Hand: Sermon notes (57v–58r), BL Additional 38651, fols. 57 and 58

Name
Sermon notes (57v–58r)
Manuscript
BL Additional 38651, fols. 57 and 58
Script
Unspecified
Scribe
Wulfstan. 1002–1023
Date
Saec. xi in.
Place
Worcester or York

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

Most of the text on these pages is now lost, although some is visible in the photographs taken under ultra-violet light and published by Henry Loyn. A Wulfstan Manuscript, ed by Loyn, Appendix, plates 8 and 9. The hand is recognisably Wulfstan’s, with the characteristic messy and irregular aspect, the elongated proportions, and the thin pen. Ascenders are long, thin, and show heavy triangular and sometimes open wedges. Descenders are long, thin, and tapering. Minims have hooked approach-strokes and no feet. Teardrop-shaped a was used, the back of which is straight and angled at about 80°, the body is thin, and the lower curve is turned up and meets the back well above the base-line. The same structure was used in æ except that the back can extend beyond the loop; the hook branches from below cue-height, is narrow, and turns back in towards the down-stroke, and the tongue is horizontal and at mid-height. The hook and lower curve of c vary in their relative lengths, but the letter is always round. The back of d is relatively short and angled at about 45°. Round e was used, the hook and tongue very much like those of æ, but the back is more rounded and ends where it joins the hook at cue-height. The tongue of f is long and passes well to the left of the down-stroke. The top of g is flat, the mid-section angular, and the tail open and hooked down slightly at the tip. The shoulders of h, m and n are quite angular and branch well below cue-height. The usual Wulfstanian r is found in both Vernacular and Latin texts: it is a hybrid of Insular and Caroline and shows a full-length descender, deeply-split body, and turned-up hook. Long s is normal and reaches down a full descender’s length and has a fairly wide hook at ascender-height. A single example of round s is found (sca), the letter reaching slightly above cue-height and below the base-line. The conventional distinction seems to have been followed between þ and ð, the back of the latter being curved left and sometimes close to horizontal, and the through-stroke relatively long and with a downward hook. Straight-limbed y was used, apparently dotted, and the top of 7 is narrow and very tall. It should be noted, however, that the hook on ð, the dot on y, and the tall form of 7 are all almost invisible in both the manuscript and the photographs.

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