Hand: 143 Glosses, Copenhagen, KB G.K.S.2034 (4º)
- Name
- 143 Glosses
- Manuscript
- Copenhagen, KB G.K.S.2034 (4º)
- Script
- Unspecified
- Scribe
- Unspecified
- Date
- Saec. xi1
- Place
- Unknown
Stokes, English Vernacular Script, ca 990–ca 1035, Vol. 2 (PhD Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2006)
As Neil Ker noted,Ker, Catalogue, p. 141 (no. 100) most of these glosses were written in the same hand. Ascenders vary in length but are usually long and can be tapering or wedged, and descenders are usually straight and are often short. Minims have short approach-strokes and short feet. A round a was used, the top and back of which were written with a single stroke. A more teardrop-shaped form was usually used for æ, the tongue of which is straight and rising and the hook low, although a horizontal tongue is also found with a hook sitting on the shoulder of the a-component and reaching above cue-height. Caroline and flat-topped a-components are also found in æ in glosses probably written by the same scribe. Round c was used throughout. The form of d is usually bilinear but is sometimes more rounded but short and reaches only slightly above cue-height. Horned e was used throughout, the tongue of which is close to horizontal and the hook is somewhat angular, is not tall, and is usually slightly open at the top. The tongue of f can be flat or concave-up. The top of g is flat, the mid-section is angular and hangs from the right of the top-stroke, and the tail is wide, open, and horizontal or only slightly vertical-tipped. The upper branch of k curls down at the tip, the lower branch curls up on the base-line, and the down-stroke extends slighly beyond the base-line. The shoulders of h, m, n, and r are not especially angular, but the down-strokes are quite straight; Caroline h and r are also found. Long and low s were both used, long usually before t but also at ends of words and elsewhere. The scribe preferred þ to ð, the latter only appearing occasionally. The back of ð is rounded, can be quite short, and usually angled at about 20–40°, and the through-stroke is quite steep and usually lacks a hook. The lower branch of x reaches slightly below the base-line; the lower branches curve up at the tips and the upper branches curve down. Straight-limbed dotted y was used throughout, the right branch hooked left. The top of 7 is quite steeply angled and the left side hooked up. Although most glosses are in one hand, others were written by different scribes. Letter-forms found in these hands but not in the main hand include a tall open æ not in ligature, a more rounded g with the mid-section hanging from the left of the top-stroke, and Caroline f.
