Hand: Continuous Gloss, BL Additional 37517

Name

Continuous Gloss

Manuscript

BL Additional 37517

Script

Unspecified

Scribe

Unspecified

Date

Saec. xi in.

Place

CaCC

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

This scribe wrote with a very fine pen and almost no shading. Ascenders are thin, straight, extremely long, usually three or more times longer than minims, and have very small wedges. Descenders are straight, taper slightly, and are about twice as long as minims. The minims themselves are straight, often slightly forward-leaning, and have very small wedges or curved hooks and small or no feet. A relatively wide a was used, the structure of which is teardrop-shaped but the letter is much wider and rounder than normal. The same form was used for æ, the tongue of which is straight but rising, and the hook round. A somewhat angular but never horned c is found throughout. The back of d is angled at about 30–45° but is short and does not rise much above cue-height, although straight-backed Caroline d is sometimes found (drihten, 85r24). The back of e is usually quite vertical and has a small lower curve, a horizontal tongue, and a fairly wide but flat hook; the letter sometimes has a very small horn, and the tongue is long and horizontal when final. Low-e ligatures are found on occasion. The tongue of f tapers slightly but is flat on the base-line, and the hook is angular and branches from below cue-height; a very tall Caroline f is also found. The top of g is short and sometimes slightly concave up, the mid-section can be vertical or can angle out to the left but is always narrow, and the tail is closed in a small loop. The shoulders of h and r are fairly angular, but m and n tend to be more rounded and seem more quickly written; none of the letters has much pen-lift, and all branch from below cue-height. A very long s is found with a very small hook at ascender-height and a long, straight descender; deeply-split low s was also used, and low then long s was used when the letter was doubled. The conventional distinction between ð and þ was largely followed, although the scribe sometimes preferred þ (oþþæt, gefulþ, muþe, gesihþe). The back of ð is very long, concave down, and turned left and slightly down at the tip; the through-stroke is also long and is hooked down on the right. Straight-limbed dotted y was used, the right branch hooked left. The top of 7 is very short and concave up, and the descender is vertical.