Scribal Profile John Shirley | |
| Profiles for this Scribe: | 3. USA, California, San Marino, Henry E. Huntington Library MS El 26 A.13 |
| Current Manuscript: | USA, San Marino, CA, Henry E. Huntington Library MS El 26 A.13 |
| Folios: | ii verso |
| Sampled Folios: | Flyleaves |
| Example Page: | Display a full page showing this scribe's hand |
| Image Rights: | This item is reproduced by permission of The Huntington Library, San Marino, California. 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: hande Shirley has several forms of 'a' which he alternates at random. |  | Usage: and 'a' is mainly single compartment often with horned head. |
 | Usage: Halsham double compartment 'a' appears to be reserved for titles or headings. |  | Usage: And a very angular lower compartment for this upper case 'A'. |
| D | |||
 | Usage: lande 'd' has a rectangular bowl and an upper loop. |  | Usage: god a rather quakey representation of 'd'. |
 | Usage: wyde a triangular lower lobe for this example. |  | Usage: vnder |
| G | |||
 | Usage: god secretary tailed 'g' sometimes with, sometimes without extensions above the horizontal cross-stroke. |  | Usage: kynge the tail turns clockwise and either runs horizontal, as in version 1, or curves up and then makes a downward turn as in this example. |
 | Usage: leng(er)e |  | Usage: Gower upper case 'G' which looks rather like an armchair. |
| H | |||
 | Usage: hoote the tail of 'h' is usually flicked counter-clockwise to finish. |  | Usage: vnheonde |
 | Usage: ought 'h' in combination with 'g' or 't' is crossed on this folio. |  | Usage: Halsham an elaborate, angular example of upper case 'H'. |
| R | |||
 | Usage: grounde Shirley uses mainly modern 'r' on this folio. It is used in all positions. |  | Usage: Gower in final position 'r' is tagged. |
 | Usage: nerre |  | Usage: preserue 'z'-shaped 'r' is used frequently. Its use does not seem to be confined to a position after 'o' and round-bodied graphs. Shirley seems to use it randomly. |
| S | |||
 | Usage: so long 's' is used in initial and medial positions. The head may be rounded or angular. There is usually a thickening of the stem at the top before tapering to a finer point. |  | Usage: is kidney-shaped 's' is used in final position. |
 | Usage: stidfast a scooped head-stroke in this example. Again, the double thickness at the top of the stem is very noticeable. |  | Usage: sutyle the thickening of the stem gives the appearance of the text an uneven look. |
| W | |||
 | Usage: worlde Shirley uses a variety of 'w's. This example has loops at the head and a single lobe to the right. |  | Usage: wyde two separate straight strokes descending at an angle provide the limbs. A single lobe is added to finish. |
 | Usage: what this and the previous example are more typical of Shirley's hand. They can be with or without a curved approach stroke to the left limb. |  | Usage: weyes |
| Y | |||
 | Usage: yitte the left limb of 'y' usually has a curl as an approach stroke. |  | Usage: youre the tail may be longer or shorter, gently curved or sharply angled as in the next example. |
Usage: lytel |  | Usage: þy a dotted 'y'. Shirley uses this curved stroke above 'i' as well as 'y'. He does not use it consistently. | |
| Thorn | |||
 | Usage: þe thorn is used frequently for 'th' but not exclusively. |  | Usage: firþer the stem is long, gently curved and tapering. |
 | Usage: makeþe |  | Usage: Þe upper case position at the beginning of a line. |
| Upper Case Letters | |||
 | Usage: A an elaborate and flamboyantly typical example of Shirley's upper case 'A'. |  | Usage: If 'I' with closed loop at the head. This example is at the beginning of a line. Shirley has another upper case 'I' as seen in version 4. |
 | Usage: May |  | Usage: I upper case 'I' used in the middle of the text and dotted at each side of the graph. |
| Display Letters | |||
 | Usage: Lord these letters occur on the top line of text but are typical of Shirley's decorative style. |  | Usage: preserue |
 | Usage: mighty |  | Usage: ihu the heading for the folio. |
| Shirley's 'k' | |||
 | Usage: karving Shirley has a very distinctive 'k' graph. The squared-off foot is typical as well as the arching stroke at the head. |  | Usage: makeþe |
 | Usage: knowest |  | Usage: kynge |