Editiones Arnamagnæanæ. Series A - 01.06.2003, Page 125
THE S RECENSION
83*
Most of Hand B’s letter-forms and usage are like those of Hand A.
Long a is written <a), <á) and <aa>. He does not write <ð>. His <g> has a
closed roundel as the lower element. The right-hand element of <h>
usually curves to the left below the line but is sometimes a perpendic-
ular. The letter <i> is rarely marked. He uses <r>. He has <;> after <b>,
<o>, <h>, <þ> and usually but not invariably after <d>. He makes no use
of <v) but once has initial <w>. His <y) is the same type as Hand A’s
but it is sometimes dotted. <e>, <é> and <æ) all appear for æ. Modified
<o> is <ð>. Punctuation is a point near mid-letter height; a capital occa-
sionally follows.
Hand C writes a neat hand, different in various particulars from
Hands A and B. He uses accents with some freedom, over both short
and long vowels. <ð> is rare. <g> with a triangular lower element is
usual to begin with but the additional diagonal stroke is mostly aban-
doned by fol. 35. Ligatured <gð>, a useful space-saver, is readily intro-
duced. <j> has a bottom loop to the left which only comes part way up
the stave. As the text progresses, from about fol. 55, the <2>-like ele-
ment attached to the stave of <k> and <r> is more often than not given
a tail and goes below the line; the habit is irregularly maintained and
the forms are comparatively rare by fol. 62. <t) after <a> is very com-
mon but it too is tumed into a <3>-like figure which appears earlier in
the text, from fol. 40 onwards.45 The scribe often takes the shaft of <r>
below the line but in no regular fashion; the form is first observed on
fol. 41. <f> at first sits on the line but from fol. 21 v it is carried below
the line and this form remains standard. As well as with abbreviation
signs, round <s> occurs medially and finally, though not often. <u> and
<v) are used indifferently for vowel and sonant; initial <v) often has
the slanted <b)-like form of charter hands. There are a few exx. of <w>
for sonant v. <y> is <y5>. Hand C uses a punctuation point at near mid-
letter height and sometimes <//>; a stop is frequently followed by a
capital.
The rubricator writes two-storey <a>. The letter <f> has the typical
<3>-like figure attached to the stave. The lower element of <g> is a
roundel but not everywhere completed. He uses a long-shafted <r> and
45 The earliest charter instance I have noted of ar treated in this way is in 10 33 (Skál-
holt 1360), line 1, ‘hra;’, but it does not seem to be common in the following period.
The charter was reckoned “heilt norsk” by Hægstad; cf. IO, Tekst, xxvi.