Hand: Manumissions, Hand 5 (8v10–14), Bodleian Bodley 579 (2675)

Name

Manumissions, Hand 5 (8v10–14)

Manuscript

Bodleian Bodley 579 (2675)

Script

Unspecified

Scribe

Unspecified

Date

Saec. xi1

Place

Tavistock

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

This hand is more rounded than G.585-1, and the pen is thinner and less shaded. Ascenders are long and can be wedged, tapering, or slightly split, and descenders are longer than minims and often turn left at the tip. Minims have approach-strokes and small feet. Letter-forms are similar and include the same flat-topped a and æ, but Caroline a is found once (wynstanes, line 13), and a Caroline a-component was consistently used in initial æ. Horned and round e were both used, and even horned e is more rounded than in G.585-1. The back of d is very short and rounded. The tongue of f can be longer than G.585-1 and can be concave up and can pass through the descender. The form of g is similar to G.585-1 but the mid-section hangs from the left and the tail is usually open. Caroline h was used througout. Low s was used except for one Caroline form (brunes, line 15). The conventional distinction between þ and ð was maintained. The back of ð is long, straight, and angled at about 60°, and the through-stroke is hooked up on the left and down on the right. The top of 7 is wide and hooked up on the left.