorative purposes. For example, [[Alethi]] women sometimes wear dresses patterned with glyphs.{{book ref|twok|43}} The doors into the [[Palanaeum]] are adorned with a beautiful carving of intricate glyphs.{{book ref|twok|7}} When the freed members of [[Bridge Four]] chose tattoos to cover their slave brands, they opted for a purely decorative "
Sometimes these decorative glyphs
=== Stormwarden Script ===
== Appearance and Design ==
{{image|Alethi Glyphs Page 1.jpg|
{{image|Alethi Glyphs Page 2.jpg|The second page of a letter discussing Alethi Glyphs.|side=right|width=150px}}
Glyphs can be seen written in three different ways: a standard, block form that highly resembles Thaylen script; a calligraphic form, in which the glyph may be altered significantly for heightened aesthetics; or a radial form, where the glyph is drawn repeatedly with radial symmetry about some point.{{17s ref|post|105525|Stormlight Archive Translation Guide|date=2014-3-6}} They typically have bilateral symmetry{{book ref|twok|8}}, matching the symmetrical pronunciation of the sounds they represent. In some cases, glyphs
The component
=== Evolution ===
A glyph's appearance and design can change over time. Because glyphs are typically memorized rather than read, a particular glyph's original
<gallery>
It is slightly more common to find pairs of glyphs being displayed together than individual ones.{{file ref|Alethi Glyphs Page 1.jpg|Page of Alethi glyphs}} Such "glyphpairs" can symbolize a variety of entities and concepts.
*''khokh linil'' - [[House Kholin]]'s glyphpair, in the shape of a tower and crown for most of House Kholin,{{book ref|
*''merem khakh'' - [[Amaram]]'s glyphpair, drawn in the shape of a [[whitespine]]{{book ref|
*''sas morom'' - Slave brand, glyphpair of a highlord's district{{book ref|
*''sas nahn'' - Slave brand, possible glyphpair for Amaram's district{{book ref|
*''sebes laial'' - Highprince [[Sebarial]]'s glyphpair, in the shape of a deep gold [[skyeel]] on a black field.{{book ref|sa2|40}}
*''shesh lerel'' - [[Sheler]]'s glyphpair{{book ref|
*Tower & Hammer - Highprince [[Torol Sadeas]]'s glyphpair{{book ref|
== Numbers ==
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