Hand: Ælfric Excerpts (114v), BAV Reg.lat.1283, fol. 114

Name

Ælfric Excerpts (114v)

Manuscript

BAV Reg.lat.1283, fol. 114

Script

Unspecified

Scribe

Unspecified

Date

Saec. xi1

Place

Unknown

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

This vernacular script was influenced heavily by the Latin and shows the pointedness associated with Style-II Anglo-Caroline. Ascenders are as long as or longer than minims and have slightly tapering or clubbed tops. Descenders are about as long as minims and are tapering. Teardrop-shaped a is found, as is an occasional Caroline form, and the cc form was also used once in ligature with preceding Insular r. The same range is found in æ, the tongue of which is straight and rising and the hook round but low even when in ligature with following g or t. Round c was used, as was d which can have a short and round back but is usually straight, is sometimes very thick, and is angled anywhere between about 30–60°. Round e was used, the tongue and hook like those of æ. The tongue of f is relatively long. The top of g is fairly short, the mid-section usually hangs from the centre but can hang from the right, the mid-section is rounded but fairly narrow, and the tail is closed in an oblong loop. The shoulders of h, m, and n can be fairly rounded but the down-strokes are straight. Long s is usually found initially and low s otherwise; Caroline s+t ligatures are also found. The conventional distinction between ð and þ was followed. The back of ð is like that of d but is longer and steeper, is not thick, and can be somewhat concave, and the through-stroke is long and lacks a hook. The north-east branch of x is hooked left, and the south-west is long and tapering. Straight-limbed dotted y is found, the right branch of which is hooked left. The top of 7 is long, flat, and usually well above cue-height. Latin was written in Anglo-Caroline minuscule but shows both round and Caroline a and cc a in ligature with preceding r.