About this Hand

 

Bibliographical Information

Inventory of the estate of Richard Cox, Bishop of Ely
Gonville and Caius College MS 53/30, f. 30 (ii)

 

Description and Dating

The manuscript is written in an angular Elizabethan secretary hand, interspersed with an engrossing hand. Despite the formal layout, the manuscript appears somewhat cramped in places, due to interference between lines caused by the large engrossing hand, and the long, slim descenders which sometimes extend two lines below (e.g. 'seuerally', line 4). The scribe uses many typically Elizabethan graph forms, such as right-angle 'c', two-stroke 'e', double-footed 'r', and 't' with a foot-serif. In general, a formal, small-bodied 'h' with an open descender is used, although the scribe occasionally lapses into a more cursive, bodiless 'h' with a descender that loops back over itself (e.g.'the', line 37). At the end of line 4, the scribe appears to have written the 'h' of 'his', then decided that there was not enough room, and begun again on the next line. After many lines there is a faint virgule, which may be intended as a mark of punctuation, or might be the result of someone checking items off the list. These have not been transcribed. The hand is consistent with the date of the document, 1581, whether this is a copy or the original.