Hand: Hand 1 (44r–129v), BL Cotton Julius A.x, fols. 44–175

Name: Hand 1 (44r–129v)
Manuscript: BL Cotton Julius A.x, fols. 44–175
Script: Unspecified
Scribe: Unspecified
Date: Saec. x/xi
Place: Unknown

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

This is a heavy, forward-sloping hand which shows narrow bodies and a spidery appearance. The tops of ascenders are irregular, varying from wedges to clubs, and descenders can be either straight or tapering and curved slightly to the left. The tops of minims have approach-strokes which can be short and thick, thereby approximating wedges, and minims have feet except for the first strokes strokes of h and n and the first and second strokes of m. A rounded but essentially teardrop-shaped a was used. The a-component of æ is similarly formed but is often more rounded, and the e-component sits just below cue-height except when narrow and nearly closed in a tall ligature. Round c appears throughout, although it was clearly written with two strokes, the upper one being relatively flat and often forming a distinct angle with the lower curve. The back of d is angled at about 45°. Round e was used throughout and is apparently never tall. The tongue of f is slightly longer than the hook. The tail of g is round but half to three-quarters open, and the mid-section tends to hang from the left of the top-stroke and can be very short. A second form of g also appears very occasionally which seems derived from the Caroline form: the top-stroke forms a closed loop on the left, and the mid-section is straight and vertical before turning sharply right. The shoulders of h, m, n, and r are all quite angular and relatively straight, and the top of q is typically very flat. Low and tall s are used, and tall s sits on the base-line and is found only before t. Both þ and ð are used with approximately equal frequency but without any apparent distinction. The back of ð is straight and angled much like that of d, and the through-stroke has a small hook on the left and turns downward at the right. Straight-limbed, undotted y was used throughout. Both x and z are bilinear. The top of 7 has an upward tick on the left and is angled slightly up and right, and the downward stroke is also slightly angled.