Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 18.djvu/177

 PALEOGRAPHY 161 difficult, as, for example, in the word minimi. The ambiguity thus arising was partly obviated by the use of a small oblique stroke over the letter i, which, to mark the double letter, had been introduced as early as the 1 1 th century. The dot on the letter came into fashion in the 14th century. Duaus. C^ati ?tomttt&&tmf oaa Minuscule Writing, 13th century. (Eligite hodie c[uod placet cui seruire potissimuwi debeatis. Utru?a diis quibws seruieM&amp;lt; padres uesiri in mesopotamia, an diis amoreorai in quorum terra haMtatis. Ego a.utem et domus mea seruiemws domino. Respow- ditqwe popwhts et ait, Absit a nobw ut relinqwaniMs dominwm) In MSS. of the 14th century minuscule writing becomes slacker, and the consistency of formation of letters falters. There is a tendency to write more cursively and without raising the pen, as may be seen in the form of the letter a, of which the characteristic shape at this time is a, with both bows closed, in contrast with the earlier a. In this century, however, the hand still remains fairly stiff and upright. In the 15th century it becomes very angular and more and more cursive, but is at first kept within bounds. In the course of the century, however, it grows more slack and deformed, and the letters become continu ally more cursive and misshapen. An exception, however, to this disintegration of minuscule writing in the later centuries is to be observed in church books. In these the old set hand of the 12th and 13th centuries was imitated and continued to be the liturgical style of writing. It is impossible to describe within limited space, and without the aid of illustrations, all the varieties of hand writing which were developed in the different countries of western Europe, where the Caroline minuscule was finally adopted to the exclusion of the earlier national hands. In each country, however, it acquired, in a greater or less de gree, an individual national stamp which can generally be recognized and which serves to distinguish MSS. written in different localities. A broad line of distinction may be drawn between the writing of northern and southern Europe from the 12th to the 15th century. In the earlier part of this period the MSS. of England, northern France, and the Netherlands are closely connected. Indeed, in the 12th and 13th centuries it is not always easy to decide as to which of the three countries a particular MS. may belong. As a rule, perhaps, English MSS. are written with more sense of gracefulness ; those of the Netherlands in darker ink. From the latter part of the 13th century, however, national character begins to assert itself more distinctly. In southern Europe the influence of the Italian school of writing is manifest in the MSS. of the south of France in the 13th and 14th centuries, and also, though later, in those of Spain. That elegant roundness of letter which the Italian scribes seem to have inherited from the bold characters of the early papal chancery, and more recently from Lombardic models, was generally adopted in the book-hand of those districts. It is especially notice able in calligraphic specimens, as in church books, the writing of Spanish MSS. in this style being distinguishable by _ the blackness of the ink. The mediaeval minuscule writing of Germany stands apart. It never attained to the beauty of the hands of either the north or the south which have been just noticed ; and from its ruggedness and slow development German MSS. have the appearance of being older than they really are. The writing has also very commonly a certain slope in the letters which com pares unfavourably with the upright and elegant hands of other countries. In western Europe generally the minus cule hand thus nationalized ran its course down to the time of the invention of printing, when the so-called black letter, or set hand of the 15th century in Germany and other countries, furnished models for the types. But in Italy, with the revival of learning, a more refined taste set in in the production of MSS., and scribes went back to an earlier time in search of a better standard of writing. Hence, in the first quarter of the 15th century, MSS. written on the lines of the Italian hand of the early 12th century begin to appear, and become continually more numerous. This revived hand was brought to perfection soon after the middle of the century, just at the right moment to be adopted by the early Italian printers, and to be perpetuated by them in their types. It must also not be forgotten that by the side of the book-hand of the later Middle Ages there was the cursive hand of every day use. This is represented in abundance in the large mass of charters and legal or domestic docu ments which remains. Some notice has already been taken of the development of the national -cursive hands in the earliest times. From the 12th century downwards these hands settled into well-defined and distinct styles peculiar to different countries, and passed through syste matic changes which can be recognized as characteristic of particular periods. But, while the cursive hand thus followed out its own course, it was still subject to the same laws of change which governed the book-hand ; and the letters of the two styles did not differ at any period in their organic formation. Confining our attention to the charter hand, or court hand, practised in England, a few specimens may be taken to show the principal changes which it developed. In the 12th century the official hand which had been introduced after the Norman Conquest is characterized by exaggeration in the strokes above and below the line, a legacy of the old Roman cursive, as already noted. There is also a tendency to form the tops of tall vertical strokes, as in b, h, I, with a notch or cleft. The letters are well made and vigorous, though often rugged. Charter of Stephen, 1136-39 A.D. (et ministry et omnibMs fidelibws suis Frances et - Regine uxoris mee et Eustachii filii - mei dedi et concessi ecclesie Beate Marie) As the century advances, the long limbs are brought into better proportion ; and early in the 13th century a very delicate fine-stroked hand comes into use, the cleaving of the tops being now a regular system, and the branches formed by the cleft falling in a curve on either side. This style remains the writing of the reigns of John and Henry III. mSwwwvn Charter of Henry III., 1259 A.D. (urtiuersis presentes litteras inspecturis s&lutem. Noueritis qwod ford et EssexiV et Constabulariuw Anglz e et Willelmum de Fortibws ad iurandum in animam nosiram in presencia nostra, de pace) XVIII. 21