Editiones Arnamagnæanæ. Series A - 01.06.2003, Blaðsíða 178
136*
INTRODUCTION
Hand B writes a regular, blockish bookhand; thicker and thinner
pen-strokes are distinguished with skill; a tight right-hand register is
generally maintained; no hyphens are used at line-ends. The letter (a)
is two-storey, though the upper element is not always completely closed.
(e) is like normal lower-case (e) but the (e2) form (see pp. 127*-
29* above on Hand A) is well attested, found sometimes in ‘er’ but
otherwise in final position both within the line and at line-ends; see
e.g. on the opening fols. 50ra20, 21, 51rb2, 6, 51va27, 32, 36, 52ra20,
26, 28, 52rbl2, 28, 52va22, 25, 52vbl7, 53ral8, 31, 53rbl4, 36, 38,
53va6, 53vb2, 18, 33, 34, 37. Tall letter-staves have no hairstroke em-
bellishment on their left side, but tips curl to the right, sometimes
closed back on the stave to form a small loop. The staves of (f) (insu-
lar), (p> and (þ) go a comparatively short distance below the line; the
heel of the stave of (f> often has a marked flick up to the left. The let-
ter (r>, especially when final, often has a brief hairstroke from the tip
of the bar down to the line; (?) may have a brief hairstroke extension
of the left-hand curve below the line. The right-hand element in (f),
(k) and (r> is a (3)-like figure; the tail of this figure seldom transects
the stave of the (f>, that of the figure in (k> extends below the line. (y)
is (y4>, usually made as (v) with a superior dot and a hairstroke tail ex-
tending more or less diagonally to the left to finish under the preced-
ing letter; the tail may also first curl to the left and then back to the
right. (d> is in both a plain and an embellished form; the latter is tran-
scribed as ‘ð’ (as it is also in Bysk.s.) and its use diminishes markedly
from fol. 52rb onwards. The lower bowl of (g> is most often closed; if
left open, the tail to the left does not go much beyond the width of the
upper bowl. (f>, whose height is less than that of other tall-stave let-
ters, does not go below the line; at the shoulder it is marked by a small
blob. (ct> and (ft) are ligatured at the top; (aa) and (jp) regularly ap-
pear thus, (do> and (de> are often ligatured; stray instances of other
ligatures are found, most of them at line-ends: (a)+(n) in ‘kenni-
mannligrar’ 52ra34, (a)+(r) in ‘svarar’ 51ral0, (a/) in ‘dva/l’ 49va23,
‘ba/ð’ 53va36, (n)+(g) in ‘konungr’ 49va9; (f) is rarely combined
with (h> and (k>, 60vb36, 59vb5, 63ra40, 63val8. Round (s> can be (8)-
like in shape and look much like (a>; this (s>, particularly when final,
can be embellished with a small serif at the top right, see e.g. ‘likams’
49rb4, ‘Erlings’ 52ra6, ‘deus meus’ 53vbl8, ‘mansaungs’ 54ra6, ‘sua’