Hand: Hand 1 (fols. iii, 1–23), CCCC 198

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

This heavy and shaded hand is fairly regular at the start but becomes larger and less controlled as it progresses. Letters normally have round bodies and fairly good spacing but can be much more laterally compressed and vertical. Ascenders are straight and have small wedges which can be slightly forked, and descenders are also straight. Minims are mostly straight with small approach-strokes and feet. Teardrop-shaped a was used throughout, the back of which is thick and slightly angled, and the same structure was used for æ, the tongue of which is straight and rising and the hook small and within cue-height. Round c was used throughout, and the back of d is close to horizontal, angled at about 10°, and extending slightly beyond the bowl. Round and horned e were both used, the tongues of which are usually flat in the round form and rising in the horned one. The tongue of f is short and tapering but flat, sometimes extending slightly left of the down-stroke. The top of g is flat and long, and the mid-section is sometimes very small but is sometimes longer; in both cases it curves around into an open, S-shaped tail which is turned up slightly at the tip. The shoulders of h, m, n, and r are all quite angular with thin rising strokes and thick minims. Low s was used throughout, although the round form is found infrequently (both letters in hernysse, 3r5 and 3r11); the hook of low s is short and somewhat angular. The scribe prefered for ð over þ; the latter occurs only where the conventional spelling demands, but the former appears in all positions. The back of ð is thick, angled at about 45°, and vertical-tipped; the through-stroke is hooked up slightly at the left and down at the right. Bilinear x was used, as was straight-limbed dotted y. The top of 7 is hooked up at the left and rises slightly, and the vertical is thick and straight. Latin is distinguished from Old English by script.