Hand: Translation of Titles, BL Cotton Cleopatra C.viii, fols. 4–37

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

This rough and slightly forward-leaning hand was written with a thin pen but some shading. The aspect is somewhat rounded, but the hand is uneven and looks hastily written. Ascenders are usually longer than minims and have small but triangular wedges. Descenders are straight and taper slightly. Minims can be curved and forward-leaning, particularly with m and n, and have curved approach-strokes and horizontal feet. A somewhat triangular, teardrop-shaped a was used throughout, the back of which is usually vertical and forms little or none of the top. A similar structure was used for æ in which the lower curve of the e-component is very small, the tongue is horizontal, and the eye is relatively wide. The a-component of æ, and to a lesser extent a itself, are both often slightly open at the bottom. Round c was used throughout. The back of d is of medium length and is angled at about 60°. Horned, vertical-backed e is found throughout, the lower curve, tongue and hook of which are like those of æ except that the hook is more angular and tends to rise higher above cue-height. Tall-e ligature is also found before following descenders. The tongue of f is long and often slightly concave down, and the hook is short and branches from just above the base-line. The top of g is short, the mid-section is small and hangs from the left, and the tail is large, round, and very open, with the tip horizontal or turned up slightly and extending beneath the preceding letter. The shoulders of h, m, n, and r are all deeply split, branching from just above the base-line, and are very rounded and often turn back in to the left. Long s is sometimes found initially, and low s was used in all positions. The hook of low s is somewhat angular and branches from below the base-line, and the letter sometimes forms an s+s ligature. Long s reaches above ascender-height. The conventional distinction between ð and þ was largely followed (but geðyld, 11v2; geðyldes, first title on 12r). The construction of ð is much like that of d but with a longer and slightly more upright back and a thin and entirely straight cross-stroke. Straight-limbed undotted y was most often used, the right branch of which is sometimes curved and sometimes hooked left, but round y, sometimes dotted, is also found. The top of 7 long, straight, somewhat rising, and hooked up at the left, and the descender is long and curved slightly left.