Hand: Main Hand, CCCC 178, pp. 287–457

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

This hand is laterally compressed and quite angular. It was written with a moderately thick pen and varies somewhat in regularity. Ascenders are straight, slightly longer than minims, and show small wedges which can extend slightly right of the vertical. Descenders are shorter, often taper slightly, and normally turn left at the tip. Minims can be quite straight, with small wedges and feet, but can also be backward-reaching and much more rounded at the top. Teardrop-shaped a was used throughout, the back of which is vertical and descends below the bowl, and the top and back were formed with a single stroke. The a-component of æ was formed in the same way, but the hook sits in a tall loop above cue-height and the tongue is horizontal. Round c appears throughout, and the back of d is long, fairly straight, angled at about 30–40°, and has a vertical tip. Although e is not normally horned, the back is normally quite straight and angled at about 80°, and an angular hook and rising tongue complete the squinting eye. The tongue of f turns up slightly and sits on or just below cue-height, and the hook is deeply split. The mid-section of g hangs from the left of the top-stroke, and the tail curves fairly gently into a tighter closed loop. The shoulders of h and r tend to be quite angular and to branch from well below cue-height, but those of m and n are normally more rounded and the strokes are swollen. Low and round s were used throughout, as was tall on occasion. Pace Ker, Catalogue, p. 64 (no. 41); see, for example, some examples on p. 302 reproduced by Bishop, English Caroline Minuscule, pl. 22. The hook of round s is shorter than the mid-section, and low s is deeply split and has a prominent downward hook at the tip; tall s extends very slightly below the base-line and has a relatively large hook which reaches over the following letter. The conventional distinction between ð and þ was observed. The structure of ð is much like that of d except that the back is slightly longer, more steeply angled, and can be turned down at the tip rather than up; the cross-stroke has a small downward hook at the tip and barely passes through the back. Straight-limbed dotted y was used throughout, although the longer stroke was itself curved left. The top of 7 is slightly below cue-height but turns up at the right, and the descender curves slightly left before dropping vertically.