Hand: Sinodalia Decreta (OE: 35v–38v), BL Cotton Claudius A.iii, fols. 31–86 and 106–50

Name: Sinodalia Decreta (OE: 35v–38v)
Manuscript: BL Cotton Claudius A.iii, fols. 31–86 and 106–50
Script: Unspecified
Scribe: DigiPal Scribe 2. Saec. xi1/4
Date: Saec. xi1/4
Place: Worcester or York

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

This messy, irregular hand was written with a thin pen, and the strokes are uneven in width and shading. Ascenders are usually longer than minims and have roughly-formed wedges, approach-strokes, or forks. Descenders are also usually long, vary in width and straightness, and tend to trail off at the bottom. Minims have rounded approach-strokes, can have small feet, and vary widely in angle, straightness, and width. A somewhat rounded form of teardrop-shaped a was used, the top of which varyies in angle and was formed with the same stroke as the back which itself can be nearly vertical or much more laid-back. A similar shape was used for æ, although both the upper and lower curves of the e-component can extend beyond the bowl of the a. The tongue of æ is thin and rising, and the hook can be within cue-height, slightly above it, or in a high bulging loop even when not in ligature. Round c was used throughout, the back of which can be rounded, close to vertical, or very laid-back. The back of d is long, usually straight, and angled at about 30–45°, although it can be curved over to the left. Round e was also used, but once again the lower curve is normally very laid-back, and the tongue is straight and thin and the hook rounded. The tongue of f is long, thin, and on the base-line, and the hook is deeply split and branches from the base-line. The tail of g hangs from the left of the short top-stroke, has a small but very rounded mid-section, and is closed with a hairline in a rounded oblong angled at about 50–60°. The shoulders of h, m, n, and r are normally rounded and the strokes are somewhat swollen, but the shoulders can be angular and the down-strokes straight. Low s was used throughout, the hook of which often branches from well below the base-line. The top of t can be tapered and turned up slightly on the right. The conventional distinction between þ and ð was followed. The back of ð is very long, quite thick, and curves first slightly left and then up at the tip, and the through-stroke is quite steep and hooked down on the right. Straight-limbed dotted y was used most often with the right branch turned up at the tip, although an alternative is found which looks like a narrow, elongated round form but the two branches join in such a way that it is difficult to tell whether the tail was formed from the first or second stroke. The top of 7 is short and flat, and the down-stroke is essentially vertical.