Hand: Hand 3 (100v–105v), BL Cotton Nero A.i, fols. 70–177

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

Somewhat messy in appearance, this rotund script has an uneven base-line and cue-height and ascenders and descenders which vary in length but are typically shorter than minims. Ascenders are relatively straight, slightly forward-leaning, and show small wedges which can tend towards forks. Descenders are normally straight and tapering. Minims are relatively straight and show small wedges and horizontal feet. Single-compartment a is approximately teardrop-shaped but wide and has a rounded shoulder which was formed in one stroke with the back, a stroke which occasionally descends below the bowl. The same structure was used for æ, the loop of which sits high on the shoulder and can be very rounded or more restrained. Round c appears throughout, the hook of which is short, and d is round, approximately bilinear, and has a back which just reaches beyond the edge of the bowl. Round e was used and can be quite rounded or can have a straighter stroke in the south-west quadrant; the tongue tends to rise but turns to the horizontal as it passes the end of the hook, and the hook itself largely stays within cue-height. The tongue of f is short but thick and often extends through the descender. The tail of g is closed by a hairline in a round loop, and the mid-section hangs from the left of the top-stroke and can curve smoothly but can turn back up at the base-line. The shoulders of h and r are often quite angular and show straight minims, but m and n tend to be more rounded. Long s was used throughout, descending slightly below the base-line with a small hook on top, and Caroline s+t ligatures are found. Round s appears initially after punctus (e.g. swa, 103v9), but does not seem to be used as a capital. The scribe followed the conventional distinction between þ and ð, the latter having a long, thick back turned down at the tip, and a through-stroke which is turned down on the right. Straight-limbed dotted y was used throughout, the left branch of which can be thick and reaching back to the preceding letter, the right branch is hooked left, and the tail bends left before hooking right at the tip. A second form of y was used infrequently (þyssum, 103v9), constructed like round dotted y but with a very angular first stroke, looking almost like a modern Y but staying below cue-height and having a full descender. The top of 7 can be straight or concave up with an upward tick at the left and rises on the right before descending at a slight angle to the left. The one brief quotation in Latin (103r2–3) is not distinguished by script.