Hand: Manumissions, Hand 8 (8v18–20), Bodleian Bodley 579 (2675)

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

This hand is quite irregular and deviates quite substantially from the page-ruling, lines 20 being angled noticably down from left to right. The pen is relatively thin, and shading is minimal. Ascenders are again long and straight, but wedges are minimal. Descenders are shorter but usually longer than minims and are straight. Minims have curved approach-strokes and usually have small feet. The same flat-topped a and æ are found, as is round c. An essentially round e was used, although it once has a small horn (sumera, line ) and can also be quite backward-leaning and so pointed. The back of d is low, angled at about 15°, and is usually straight but once vertical-tipped (gefreode, line 18). The tongue of f is consistently concave up. The top of g is usually wide (but short in eadgyfu, line 18) and can be concave up but is usually flat, and the mid-section hangs from the left, curves down and right, extending the full width of the top-stroke, and then curves back in a wide, open hook. The shoulder of h is fairly angular, but those of m, n, and r are all more rounded and fairly deeply split. Only low s was used, and the text does not allow for ð. Straight dotted y is found, the right branch hooked left and the tail hooked right. The top of 7 is quite concave up and the down-stroke wavy.