Editiones Arnamagnæanæ. Series A - 01.10.2003, Blaðsíða 111

Linguistic and textual features
93*
1. PALAEOGRAPHY
Individual letters The tall letters <b), <h), <k>, <1>, <þ> usually begin with a
short curve from the left. The short upright letters <i>, <m), <n>, consisting
almost entirely of minims, are often hard to distinguish from one another at
first sight, as ‘sumant’ 41.10. <a> is two-storey, <f> insular. <e>’s bow is
quite small in contrast to Hands ii and iv. <g> has a long straight right-hand
vertical, with the tail, which is lightly drawn, tucked underneath the bow.
<h> has a very long tail that turns to the right at the bottom and often almost
reaches the line beneath. <j> is rare (see Orthography). The foot of <1>
curves slightly to the right. <pp> is usually ligatured. <q) is rare (see
Orthography). Both forms of <r) occur; rotunda is usual after (one example
of each): <d> ‘godr’ 41.20 (after <f> the plain form is usual but rotunda
occurs at ‘sialfr’ 41.50), <g> ‘dagr’ 41.20, <o> ‘ord’ 41.8, <u> ‘Þuridi’ 41.45,
<v> ‘vrdv’ 41.17, <y> ‘fyrra’ 41.28, <þ> ‘þc/r’ 41.30. <s> is usually tall, but
the small majuscule shape sometimes appears at the end of words, when it
is usually ligatured to the preceding letter, as ‘hvs’ 41.16, ‘herads’ 41.49;
majuscule <s>, in capital or small form, is also used in, or in connexion
with, abbreviations, as ‘.S.’: ‘S(norri)’ 41.52, ‘sa’: ‘sva’ 41.49. <t)’s stem
pierces its cross-bar only a little way, sometimes not at all, making reading
difficult in words like ‘mættit’ (41.38) where the long bars run across the
top of <i>. <u> and <v> can generally be distinguished; it would seem the
scribe treated them as allographs; <v> has in all ca 780 occurrences, <u> ca
465; ‘v’ is therefore used in expansions. In initial position, Hand iii prefers
<v> to <u> ca 450:185; medially and finally also, <v> is preferred ca
330:280. <w> sometimes occurs, for ú. The tail of <y> goes down obliquely
to the left and then curls to the right. <z> has no tail but has a median bar.
There is a possible but not certain occurrence of <ð> rather than <d>: ‘Þorð’
38.22. See below, under Abbreviations.
Ligatures and modified letters <aa> ‘aa’ 38.14- ‘maal’ 38.40 - ‘aa' 48.1 (x
ca 110), <æ> (with insular first element) ‘hætt’ 38.11 - ‘bærinn’ 48.3 (x ca
160), <é> ‘sékia’ 41.15 (sole), <ð> ‘vðpnvw’ 38.7, ‘vöp<n>in’ 38.9 (all).
Accents <á> ‘lá’ 42.66 (sole), <é> ‘réd’ 41.54 (sole), <ó> ‘blód’ 38.56,
‘fól’ 38.68, ‘fót’ 38.82, ‘vóduírk’ 42.41 (all). There are sporadic dots over
long vowels: ‘úta«’ 42.108, ‘vvænt’ 40.1, ‘málellda’ 42.184, ‘ráns’ 45.68,
‘fót-’ 38.67.
Capitals are not usual for names but sometimes occur at the beginning of
sentences, as ‘Sumar’ 42.10, ‘Menn’ 42.14.
Small majuscules do not occur.