Provisional Drogereit pdf

(p. 343) The l, so typical of the handwriting of the 9 th Century, stretching under the
following short letters, usually the i or o, disappears. The scripts of the 10 th Century
are characterised by the angular, u-shaped a 48 . The left curve is broken and flattened
off at the top so that this a appears to consist of four strokes. The same shape is also
used for the upper part of the letter q. C and e flatten off the upper rounding of the
main stroke. The straight strokes of m and n are equally thick or are becoming
somewhat thinner, the latter bending frequently inwards. In Anglo-Saxon we usually
find the crossed-through ð, seldom the rune þ.
During the 30s the writing becomes squarer. The individual letters are growing and all
are well proportioned. The writing is thus gaining a light and elegant appearance.
Letters and words fit together with appropriate spacing. – Majuscules now appear
more frequently in the text. Descenders are leaning slightly to the left. Typical of this
period are the high head curves of the tall e. We are also frequently encountering a
high a, previously rarely used as a capital. This a lengthens the right-hand stroke high
above the loop and ends it with a curve to the left. Occasionally we are still finding a
straight d, whose bowl has the a form. In the charters the rune þ has virtually
superseded the crossed-through ð.
Under Eadwig 49 the writing becomes broader and heavier, already showing a
tendency to a rounder shape. The descenders are virtually losing their noticeable
point. In the scripts of this period we also encounter amongst other things a cc-shaped
a, with which we are familiar from the alphabet of the earlier Anglo-Saxon inscribed
monuments 50 .
48 E. M. Thompson, The History of English Handwriting in Transactions of the Bibliographical Society
V., London 1901, pp. 109-142 and pp. 213-253, see p. 235.
49 As the dating of the script is uncertain we base our versions for this era mainly on the charters.
50 This hooked “a” or “double-c-shaped a” (Keller, loc sit, p. 35) we find as early as in the Book of
Kells (see Thompson Introduction Table 135), the pre-stage of the virtually identical Anglo-Saxon
“rounded Half-uncial”, the best example of which is to be found in the Lindisfarne Gospels
(Introduction No. 140). This letter-form appears again e.g. in the Canterbury Gospels in the late 8 th
Century (Introduction no. 141). The “n” and “r” are also similar to those of this script. The letter-forms
are also to be found in the charters with the same script-type, such as the Facsimiles of Ancient
Charters II, 2 and II, 3. The hands from the end of the 8 th Century still, however, use other letter-forms,
which appear to be typical of the time of Eadwig or shortly before. These include the raised “a” and
“e”, a straight “d” and round “s” within the word (see also: Ancient Ch. II, 5). After this it seems fairly
certain that the scribes of the 10 th Century took the late Hss. of the “rounded Half-uncial of Anglo-
Saxon type” as a template (see Keller, loc sit, p. 25). For the time up to Eadwig, however, due to the
absence of the particularly characteristic “a”, “r” and “s”, we are unable to say this for certain, as we
can for during Eadwig’s time, where there is similarity to the broad, heavy script of the old Insular
Half-uncial. Also to be taken into consideration here is the fact that there are too few handwritten
documents and charters to enable us to make a generalisation, as we probably have to assume that this
is a peculiarity of a certain writing school i.e. Winchester; for here lies the origin of virtually all the
material for our period up to beyond the middle of the century.
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