#minim problem

A minim is "a short, vertical stroke used in handwriting" and the 'minim problem' refers to the difficulty of differentiating between the letters i, u, o, v, m, n (especially in Gothic script). Here's an example:

This problem led to some spelling developments to be able to differentiate between the letters:

Minims often have a connecting stroke which makes it clear that they form an m, n, etc.; however, in Gothic scripts, also known as textualis especially in late examples, minims may connect to each other with only a hair line stroke making it difficult for modern readers to tell what letter is meant. A 13th-century example of this is: mimi numinum niuium minimi munium nimium uini muniminum imminui uiui minimum uolunt ("the smallest mimes of the gods of snow do not wish at all in their life that the great duty of the defences of the wine be diminished"). In Gothic script this would look almost like a series of single strokes (this problem eventually led to a dotted ⟨i⟩ and separate letters ⟨j⟩ and ⟨v⟩).

Middle English scribes adopted a practice of replacing ⟨u⟩ before ⟨m⟩, ⟨n⟩, or ⟨v⟩ with ⟨o⟩ in order to break up the sequence of minims. The resulting spellings have persisted into modern times in words such as come, honey, and love, where an o stands for a short ŭ.

Source: Wikipedia