Hand: Main Hand, BL Cotton Augustus ii.22

Name
Main Hand
Manuscript
BL Cotton Augustus ii.22
Script
English Vernacular minuscule
Scribe
DigiPal Scribe 56. Saec. x/xi
Date
Saec. x/xi
Place
Central Production (?)

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

This hand is typical for an eleventh-century boundary-clause inasmuch as the letters are tall and narrow, written with a fairly thin pen, and have long, straight ascenders and descenders which are two to three times the length of minims. Indeed, the hand seems particularly close to G.353-1. Neither the Latin nor the Vernacular script show consistent wedges, but very small wedges are usually found in the boundary-clause. Minims have short approach-strokes and short feet. The top of a is fairly straight but angled at about 30–40°, and the back is angled at about 80°; the letter is thus essentially teardrop-shaped, if sometimes a little rounded. Much the same form was used for æ, the tongue of which is high and just below cue-height, and the hook sits on the shoulder and reachs a little above cue-height but is never trully tall. Round c was used, as was both round and slightly horned e with tongue and hook like those of æ. The back of d is of medium length, angled between about 20–50°, and vertical-tipped. The tongue of f is long and can be slightly concave up, and the hook branches from below cue-height. The top of g is straight and flat, and the mid-section begins on the right, swings to the left then back to the right, and ends in a very wide, open tail, the bottom of which is roughly horizontal and has a flourish at the tip. The shoulders of h, m, n, and r all branch well below cue-height, have a very thin rising stroke, and then turn into a slightly rounded and quite thick down-stroke. Round s was used frequently, the lower curve of which is wide and the upper curve short but reaching above cue-height. Low s is also found, particularly in the -es ending, and tall s was used before t and sometimes elsewhere with a down-stroke which tapers rapidly and trails off with a hair-stroke to the left. The conventional distinction was followed betweenð and þ. The structure of ð is exactly that of d, and the through-stroke is thin and fairly straight. Straight-limbed dotted y was used throughout, the upper right branch of which is hooked left and the tail hooked right. The top of 7 is hooked up on the left and rises slightly to the right. Latin was consistently distinguished by script.

a, Insular

a, Insular. Main Hand

a, Insular. Main Hand

a, Insular. Main Hand
æ, Insular

æ, Insular. Main Hand

æ, Insular. Main Hand

æ, Insular. Main Hand
Æ, enlarged round

Æ, enlarged round. DigiPal Scribe 56. Saec. x/xi. Main Hand
b

b. Main Hand

b. Main Hand
c

c. Main Hand

c. Main Hand
d, Insular

d, Insular. Main Hand

d, Insular. Main Hand

d, Insular. Main Hand
e

e. Main Hand

e. Main Hand

e. Main Hand

e. Main Hand
f, Insular

f, Insular. Main Hand

f, Insular. Main Hand

f, Insular. Main Hand
g, Insular

g, Insular. Main Hand

g, Insular. Main Hand

g, Insular. Main Hand
h, Insular

h, Insular. Main Hand

h, Insular. Main Hand

h, Insular. Main Hand
i

i. Main Hand

i. Main Hand

i. Main Hand
k

k. Main Hand
l

l. Main Hand

l. Main Hand

l. Main Hand
m

m. Main Hand

m. Main Hand

m. Main Hand

m. Main Hand
n

n. Main Hand

n. Main Hand
o

o. Main Hand

o. Main Hand
p

p. Main Hand
r, Insular

r, Insular. Main Hand

r, Insular. Main Hand

r, Insular. Main Hand
s, Long

s, Long. Main Hand

s, Long. Main Hand

s, Long. Main Hand
s, Low

s, Low. Main Hand
s, Round

s, Round. Main Hand

s, Round. Main Hand

s, Round. Main Hand

s, Round. Main Hand
t

t. Main Hand

t. Main Hand
thorn

thorn. Main Hand

thorn. Main Hand

thorn. Main Hand
eth

eth. Main Hand

eth. Main Hand

eth. Main Hand

eth. Main Hand

eth. Main Hand

eth. Main Hand
u

u. Main Hand

u. Main Hand
wynn

wynn. Main Hand

wynn. Main Hand

wynn. Main Hand

wynn. Main Hand
y, Straight

y, Straight. Main Hand

y, Straight. Main Hand

y, Straight. Main Hand

y, Straight. Main Hand

y, Straight. Main Hand

y, Straight. Main Hand

y, Straight. Main Hand
7

7. Main Hand

7. Main Hand
., punctus

., punctus. Main Hand