Hand: Hand 1 (4r–25r, 46r–90v), BL Royal 7.C.xii, 4–218

Name: Hand 1 (4r–25r, 46r–90v)
Manuscript: BL Royal 7.C.xii, 4–218
Script: Unspecified
Scribe: Unspecified
Date: Saec. x ex.
Place: Cerne

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

The script still shows the influence of Square minuscule. Although a thin pen was used, the letters are quite square, with somewhat angular strokes and large open spaces within. The script has a somewhat untidy appearance, with an uneven cue-height and minims and ascenders all at different angles. Ascenders and descenders are both similar to or slightly longer than minims; ascenders have very small wedges, and descenders are straight and without finials. Minims are fairly straight but uneven in length and angle; they normally have small, roughly formed feet and wedges. Square a was used throughout, and seems to have been written with a curved stroke on the left, a flat top, and a thick stroke on the right which is either vertical or slightly bulging to the left. The same construction was used for æ, with the e-component staying below cue-height. Both æ and e have a long, straight, horizontal tongue which is turned down at the tip when in final position; tall, open æ and e ligatures were also employed before minims, descenders, a, and o, but not across word boundaries. Round c and horned e were used throughout, and d has a short back angled at about 30º. The tongue of f is concave up, starting slightly above the base-line and curving down to meet it before turning up at the tip. The tail of g is closed in a small, round loop which extends well under the following letter; the top is short and flat, with the tail hanging from the left. The shoulders of h, m, n, and r are often quite angular, with a fairly flat top turning into a vertical which often bulges to the right; the tip of r, like the other letters, has only a small foot, and the descender of r is short. Tall, essentially Caroline s was most commonly used, sometimes descending slightly below the base-line and with a large wedge at cue-height and an angled upper hook at or slightly below ascender-height. Round s is also found on occasion, most often in final position. The conventional distinction between þ and ð was generally followed; exceptions most often consist of ð used in initial position but after a preposition or related particle written without a space (e.g. onðyssere, seðe). Straight-limbed dotted y was used throughout, the right limb of which barely rises above the base-line. The top of 7 is short and flat, with a straight descender.