Hand: Hand 2 (many short stints throughout 11v–149v), CCCO 279, pt. ii

Name
Hand 2 (many short stints throughout 11v–149v)
Manuscript
CCCO 279, pt. ii
Script
Unspecified
Scribe
Unspecified
Date
Saec. xi in.
Place
Unknown

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

This spidery and somewhat disordered hand was written with a relatively thin but relatively flat pen. Ascenders are long, up to twice the length of minims, and with ill-formed wedges which often fork off into strokes which trail to the left. Descenders are straight and somewhat shorter than ascenders. Minims are also straight, often lack feet, and can have wedges or approach-strokes. Single-compartment a can be teardrop-shaped, more rotund, or more quadrilateral. A similar range can also be found in æ, the eye of which sits high on the shoulder with a small loop which turns back to the left or a large loop which reaches forward; in both cases the loop rises above cue-height, and the horizontal or rising tongue sits slightly below cue-height. A similar range is found for e, the back of which normally has a small horn and is angled at about 80°, and the tongues of a and æ often curves up when final. Round c appears throughout, with a short hook and long lower curve, and the back of d is short and angled at about 30°. The tongue of f is long, tapering, flat, and extends well beyond the hook. The top of g can be very short and is often concave up; the mid-section descends from the left of this stroke, bulging to the left before swinging back at about 45°, and the tail forms a tight, slightly open loop. The shoulders of h, m, n, and r are moderately rounded, often branching from well below cue-height, and the minims can be angled out to the right; the foot of r is angled up in a rising tick. Long, low and round s were all used: long is found before p, t and wynn, but round and low seem to have been used anywhere. The hook of round s is slightly short but rises above cue-height, and the mid-section reaches to the right. Long s has a prominent wedge at cue-height and a hook which reaches over the following letter, and the hook of low s is very short and can be deeply split. The conventional distinction between þ and ð was largely followed, except for capitals; the bowl of þ can be quite narrow but angled or more triangular, and the back of ð is long, straight, slightly concave, angled at about 70°, and has a fairly flat through-stroke which is hooked very slightly up at the left and down at the right. The south-west quadrant of x consists of a long, thin stroke turned down at the tip, the south-east quadrant curves up to the horizontal, and the two upper branches are both hooked down. Straight-limbed, dotted y was most commonly used, with a leftward hook on the right fork, but f-shaped y also appears on occasion. The top of 7 is straight but rises slightly and has a small hook on the left; the descender is approximately vertical. Latin is not distinguished by script.

No Page associated to this record
No Annotation associated to this record