MS. Hatton 116

Hand(s)

Pages 1-395: 'A handsome, round, large hand of a type found commonly in West of England manuscripts of s. xii' (Ker 1957, p. 406). This Worcester hand is rounded, but degrees of angularity are also creeping in. The general aspect is slightly backward-leaning. The bodies of the letters are large in relation to the ascenders and descenders. The manuscript is blind-ruled. Worcester manuscripts (which this is) are crayon-ruled from about the 1130s and 40s. Treharne (2000) dates this hand and manuscript to s. xii^2/4 (pp. 25-26). That dating is re-confirmed here, probably closer to the middle of the century than earlier, even though the ruling is blind. Palaeographical affinities can be found with the Worcester manuscripts, Worcester Cathedral Libary F. 82 and F. 83, both datable to s. xii^med. Small extracts of these manuscripts appear in Thomson 2001 (pl. 42 (a)-(f)). See Ker 1957, p. 406; Treharne 2000, pp. 25-26

‘a’ is Caroline, where the bow sometimes touches the preceding letter. The ‘e’ of ‘æ’ is very slightly taller than the top of ‘a’. Insular, rounded ‘d’ is used in English, but with relatively high back, slightly shorter than that of ‘ð’; straight-backed ‘d’ with an oblique serif to the right is used in Latin. ‘f’ is Caroline and sits on the line, with the mid-stroke often touching the following letter in ligature. The head of ‘f’ is occasionally slightly flattened. ‘g’ is Caroline with a closed bowl, and is thus eight-shaped, one of Ker's (1957) defining characteristics of s. xii^med hands. From its top bow, it often ligatures with the following letter. ‘h’ is Caroline. ‘p’ has a well-defined horizontal foot (again, typical of mid-twelfth-century hands). ‘r’ is consistently Caroline, with a curved serif. ‘s’ is Caroline, with a determined onset stroke. Its head is occasionally slightly flattened. The cross-bar of the ‘t’ is often pierced by the stem, a feature seen in mid-twelfth-century script. ‘þ’ has a large bowl, and a descender that is slightly short in relation to the rest of the graph. The ascender of ‘ð’ is higher than other ascenders, and the cross-bar curves up on the right. ‘ƿ’ has a large pointed bowl, and short, straight descender. ‘y’ is rounded, sits just on the line, or slightly below, and is consistently dotted in the middle of the v-shaped limbs. ‘ascenders’ end in oblique serif rising from the left to the right or have a wedge. ‘descenders’ are generally short and straight, with the exception of ‘p’, which has a straight foot across the descender. Occasionally, descenders curve gently to the left.

Punctuation in the form of a ‘semicolon’ at the end of a sentence occurs regularly up to p. 19, but seldom after that. The ‘punctus’ is frequently used, and sits on the line. ‘hyphens’ are used throughout at line ends, and at placed at a slight angle.

Abbreviation marks are curved at the right, ending in a blob. The abbreviation for ‘that’ consists of a ‘þ’ with the abbreviation mark to the right of the ascender. ‘Men’ is abbreviated to ‘M’ (often uncial in shape) with a macron above it. ‘leofestan’ is usually abbreviated simply to ‘l’ with a line through it. ‘Drihten’ is abbreviated with a macron over the ‘t’. The ‘˥’ is formed with a 45º angle between headstroke and descender, and usually with a pronounced upward tick to the left of the headstroke.The tail tends to curve just below the line to the left.

The ‘st’ ligature is used but not consistently. The ‘or’ ligature where the ‘r’ is 2-shaped is used but not consistently.

The ‘Litterae Notabiliores’ are closely related to those seen in other Worcester manuscripts of this date, and slightly earlier. They are red, pen-drawn, and display little roundels in the leg or the bowl.

There are several layers of glosses by the Tremulous Hand. s. xiii¹