Hand: Titles, Hand 1 (Titles 1–8, 10–44), CCCC 23, vol. i

Name

Titles, Hand 1 (Titles 1–8, 10–44)

Manuscript

CCCC 23, vol. i

Script

Unspecified

Scribe

Unspecified

Date

Saec. x/xi

Place

Malmesbury

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

This small, neat hand has a level cue-height and was written with a medium-width pen and some shading. The aspect, letter-form, and use of ligatures is very consistent throughout the manuscript, although the hand gets larger as it progresses. Ascenders vary in length but are typically equal to or longer than minims and have small wedges. Descenders also vary in length and are usually straight but sometimes turned left. Minims are straight with small wedges and feet. Single-compartment a was used throughout, sometimes teardrop-shaped and sometimes more rounded, the top being formed with the same stroke as the back. The same two forms are found in æ, the hook of which can be low but forms a tall ligature whenever possible. Round c was used throughout, as was bilinear d, the back of which extends slightly past the bowl. Horned e was used throughout, the hook of which is angular when low but, like æ, often forms a tall ligature. The tongue of f is short and slightly concave up. The top of g is flat, the mid-section is often quite straight and angled at about 60°, and turns sharply at the base-line to about 30° before curving around in a closed loop; this body can be rounded but can also be quite angular and cedilla-shaped. Caroline h was used throughout. The upper branch of k is closed and rises slightly above cue-height. The shoulders of m and n can be somewhat rounded but are often more angular, as is r consistently. Low and tall s were used apparently without distinction for the first three folios but low s is very infrequent thereafter. Tall s sits firmly on the base-line and reaches up to ascender-height; the hook is normally small but reaches down to meet a following t or n. The scribe used þ only in the abbreviation for þæt, for which the bowl is very angular and the ascender short. The back of ð is long, thick, and vertical-tipped; the through-stroke is long and turned down at the tip. Bilinear round dotted y was used throughout, the right arm branching from quite high up and turned down at the tip. The o 2 monogram, Caroline a with a tall thick head and e caudata appear in the name iordane on 8r.