Hand: Scribble (hwæt ic eall feala ealde sæge, 88r), BL Harley 208

Name

Scribble (hwæt ic eall feala ealde sæge, 88r)

Manuscript

BL Harley 208

Script

Unspecified

Scribe

Unspecified

Date

Saec. x/xi

Place

Unknown

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

This short scribble was written in the lower margin in a thick, dark script with a good deal of shading. Ascenders are slightly longer than minims, are fairly straight, and show small wedges; descenders are shorter, also thick, and tend to angle to the right. Round a was used, the back of which is angled at about 80°. The same form was used for æ, with a round hook which can turn back to the left, and a thin, straight, rising tongue. Round c was used, the top of which is longer than the lower stroke, and the letter is almost closed like an o. Caroline d is found. The back of e is close to vertical and can have a very small horn; the lower curve is very short, the hook rounded, and the tongue long, thin, and angled up. The tongue of f is slightly above the base-line and angled up somewhat; the descender is angled at about 80° to the right, and the hook is long and curved, rising well above cue-height. The top of g is flat, the mid-section very straight and angled at about 60°, and the tail rounded and open but turned up at the tip. The shoulder of h is very rounded. Only low s was used, the hook of which branches below cue-height, rises with a very thin hairline, and ends with a large bulge. The lower curve of t hangs from the right of the top-stroke and has a short curve.