Hand: Second Continuous Gloss (fols. 2, 5, 9v–10, 33, 53–54), Durham Cathedral B.III.32

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

This rounded and relatively heavy hand glossed a rotund and largely competent Style-IV Anglo-Caroline script. The bodies of the letters in the glosses are large, particularly given the restricted space. Ascenders are relatively long where space allows and have heavy wedges. Descenders are straight and also vary in length but can be quite long. Minims are quite long and have small wedges and feet. Teardrop-shaped a was used throughout, the top of which was formed with the same stroke as the back. A more rotund and horizontally symmetric form of a was used for æ, the eye of which is squinting and the tongue straight, thin, and rising. Round c was used throughout, and the back of d is relatively long and varies from almost horizontal to about 45°. Horned e was used throughout, the tongue and eye of which are like those of æ except that the tongue has a prominent downward hook at the tip. The tongue of f is thin, flat, and usually long. The tail of g hangs from slightly left of the top-stroke which can itself be hooked up on the left; the mid-section usually bulges out to the left then turns amost horizontally right, and the tail is closed in a slightly oblong loop which can sit somewhat left of centre. The shoulders of h, m, n, and r are all rounded and can be somewhat swollen, although r can also be quite angular. Long s was used throughout and has a tapering descender and a large horizontally symmetric wedge, the upper edge of which is at cue-height. The scribe largely followed the conventional distinction between þ and ð (but note ðrynyss, 2r4a); ð has a long, thick, and usually straight back which is angled at about 50° and which ends abruptly without any tapering or finials, and the cross-stroke does not pass through the back at all and is hooked down on the right. Straight-limbed dotted y was used throughout, the right branch of which is hooked left and the tail thin and usually straight. The top of 7 is hooked up at the left and turns up slightly on the right, and the descender is vertical.