Hand: Sun and Moon; Age of Virgin (D.xxvii: 56v), BL Cotton Titus D.xxvi and D.xxvii

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

The aspect of this hand is dominated by the small bodies and the long, straight ascenders and descenders; these, combined with the thin pen and little shading, give the hand a rather spidery aspect. Ascenders are about two or three times longer than minims and taper or show long narrow wedges. Descenders are long and straight. Minims have regular but small wedges and regular small horizontal feet. The body of a is essentially teardrop-shaped and with a vertical back, although the letter can be rounder and the top flatter. Caroline a was used in the name sancta maria (56v11). A Caroline a-component was also used for æ, the head of which can be tall and trailing, the tongue straight and slightly rising, and the hook round and low. No c is found. The back of d is fairly long and fairly steep, usually angled at about 50–60° and vertical-tipped, although it can also be straight and angled at about 45°. The back of e is straight, vertical, and shows a small horn; the tongue is horizontal or sometimes rising, and the hook is low and fairly wide. The hook of f branches from well below cue-height and the tongue is short and flat. The top of g is flat and wide, the mid-section hangs from the centre and descends nearly vertically but curves slightly to the left, and the tail is fairly wide, fairly round, and open and turned up at the tip. The shoulders of m and n are relatively rounded, but those of h and r are much more angular. Long s is normal, although low s is found in initial position. The down-stroke of long s is very straight, and the hook fairly narrow. The scribe loosely followed the conventional distinction between þ and ð, although he seems to have preferred þ, especially in the word oþ (but note ðreora, 56v3). The back of ð is long and very steep, angled at about 70–80°, and curves up to the vertical, and the through-stroke is hooked down on the right. The upper branches of x turn down, the lower branches turn up, and the lower left branch is long. Straight-limbed dotted y was used, the left branch of which curves up slightly, the right branch is hooked left, and the tail is hooked right. The top of 7 is fairly wide and turns up on the left, and the down-stroke is close to vertical.