Hand: Hand 2 (107v–116v), BL Cotton Julius E.vii

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

This hand is very similar to G.339-2 with respect to weight, size, pen-width, and ink. Indeed, the change of hand is not immediately obvious but is clear from the consistent differences in letter-forms. Ascenders are fairly thick and approximately the same length as minims; they have slightly split tops which trail left, and have small points on the right. Descenders are also straight and of similar length but turn slightly left at the tips. Minims have either approach-strokes (particularly with m, n, and e) or wedges (particularly u), and horizontal feet. The body of a is rounded but slightly triangular and can be horned in ligature with preceding e, and especially with preceding E. The a-component of æ, in contrast, is always round, as is the hook, and the upper curves of the a and e components are often symmetrical; the tongue is straight and rising; tall æ is found very infrequently (æt, 107v24). Round c is found with a short hook and longer lower curve. The back of d is short, fairly low, and usually quite concave but can be straighter and more upright. Horned e has a vertical back, a long thin tongue, and an angular hook, and is occasionally high in an e+a ligature. The tongue of f is relatively long and tapering and it can be angled or curved up. The mid-section of g is long and narrow, the tail smaller and closed, and the top long. The shoulders of h, m, and n are somewhat rounded, but that of r is more angular, and all four letters have thin rising strokes which turn down into thick minims which can themselves be curved or straight. Low s is normal, although the long form does appear before t; low s usually has an angular hook, and long s is very tall, somewhat backward-leaning, and has a small hook, and a short descender which turns left. Although both þ and ð were used, the latter is more frequent and was used in any position, whereas the former normally only appears initially. The back of ð is long, thick, usually straight but sometimes concave down, and ends abruptly without any tapering or turning; the cross-stroke barely cuts through the back, if at all, and has a prominent downward hook. The first, left-right stroke of x is curved and bilinear, and the second stroke is straighter, hooked left at the top and right at the bottom, and extends well below cue-height. Straight-limbed y is found and is normally dotted; the right branch has a separate cross-stroke as a finial, and the tail turns up at the tip. Bilinear z is found, with a flat top at cue-height, a wavy cross-stroke on the base-line, and a long curving descender not unlike the tail of straight-limbed y. The top of 7 is short and concave up, and the down-stroke is essentially vertical but waves slightly. Latin is not distinguished by script.