Hand: Hand 7 (fols. 350r–359r), CCCC 198

Name

Hand 7 (fols. 350r–359r)

Manuscript

CCCC 198

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 hand changes aspect from the second folio, beginning with a very round pen and rounded letters on 350r and then becoming more angular, heavier, and more shaded. Ascenders are long and have wedges, and descenders are very long and tapering on 350r but are then shorter and thicker, though still tapering, from 350v. Minims are slightly forward-leaning with thick approach-strokes and horizontal feet. Teardrop-shaped a was used throughout, and the same form was used for æ; the tongue of the latter is horizontal and the hook small but high. Round c was used throughout, and d has a mid-length back which starts at about 45° but turns up at the tip. The back of e is quite vertical but not horned, the tongue is horizontal, long, and at cue-height, and the hook is consistently wide and tall. The tongue of f is long and flat, and the hook branches from slightly below cue-height. The top of g is long and flat, the mid-section hangs from the centre and is straight and angled at about 45° before turning sharply right at the base-line and curving around in a tail which is usually open with a horizontal tip but sometimes closed (particularly on folios 350–51) or tapering downwards at about 45° (from 352r). The shoulders of h, m, n, are rounded, as is that of r, though less so, and the foot of r is long. Only low s was used, and the scribe showed a strong preference for ð over þ. The back of ð is long and vertical-tipped, and the cross-stroke is short and turned down on the right. Straight-limbed dotted y was used throughout, although the tail normally curves left, and x is essentially bilinear: the south-west branch descends slightly, and this and the north-east branch both turn down. The top of 7 is curved up at the left and rises to the right, and the descender is vertical and tapers somewhat. Latin is not distinguished by script.