Hand: Addition Hand 4 (197r–98r), BL Royal 2.B.v

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

This hand is much tighter and more regular than the preceding two, with a more upright aspect and more bilinear letter-forms, although neither cue-height nor ascender-lengths are particularly consistent. The letters themselves are much smaller, and indeed the page has been ruled with more lines than in preceding sections. Ker noted that the hand is like those written at Canterbury in the first half of the eleventh century, Ker, Catalogue, p. 320 (no. 249) and indeed the aspect is very close to that of G.315 or the rotund mid-century script. Ascenders are thick, straight, and noticeably forked, and descenders usually taper with an almost imperceptible leftward turn at the tip. Minims are curved, with approach-strokes at the top and ticks for feet; they are, however, consistent and approximately parallel, so that sequences of minim-strokes have a very uniform appearance. The top, left, and bottom of a were formed with a single curved stroke, the right being closed with a straight, minim-like component; the shape, however, varies somewhat and can have a straight, slightly rising top. The same structure was used for æ, with the addition of a hook at or below cue-height and a more or less rising tongue; although the tall form was not used in ligature, it does appear once in the monosyllable æ (197r21). Round c is found throughout, often with a small space between the hook and the body leaving a slightly open top. The back of d is angled slightly upwards and turns up at the tip. The body of e is always horned with an approach-stroke, and the tongue is angled up but can be turned down at the tip; no tall ligature is found. The tongue of f is long, sits just above the base-line, can pass slightly beyond the left of the vertical, and tapers upwards at the tip. The loop of g is small and closed, varying in rotundity, and the mid-section hangs from the right of the top-stroke which itself often joins the following letter. The shoulders of h, m, n, and r bulge slightly, and the foot of r is like that of the other letters, all of which are large. Low s is found infrequently and most often finally, but tall s is common and occurs in every position; the tall form was made with a stroke which bulges slightly to the right and which stands on the base-line. The distinction between ð and þ was followed with few exceptions. The back of ð is thick, straight, and very long; it turns up slightly at the tip, and the through-stroke can be hooked up or down at the right. The bowl of þ is very round. Straight-limbed dotted y is found with the right branch hooked left. The top of 7 is slightly concave up, and the descender is approximately vertical.