Hand: Main Hand, CCCC 201, pp. 1–7, 161–7

Name: Main Hand
Manuscript: CCCC 201, pp. 1–7, 161–7
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)

The script is very dark and has a pointed, ‘prickly’ aspect. Bodies of letters are small but ascenders and descenders are long and narrow, sometimes measuring 10 cm or more on first and last lines of the page. Similar idiosyncrasies are also found at the ends of lines, including hooks in tall s and long flourishes and loops in the tongue of e. Ascenders are not always especially vertical and have regular wedges which can be very prominent; descenders are either straight or curve slightly left. Minims are small and straight with regular wedges and small feet. Single-compartment a is found throughout with a thick angled back and a slightly triangular body. The same structure was used for æ, the e-component of which sits at the top of the back stroke. No tall-æ or tall-e ligatures were used, although the tongue is slightly angled and is joined to the following letter. Round c is found throughout, and the back of d is short, angled at about 45°, and straight, although the tip can be vertical. Round e has a long tongue and a lower curve which can meet the tongue beyond the hook. The hook of f and low s, and the shoulders of m, n, and r are all quite sharp and are all deeply split. The tongue of f is about as long as the hook. The tail of g is normally closed in a small loop but can also form a larger, oblong-shaped loop which is barely closed by a hairline. In both cases, the mid-section can hang vertically from the centre of the top-stroke before turning sharply left at the base-line and then curving back; alternatively, it can start right of centre, bulge slightly to the left, and then turn back to the right. In both forms of g most of the tail stays left of centre. Majuscule N appears infrequently, including as a monogram with tall s. Long and low s are both found and both have wedges at cue-height. Long s can be extremely long, especially in the first line of a page, and can be looped, and the back is very straight up to ascender-height and then has a hook which can be angled at about 45°. Round s was used occasionally but only when stretched horizontally as a line-filler. The back of ð is long and has a vertical tip, and the through-stroke is thin and ends in a downward tick; the structure is similar to d but the back is longer. The conventional distinction between ð and þ was observed. Straight dotted y is most common, but round dotted, and, very occasionally, f-shaped forms are also found. The top of 7 is flat and quite long, sitting at or below cue-height, and the descender is vertical. Latin text is carefully distinguished from Old English.