Hand: Homily (115r–16v), BL Cotton Tiberius A.xiii, fols. 1–118

Name

Homily (115r–16v)

Manuscript

BL Cotton Tiberius A.xiii, fols. 1–118

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)

The scribe wrote a somewhat irregular hand with uneven cue-height, but without the spidery appearance which is often found in hands of this period from Worcester. The pen was relatively thick, and the bodies of letters fairly low and wide. Ascenders are shorter than minims and have a variety of wedges. Descenders are straight, tapering, and can be somewhat longer than ascenders. Minims are straight, have thin hooks or thicker curves on the top, are more or less vertical, and have short horizontal feet or none at all. The back of a is vertical and thick, and the body fairly wide but teardrop-shaped and with a relatively flat bottom. The same structure was used for æ, the tongue of which begins at mid-height and is straight and angled up, the hook is fairly wide and often rises slightly above cue-height, and the bottom curve of the e-component is very short. The top of c is fairly short and relatively flat, and the bottom is longer and can be slightly backward-leaning. The back of d is straight, of medium length, and angled between 30–45°. The back of e is fairly straight and angled at about 70–80°; it usually extends slightly above where it meets the hook and can be curved slightly down at the left end, the letter therefore having a small horn. The tongue again begins at mid-height, is straight and rising, and the hook is turned in to the left and usually rises slightly above cue-height. The tongue of final e is often hooked up. The tongue of f is long, and the hook short. The top of g is flat, very thin, and usually long. The mid-section begins on the left, is angled or very slightly curved out to the left, and then turns sharply to the horizontal. The tail approximates an oblong rotated to about 60°, and is curved up at the tip but still very open. The shoulders of h, m, n, and r are all somewhat rounded, begin somewhat below cue-height, and then turn over into a more or less straight but slightly forward-leaning down-stroke. Round s is normal initially (but note mannes, 116r3; þæs, 116v1), low s in the ‑es ending, and long in any position. Long s does not reach down a full descender’s length but has a fairly wide hook which is often higher than ascenders. Round s is somewhat angular and has a long upper and short lower hook, and the top rises slightly above cue-height. The conventional distinction between þ and ð was largely followed, the back of ð being angled at about 40–50° and largely straight but sometimes turned up very slightly at the tip, and the through-stroke hooked down. Straight-limbed dotted y was used throughout, the left branch sometimes higher than the right, the right branch hooked left, and the tail hooked right. The top of 7 is hooked up at the left and rises slightly, and the descender is angled slightly to the left.