Notes on the ij inch, Side 3J inches, Foot inches (between columns
Plates inch: see Plate). The portion of a page, shown in

Plate X., consists of the last eleven lines, second column,
of folio 78.

WRITING.—This has all the qualities of good
writing (p. 203) in a marked degree, and I consider it,
taken all round, the most perfect and satisfactory penman¬
ship which I have seen.

Its simplicity and distinctiveness are very marked, so
also are its character and freedom. There is an almost
entire absence of artificial finish—the terminals are natural
hooks, beaks and “feet” made with a fine sleight of hand
(p. 275)—and its very great beauty of form is the natural
outcome of good traditions and eminently satisfactory
craftsmanship.

Notes.—The letters are very wide, and the inside
shapes difFer considerably from those of the tenth-century
MS. (above)—with which, however, there is a consider¬
able affinity (see p. 378).

The f is longer than the f, the g has a very fine form
with a closed loop, the r is sharpened, the t straight.

Small (Uncial) CAPITALS urn follow the Versal;
the serifs on the S and E are made with dexterous move¬
ments of the nib (p. 210), and resemble those on the
Versal C. V and U are both used for the consonant (V).

There are very few VERSALS in this book: the С
shown is in red (which has been smudged).

The large “ILLUMINATED INITIALS” in the
book are in yellow, blue, and red, and appear to me to
be comparatively poor, at least, to fall short of the per¬
fection of the MS.

Of this writing, Sir Edward Maunde Thompson
(“Greek and Latin Palæography,” pp. 271-2) says:—

“The sense of grace of form which we perceive in the Lom¬
bardie writing of Italy is maintained in that country in the
later writing of the new minuscule type, which assumes under
the pens of the most expert Italian scribes a very beautiful and
round even style. This style, though peculiarly Italian, extended
its influence abroad, especially to the south of France, and

380

became the model of Spanish writing at a later time. We N0tes on the

select a specimen from a very handsome MS. of Homilies of the

first half of the 12th century (Pal. Soc. ii. pi. 55), written in Elates

bold letters of the best type, to which we shall find the scribes

of the fifteenth century reverting in order to obtain a model for

their MSS. of the Renaissance. The exactness with which the

writing is here executed is truly marvellous, and was only

rivalled, not surpassed, by the finished handiwork of its later

imitators. *

" It will of course be understood that this was not the only
style of hand that prevailed in Italy. Others of a much rougher
cast were also employed. But as a typical book-hand, which
was the parent of the hands in which the greater proportion of
carefully written MSS. of succeeding periods were written in
Italy, it is to be specially noticed.”

(P. 284)—“we give a specimen of a hand of the Italian Re¬
naissance, a revival of the style of the eleventh or twelfth
century, and a very successful imitation of a MS. of that period.

It was this practice, followed by the scribes of the Renaissance,
of reverting to that fine period of Italian writing (see p. 272) to
find models for the exquisitely finished MSS. which they were
compelled to produce in order to satisfy the refined taste of
their day, that influenced the early printers of Italy in the
choice of their form of type.”*

(P. 285)—“in the comparatively small number of extant
literary MSS. of a later date than the close of the [fifteenth]
century it is noticeable that a large proportion of them are
written in the style of the book-hand of the Italian Renaissance
—the style which eventually superseded all others in the print¬
ing press. The scribes of these late examples only followed
the taste of the day in preferring those clear and simple char¬
acters to the rough letters of the native hands.”

* The specimen hand given is of date 1466. Plate XVIII
may here be taken as an example of the Renaissance revival ;
Plate XX and fig. 175 as examples of later MSS.

PLATE XI.—English {late) Twelfth-century Writing,
with flourished Capitals. {Breviary) Brit. Mus.,
Royal MS. 2. A.x.

(Shown in Brit. Mus., Department of MSS., Case D,
No. in.)

THE VOLUME—sometimes called the St. Albans
or Albanus Breviary—contains 200 leaves (6g inches by

381