Hand: Rules for Septuagesima, etc. (Ker article 12: 92v10–23), BL Harley 3271

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

This hand is somewhat irregular and is larger than G.435-8 and therefore looks more cramped. Ascenders are as long as or longer than minims and have wedges. Descenders are about the same length as ascenders but can be short and are tapering. Minims have rounded approach-strokes and horizontal feet. The back of a is straight but not vertical, and the top is pointed. The same form was used for æ, the hook of which forms a tall bulging ligature whenever possible. Round c was used. The back of d is medium-length, slightly concave down, and angled at about 30°; it can thicken very slightly at the tip. Horned e is found with a vertical back and rising tongue; the letter once forms a tall bulging ligature (þenne, 192v12). The tongue of f is thin, relatively long, begins just above the base-line, and rises to the right. The top of g is flat, the mid-section begins on the right and forms a somewhat rounded zig-zag, and the tail is round, relatively wide, and three-quarters closed. The down-stroke of k stops with a foot on the base-line, the lower branch curves up at the base-line, and the upper branch curls over to the left. The shoulders of h, m, and n are all rounded and the strokes bulging, but the hook of r is angular. Low deeply-split s is normal, but long s is found before t and sometimes initially, and round s is found once (idus, 92v17). The scribe preferred ð to þ, particularly for pronouns and articles (ðu, ðis, ðone). The back of ð is usually fairly straight but can turn up at the tip, and the thorough-stroke is hooked down on the right and barely extends through the left of the back. The lower left stroke of x is long and tapering when used as a numeral. Straight-limbed dotted y is found, the right branch of which is hooked left.