Hand: Hand 1 (Main Hand), Bodleian Hatton 76 (4125), fols. 1–67

Name
Hand 1 (Main Hand)
Manuscript
Bodleian Hatton 76 (4125), fols. 1–67
Script
Unspecified
Scribe
Unspecified
Date
Saec. xi1
Place
Worcester

Stokes, English Vernacular Script, ca 990–ca 1035, Vol. 2 (PhD Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2006)

This scribe wrote a rather irregular hand and used a fairly thick pen but with a good deal of shading. He used this shading to produce tapering strokes, particularly descenders which are no longer than minims and which turn left at the tips or have rising finials. The scribe also produced fairly thick vertical strokes which are accentuated by the relatively long ascenders. Indeed, the aspect in this respect is reminiscent of Style-III Anglo-Caroline though without any of the broken curves characteristic of the Latin script. Ascenders are usually split slightly at the top, the wedges trailing a little to the left. Minims have wedges of sorts which trail slightly to the left as well, and minims also have angular, rising feet. Round a was used, the short top written in the same stroke as the back, the resulting form a somewhat rotund teardrop shape. The a-component of æ is much like that of a, the tongue is high and rising, and the hook is round. Neither tall æ nor e is found. Round c was used throughout, as was d with a short back angled at about 30–40°. The back of e is horned and straight, or, especially after c and g, round. The eye and tongue of e are like those of æ, although the tongue is hooked down slightly at the tip. The tongue of f is long and rising. The top of g is flat, the mid-section hangs from the left and bulges out further to the left before curving back to the right and down to form a small, closed loop. The shoulders of h, m, and n are all moderately curved, and the strokes can swell slightly around the shoulder. The shoulder of r is usually more angular and the minim-stroke more vertical. Low s was used in final position only; long s was usually used elsewhere, although round s is sometimes found in initial position. The conventional distinction was followed between þ and ð. The back of ð is long and can be slightly broken; it is often concave down at the tip but can also be tapering and concave up. The through-stroke of ð is hooked down on the right. The descender of þ is short. The south-west branch of x is long and hooked right, and the north-east branch is hooked left. Straight-limbed y was used, the left branch having a short approach-stroke, the right branch a wedge, the tail hooked left, and the letter always dotted. The top of 7 is long and flat except for a small hook usually found on the left end; the down-stroke is more or less vertical.

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