Oxford, Bodleian Library, Auct. D. 2. 16 (2719)

Number of Hands: 3 in Old English between 1060 and 1220

Hand: Inventory

Scope: Minor

Script: English Vernacular Minuscule

Ker reference: Ker 291 Art. a

Description: Fols 1-2v. According to Ker, the script is 'of Exeter type, c. 1070, in which the distinctions of letter-form according to language are still carefully observed (1957, p. 351). The scribe uses minuscules in the insular form for English, and Caroline minuscule for Latin. The steep ducts of the letters and round aspect of the script show Carolingian influence.

Summary of the characteristics of the hand:

• a is in the rounded insular form; Caroline a, used for Latin, has a fully developed head, but is still open at the top-left.
• Sometimes e is slightly higher than a in the combination æ, but there is no use of distinctly tall e in æ.
• Insular d has a very short ascender which occasionally flicks up. Latin d has a straight ascender with a wedge at the top, and feet at the bottom.
• e, with a straight back, often shows a small horn to the left and a short tongue. Latin e is usually round-backed.
• ę is sometimes used for æ in Latin.
• f is insular; its tongue is on the writing line, and the descender curves to the left. Caroline f, with a serif to the right on the writing line, is used for Latin.
• The loop of g closes in a small bowl, and the vertical stroke joins the horizontal bar somewhere between the middle and the left end. Caroline g has a round lobe on the top with a tongue from the upper right, and the loop starts from the middle of the lobe and finishes open with a hairline serif to the left.
• Both limbs of insular h have serifs to the right; the second limb of Caroline h turns inwards. In both forms, the ascenders are wedged at the top.
• The feet of minims finish with a serif to the right. The letters i, n, m and u are distinguishable.
• p has a round lobe, and its descender often has a foot with a serif to the right.
• Insular r for English; Caroline r for Latin.
• Long s arches at the top and finishes with its descender curving to the left; Insular low s is also used; the downstroke of Caroline long s ends at the writing line with a serif.
• t has a round back with a straight head. The back-stroke meets the middle of the head-stroke.
• The long, straight, slanting backstroke of ð begins with a downward serif, and its crossbar has an upward serif to its right.
• æ has a straight descender, which begins with a wedge and finishes tapered with a slight curve to the left.
• The shape of ƿ is similar to that of p, but the lobe of ƿ is elongated, and the descender finishes tapered with a slight curve to the left without a foot.
• y is dotted. The left stroke of y often finishes with a upward serif.
• ascenders are wedged; sometimes the top is split in two.
• descenders are shorter than the ascenders and often finish tapered and bending to the left. The descender of p with a foot is exceptional.

Abbreviations: Abbreviations are frequently used:

• The descender of tironian nota curves to the left and tapers.
• The cross-bar of þ for 'þat' is short and straight.
• b with a cross-bar denotes 'biscep'. 
• xpˉe denotes 'Christe'
• xpˉi denotes 'Christi'
• sciˉs denotes 'sanctis'.

Punctuation: Punctus is mostly on the writing line, sometimes above the line.

Ligatures: ct and st ligatures are used. The back of the t in ligature tends to be straight.

Correcting technique: The scribe has inserted omitted phrases interlinearly with caret marks. Someone has erased some words.

Other manuscripts: According to Förster 1933, this and the list in the CUL Ii. 2. 11 were not written by the same hand. They are, however, very similar in the general aspect of the scrips as well as individual letter shape.

Hand: Inscription

Scope: Minor

Script: English Vernacular Minuscule

Ker reference: n.a.

Description: Fol. 6v. Latin and English inscriptions are in Caroline and insular scripts.

Summary of the characteristics of the hand: Drage's Scribe 2.

• Old English a is insular
• e is the same height to a in the combination æ.
• The bow of d is very round, and its ascender is very short; the ascender of its Caroline form sometimes has a foot.
• e is mostly round; the insular form sometimes has a tongue and a horn.
• The sizes of the upper and lower bows of insular g are almost identical. It is in the shape of an unfinished '8', with the right hand side of the upper bow being open.
• Insular h has distinct feet with the right limb curving inwards first.
• minims usually have feet to the upper right (but sometimes finish without serifs).
• The descender of þ is shorter than the height of the body of the letter.
• The upstroke of ð is tall, and it ends in a distinctive tag to the left. Cross-stroke has a flick down to the right at the end.
• ascenders are slightly longer than the height of the body of the letter. The split of ascenders in insular form is not very deep; the ascenders of Caroline form have wedges, of about the same height as those of insular letters.
• descenders of insular letters are short. The ends of descenders, except p, turn to the left.

Other manuscripts: According to Drage 1978, this scribe copied the following manuscripts. The four manuscripts in the following list marked with '(?)' also, according to Drage, 'appear' to have been written by the same scribe:

• CCCC 190: A, pp. 131 and 365 (?)
• CCCC 191, in its entirety CCCC 201, pp. 179-269, in its entirety
• CCCC 421, fols 3r-93v (?)
• CTC B. 11. 2, fol. 121v, the donation inscription
• CUL, Hh. 1. 10, fols 65r-72v (?)
• London, Lambeth 489, fols 25-31 (?)
• Auct. D. 2. 16, fol. 6v, the donation inscription
• Auct. F. 1. 15, fols 1-77v
• Auct. F. 3. 6, fol. iiiv
• Bodley 579 (The Leofric Missal), additional material in fols 30r-33v, 34v-37v, 43r, 44v, 156v-57v, 337r-41r, 344v, 371r-72r, 374v-75r, 58v; also Leofric's donation inscription in fol. 1r.

Hand: Record of Relics

Scope: Minor

Script: English Vernacular Minuscule

Ker reference: Ker 291 Art. c

Description: Fols 8-14. A 'large ill-formed hand', 'somewhat later' than the hand of Quire 1 (Ker 1957, p. 351). Drage's Scribe 10.

Summary of the characteristics of the hand: Round, neat and upright.

• a is in the rounded insular form.
• Sometimes the e component is slightly higher than the a component, but there is no use of distinctly tall e in æ.
• The bowl of d is small; d has a round back with a short up-stroke at 45'.
• Sometimes e is insular, and has a straight back, and is horned. It also has a tongue to the right.
• The insular form of f has its tongue below the writing line.
• g is in insular form with straight top, the loop of g closes in a round bowl, and the vertical stroke mostly joins the horizontal bar at the middle.
• h is insular.
• The feet of minims finish with serifs to the right. The letters i, n, m and u are distinguishable.
• The foot of l curls up to the right, and its ascender is wedged.
• p has a round lobe.
• Insular r is used.
• Long s finishes with a straight line below the writing line, and insular low s also finishes with a straight line.
• t has a round back with a straight head; the back-stroke joins the head at the middle.
• ð: the upstroke is at 45 degrees, and slightly curves backward. The crossbar does not transect, and has a downward hook at the right.
• þ has a straight descender with a straight ending. The ascender has a wedge, sometimes split in the middle with a serif curving on the left. The bowl is round.
• ƿ has a straight descender and an elongated lobe.
• y is has a dot, sometimes round-limbed.
• ascenders are generally not very high, straight and sometimes with a wedge.
• descenders are generally short and straight.

Abbreviations:

The descender of the tironian nota curves to the left. The head is above the writing line, and the descender is as long as other descenders.

Punctuation: The punctus is used on the line and the middle of line.