Scribal Profile Hand 1 | |
| Current Manuscript: | Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Laud misc. 416 |
| Folios: | 1-187v |
| Example Page: | Display a full page showing this scribe's hand |
| Image Rights: | Reproduced with permission of The Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, 2011; all rights reserved. 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: above the scribe uses a selection of single and double compartment 'a's. Single compartment 'a' is used most of the time. |  | Usage: today double compartment 'a' is also used occasionally. If a word begins with 'a' then a double compartment graph may be used. Equally the indefinite article is frequently a double compartment graph. |
 | Usage: all the lobe of 'a' is not completely closed because of the angle of the down-stroke. |  | Usage: And upper case 'A' is always formed as here. |
| D | |||
 | Usage: delyueraunce unlooped 'd' used almost invariably on this folio. However, see version 2. |  | Usage: blessid where 'd' is in final position the scribe occasionally uses this looped version with long trailing tag. |
 | Usage: weddid the scribe also uses looped 'd' occasionally in the middle of words, but uses the unlooped version as the final letter. At the beginning of the 'Cursor Mundi' text on f66r, looped 'd' is the norm. So the scribe appears to have no fixed font for his work but varies his letter forms according to whim. |  | Usage: dothe an example from f66r, 'Cursor Mundi'. |
| G | |||
 | Usage: goodis tailed 'g' with tail turning counter-clockwise used throughout. |  | Usage: thyngg(i/es) in the 'Cursor Mundi', the scribe doubles the 'g' at the end of the word and adds an abbreviation for the plural. |
 | Usage: might 'ght' combination. |  | Usage: Grete an upper case graph at the beginning of a line. |
| H | |||
 | Usage: hem looped head-stroke and vertical descender from the shoulder. |  | Usage: hym open head-stroke in this example. |
 | Usage: right in the 'Cursor Mundi' text, the scribe tends to cross 'h' when it follows 'g', 's' or 't'. |  | Usage: He 'H' at the beginning of a line where all initial letters on the folio are upper case letters. There is therefore no difference between upper and lower case 'h'. |
| R | |||
 | Usage: ryche 'z'-shaped 'r' used in all positions, as are long 'r' and modern 'r'. |  | Usage: her long 'r' in final position. It is used in every position in a word. |
 | Usage: parsone modern 'r' is used very occasionally, usually, but not always, in the middle of a word. |  | Usage: Recervyng upper case 'R'. |
| S | |||
 | Usage: sarve sigma 's' used in initial and final positions. |  | Usage: as sigma 's' in final position. |
 | Usage: parsone long 's' used in medial and occasionally in initial position. |  | Usage: Som upper case 'S'. |
| W | |||
 | Usage: wery cursive 'w' as two 'v's. |  | Usage: morow a slightly more rounded 'w' used in the 'Cursor Mundi'. It may also be seen occasionally earlier in the manuscript. |
 | Usage: was occasionally there is a looped lead-in to the left arm. |  | Usage: towne occasionally the scribe uses 'w' with looped head. |
| Y | |||
 | Usage: ynne 'y' is occasionally used where an 'i' would be expected. |  | Usage: Wherby 'y' in final position. |
 | Usage: mayralte 'y' in the middle of a word with two different variants of 'a' on either side. |  | Usage: contrey |
| Thorn | |||
 | Usage: þe thorn is used infrequently and haphazardly. In other places 'th' is used instead. However, the scribe frequently uses thorn with a following superscript letter for the definite article and some pronouns. |  | Usage: anoþ(er) thorn is occasionally used to replace 'th' in instances other than those described above. |
 | Usage: þyng |  | Usage: þu |
| Upper Case Letters | |||
 | Usage: Then |  | Usage: Nothyng |
 | Usage: But |  | Usage: In |
| Serendipity | |||
 | Usage: Of the scribe's upper case 'O' is distinctive as is his frequent descending curved tag on 'f'. |  | Usage: Ampersand the ampersand used in the 'Cursor Mundi' text. |
 | Usage: Ampersand the scribe's distinctive ampersand used at the beginning of the manuscript. | ||