Hand: Rubric, Recipe (D.xxvi: 16v–17r), BL Cotton Titus D.xxvi and D.xxvii

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

This hand has a rather messy appearance, although the scribe was fairly consistent in his choice of letter-forms. A thin pen with very little shading was used for the recipe, although the rubric was written with a thicker pen. Ascenders are thin, about two or three times longer than minims, are fairly straight, and show prominent wedges. Decenders are also long, can also be straight or can be turned left at the tips, and can also both be turned left and show small serifs. Minims show prominent wedges and prominent ticked feet. The body of a is essentially teardrop-shaped, if a little rounded, and the back is fairly but not especially straight. The same form was used for æ, the tongue of which is straight and rising and the hook rounded and never tall. Round c was used. The back of d is fairly long and angled first at about 20° but then turning up in a prominent tip. No horn is normally found on e, although the body can be very round or can have a fairly straight vertical back, and the tongue and hook are like those of æ. The hook and tongue of f are both short. The top of g is flat, the mid-section hangs from the left and is quite short, and the tail forms a large, very round loop which is nearly but never fully closed. The shoulders of h, m, n, and r are not especially angular but rise and then turn quickly into straight down-strokes. A single Caroline r is found in vernacular text (more, 17r7). Only tall s was used; it often shows a foot-serif on the base-line and shows a prominent hook which is wide and turns down at the tip. The scribe mostly followed the conventional distinction between þ and ð but with exceptions (both þa and ða; ðu and þine). The back of ð is long and broken, starting at about 30–45° but then turning up and sometimes curving back to the right; the through-stroke is high and is hooked down on the right. Straight-limbed dotted y was used throughout, the left branch of which turns left, the right branch is hooked left, and the tail is hooked right. No x is found. The top of 7 is hooked up on the left and is angled up, and the down-stroke is angled slightly to the left and usually has a foot-serif.