Hand: Hand 1 (fols. 70–96), BL Cotton Nero A.i, fols. 70–177
- Name
- Hand 1 (fols. 70–96)
- Manuscript
- BL Cotton Nero A.i, fols. 70–177
- Script
- Unspecified
- Scribe
- DigiPal Scribe 3. 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 hand, with its long ascenders, thick vertical and thin horizontal strokes, slight forward lean, and small, relatively angular bodies makes it quite similar in aspect to G.366-4. As noted, ascenders are thick, long, and have small wedges. Descenders, in contrast, are often very short and turn slightly left. Minims are straight and show small wedges and feet. Teardrop-shaped a was used throughout, the back of which is normally quite vertical and the top quite pointed. A similar form was used for æ, but the e-component is tall even when not in ligature, and the lower curve extends below the loop of the a-component. Round c appears throughout, and d is also rounded but has a short back which is angled at about 45°. Both horned and round e appear with squinting eyes and rising tongues; the tongue is turned up when final, and the letter is always strictly bilinear. The tongue of f is concave up and tapering. The mid-section of g hangs from the left of the top-stroke, and the tail curves around in a large, barely closed loop. The shoulders of h, m, n, and r are all very angular, and the minims are relatively straight and vertical or angled back to the left, particularly in the case of r. Only tall s was used; it reaches to full ascender height and tapers slightly below the base-line. The scribe seemed to have followed the conventional distinction between þ and ð; the latter has a long thick back which tapers and turns up or right at the tip, and a cross-stroke which is hooked up on the left and down on the right. Straight-limbed dotted y appears throughout, the longer stroke of which is hooked left at the top and right at the bottom. The top of 7 is flat and long, and the descender bulges slightly to the left. Latin is carefully distinguished by script except for the use of teardrop-shaped a and slight descender on s.
Hand 1 (fols. 70–96)
Allographs List
a, Insular
A, Rustic
æ, Insular
Æ, Uncial
B, Rustic
b
C, Rustic
c
d, Insular
D, Uncial
E, Rustic
E, Uncial
e
f, Insular
F, enlarged minuscule
g, Insular
G, Rustic
h, Insular
H, Rustic
i
L, Rustic
l
M, Rustic
m
N, Rustic
n
O, Rustic
o
P, Rustic
p
r, Insular
s, Long
s, Round
S, Rustic
T, Rustic
t
thorn
ETH, Rustic
eth
U, Rustic (U)
u
wynn
Y, Rustic
y, Straight
7
., punctus
./, punctus elevatus
;, punctus versus
thæt
abbrev. stroke
accent
ligature