Long-s predates short-s. It entered usage because we needed a lower case S when Carolingian monks first developed cased letters in the eighth century, and the

Long-s predates short-s. It entered usage because we needed a lower case S when Carolingian monks first developed cased letters in the eighth century, and the Romans already had a similar shape (the "medial S"). For a long time "S" was only used in the capital form; small "s" came later. Here's what Carolingian miniscule looked like, note the r-like s: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carolineminuscel.jpg https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carolineminuscel.jpg And here's Old Roman cursive for comparison: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/CursivasRomanas.png/1200px-CursivasRomanas.png https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/Cu... Small-s starts taking off around the 12th century or so, coexists with long-s for a while, before eventually replacing it.