Hand: Hand 1 (1r–20v, 56v–155v), BL Cotton Claudius B.iv

Name: Hand 1 (1r–20v, 56v–155v)
Manuscript: BL Cotton Claudius B.iv
Script: Unspecified
Scribe: Unspecified
Date: Saec. xi2/4
Place: CaA

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

This upright, quite rotund script was densely written with a thick pen and a good deal of shading. Ascenders are short, thick, curve out very slightly to the left, and have small but well-formed wedges. Descenders are short, straight, thick, taper slightly at the tip, and normally finished with a short diagonal stroke. Minims lean forward very slightly and have regular wedges and prominent feet. Teardrop-shaped a appears throughout, the top of which is often slightly rounded and the back thick and sometimes slightly convex. The same structure was used for æ, the tongue of which sits high on the shoulder but the hook of which remains within cue-height. Horned e was used throughout, the back of which is thick and upright, and the thin tongue rises and extends beyond the hook which is itself small and within cue-height. Round c appears throughout. The back of d is short but angled at about 15–30° and can be vertical-tipped. The tongue of f is thick, sits just above the base-line, and often passes through the vertical, and the hook is also quite long. The mid-section of g is narrow compared to the flat top and the rounded open tail. The shoulders of h, m, n, and r are all quite rounded and can curve back in to the left before turning out in a foot. Low s was used throughout. The scribe used ð exclusively, the structure of which is much like d but with a slightly longer back and a short cross-stroke which does not pass through the back 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 tapering. The top of 7 is long and flat but turns up at the right, and the descender waves slightly; the letter was invariably written with an accent which meets the left tip of the top.