Editiones Arnamagnæanæ. Series A - 01.10.2003, Page 118
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M (AM 445 b 4to) - Hand iv
D. Hand iv
The general appearance of Hand iv is very similar to Hand ii, and the same
may be said of much of the spelling practices. Yet there are a number of
differences in both areas. If, as is not impossible, the same person wrote
both Hand ii and Hand iv, he must have been a man who readily changed
his habits; possibly this is a trait that fits in with the rather flamboyant
handwriting. The following notes should be read with the description of
Hand ii in mind.
1. PALAEOGRAPHY
Individual letters Differences from Hand ii are that <e> now occurs in one
shape only (the one similar to printed e) and that the double stem of <þ> is
even more noticeable. A florid capital form now appears for the preposition
í. The hand generally uses elaborate initials for the beginning of sentences.
<q> does not occur, perhaps because of the prevalence of segja over kveða.
In initial position, Hand iv prefers using <u> to <v> ca 170:6 (three of the 6
being part of an abbreviation).
Ligatures and modified letters <aa>, <æ>, <ao>, <é> (with greatly increased
frequency over Hand ii), <ö>.
Accents■ <á>, <æ>.
Small majuscules do not occur.
Capitals These occur occasionally, where sentences begin ‘Kárr’ 50.2
(but not 50.3, where it is not sentence-initial), ‘Gvdleifur’ 51.43 (not
51.53), ‘Sidan’ 51.51. They are rarer than in Hand ii.
Abbreviations
General This stretch (f. llr and v) is much more lightly abbreviated than
any other passage in M.
A bar above or through one or more letters acts as a general contraction
sign, as ‘mé/lti’ 51.13, ‘lö/?d’ 51.62.
Particular Superscripts: <‘>: ‘ri’ ‘hnngin’ 51.56, ‘Þundi’ 51.56; <n>: ‘an’
‘uton’ 53.10; <r>: ‘ar’ ‘uar’ 50.1; <‘>: ‘it’ ‘mik/7’ 51.14, also ‘at’ ‘huaí’
51.56; <“>: ‘ru’ ‘hustrwnar’ 51.58.
Other superscript symbols are the er/ir symbol <<->, with the shape used
by Hand ii but employed much less frequently, ‘ue/'it’ 51.12, the sign
written like pi <"> for ‘ra’ and ‘ua’ ‘digra’ 53.11, ‘sua' 52.47, the ‘ur’ sign
written like <m> (a shape not used by Hand ii) ‘modnr’ 51.56. The familiar
‘nasal stroke’ indicates omission of following <m> or <n> ‘inni’ 50.1,
‘stauduw’ 50.3; it can be quite short.