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Scribal Profile
Unknown
 
Current Manuscript:London, British Library MS Royal 17 D.VI
Folios:4-149v
Sampled Folios:26r, 40r, 42v, 93v, 120r
Example Page:Display a full page showing this scribe's hand
Image Rights:Reproduced with permission of The British Library. All images on this website are reproduced with permission of the Libraries, Archives, and Owners of the manuscripts. Manuscript images that appear on this website remain in the copyright of the libraries where the manuscripts are held. Use of these images for any purpose other than private study without written permission of those libraries is prohibited by law.
 
A
Usage: although
cross-bar through the straight-sided graph joins to the following letter.
Usage: kan
Usage: And
double compartment upper case 'A'.
Usage: And
 
D
Usage: done
looped 'd' is used throughout. This letter is consistently formed with squarish or triangular lower lobe.
Usage: adradde
Usage: naked
where 'd' in final position has a tag it presents as here with short downturn from the continuation of the completed loop.
Usage: Do
angular upper case 'D' at the beginning of a line.
 
G
Usage: goode
double compartment 'g' is used almost all the time. However, as will be seen in versions 2 and 3, the scribe does have other 'g's in his repertoire.
Usage: although
tailed 'g' with cross bar at the head and counter-clockwise turn at the end of the tail. Definitely in the hand of the scribe.
Usage: good
the horizontal cross-stroke joins the two vertical sides of the graph. The tail is long and curves beneath the body of the graph with counter-clockwise turn to finish. However, this may well be a corrected passage in the hand of a different scribe.
Usage: God
upper case letter at the beginning of a line.
 
H
Usage: his
most of the scribe's 'h's are formed as in this example. The nib is turned at the end of the tail-stroke to produce a flick to the right, often like a horizontal foot.
Usage: haue
the smooth curve of limb to tail seems much more natural here. Examples of this 'h' appear in clumps as if the scribe has forgotten his intention to provide a turn at the end of the stroke.
Usage: deth
'h' following 't' is often crossed. The cross stroke is through 'h' only.
Usage: Here
although the ink is rather degraded in this example, it is possible to see the shape of 'H' with angled foot at the bottom of the stem and the tail-stroke with flick to the right.
 
R
Usage: rede
modern 'r' is used in all positions except after 'o'. The graph is consistently formed with almost no variation.
Usage: erren
Usage: lord
'z'-shaped 'r' is always used after 'o' but on the five folios examined, not after any other graph.
Usage: neuer
when 'r' is used in final position the scribe does not add a flourish.
 
S
Usage: shull
sigma 's' is used in initial and final positions. In this version the graph is angular with gently curved tail lifting from the top of the graph.
Usage: douteles
this version of 's' does not have the angularity of the previous example. The sampled folios are from different places in the manuscript and on some folios the hand has a more rounded appearance. There may have been a time-lag between the copying of different parts.
Usage: vnsight
long 's' is used occasionally in initial position and always in medial position. There is sometimes a tiny spur visible at the head of the graph.
Usage: Sitth
upper case 'S' at the beginning of a line.
 
W
Usage: word
as may be seen from these images, the scribe's 'w' is an impressive graph and consistently formed .
Usage: wittes
the upper loop stands well above the height of the surrounding letters.
Usage: now
the element to the left is usually a separate entity with space between left and middle branches of the graph.
Usage: Who
upper case letter at the beginning of a line. The leftward inclination of the graph is exaggerated here, perhaps because of the margin to the left.
 
Y
Usage: yf
'y' is always dotted. The fork of the letter is at or just below the lower level of surrounding letters.
Usage: Hye
Usage: may
the tail sometimes loops back almost to the body of the graph.
Usage: Yeve
upper case letter at the beginning of a line with longer lead-in stroke.
 
Thorn
Usage: þe
thorn is not used in the verse of the folios examined. It is used quite often in the prose section. The stem of thorn is long and tapering.
Usage: þat
the lobe is set at the top of the stem.
Usage: þt
Usage: þinges
there is often a long approach stroke to the stem.
 
Upper Case Letters
Usage: Passe
upper case 'P' has a dot towards the lower part of the lobe.
Usage: Vpon
Usage: Now
Usage: I
 
Abbreviative Marks
Usage: neighbo(ur)
'ur' abbreviation looks like '2'.
Usage: pleyn
macron on an 'n' at the end of a line.
Usage: diu(er)se
'er' abbreviation.
Usage: wt
as with 'that' shortened with thorn and superscript 't', on most occasions 'with' is also shortened as here. All abbreviations apart from the macron appear in the prose rather than the verse.
 
Image of Chaucer
Usage: Image of Chaucer in the left margin of f93v.
Usage: Above the images and preceded by a flourished paraph is 'Chaucers ymage'.
Usage: The top half of the portrait.
Usage: The bottom half of the portrait.
Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York, King's Manor, York YO1 7EP