exeter book commentary (essay)

7/28/2019 Exeter Book Commentary (Essay)

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Emily Wheeler 1007489 Word count: 1076

Exeter book commentary

This page is from folio 33, which is one page into Guthlac A. It is from the beginning of the

Exeter Book; the fact that there are 22 lines (as opposed to 21 or 20) supports this since the

number of lines lessens throughout the book. Visible down the edges of the text are the prick

marks where the parchment was pricked to allow for neater and more regular ruling of the

parchment. However is it clear from this page that this sometimes went a little awry, since the

final line is slightly curved. The lines were also occasionally scored too deeply so that the ink ran

into the line itself, spoiling the clarity of the script; however this is not apparent on this page,

perhaps implying that the scribe was more experienced by the time this section was produced.

The parchment itself is of a fairly fine quality; it is cropped neatly and though a little buckled

around the edges, and with a small spot near the enlarged initial, it is plainly quite thin and

transparent. The text from the reverse is visible through the page, and this is particularly clear

in the line free of text in the section break, where the curve of a g ascender especially can be

seen.

The script is an Anglo-Saxon square minuscule, which is characterized by both certain letter

forms and its overall shape. Contrasting with the curved back a of half-uncial, square minuscule

uses a square-topped a, a superb example of which can be seen in wuma on line 12. This form

fits in with the overall shape of square minuscule, which is rather uniform in terms of height

and letter widths, with interest being added principally by the ascenders and descenders. This

uniformity can be seen through the flattened tops and regular minim shape of h, n, and m

forms (such as in hleona on line 7) and similarity in basic shape of f, s, and r forms, which

differ only in the length of the headstroke between s and r, and the crossbar on the f(such as in

lifer on line 15, where the f and the r are almost identical but for the crossbar). Another

particular feature of square minuscule is the various forms ofy. All three forms are present on

this page: the straight, dotted y appears in hyrwa on line 2; the curved undotted y in hyge on

the same line; and the f-shaped y in bycga on line 9. This inconsistency between the regular

shape ofthe script and the instability of letter forms implies that the script itself was a work in

progress, and that the scribe drew on different influences during the production of the book; it

could also imply that this scribe was learning or not hugely experienced.


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The scribes hand, however, is essentially controlled and neat, despite the slight variation.

Letter forms are mostly consistent with a few exceptions (for example, the discrepancy

between size in forms in ae on line 2 and bide on line 3), and the scribe was clearly

confident in his own hand enough to have signature touches. His g forms have a closed loop

which was unusual for the period but was to become the norm; this can clearly be seen in

geoca on line 18, though the very next word gemyndge contains an open loop. However, this is

the only instance on this page and is not representative of the hand overall. Another of the

scribes idiosyncrasies is the slight decoration he employs on flat-topped letters oft and g. He

adds a small hairline stroke from the top, which looks slightly like an accent mark. Good

examples of this appear in the t ofoft, and in the g ofbrogan, both on line 14. This feature is

not used throughout and nor does it appear to be systematic, which implies that it is purely

decorative and emphasises that the scribe was in control of his hand and script.

The scribe also used other marks to supplement the script, but these were functional. Accent

marks, strong diagonal dashes above words, showed long vowels, such as in onn on line 15.

Similar but horizontal and far smaller are abbreviation marks, to show an elided letter or

cluster. These are slightly more uncommon; there are only three examples on this page

compared to the six accent marks. These are heofonum (line 2), donne (line 6), and am (line

20). These abbreviations serve to replace a final m or n at the end of a word. Since none of

these occurrences appear at the end of lines, it would seem that their use is more to do with

custom and general practice of copying texts than with saving space. The scribe also uses the

crossed as an abbreviation for aet; this occurs twice on the page, on lines 20 and 22. Again,

this is written out in full elsewhere (for example line 6) which would suggest a conventional use

rather than a directly practical one.

The scribes use of punctuation on this page is fairly representative of the book as a whole. He

uses medial points, such as in lines 1, 2, 6 and 11, to signify breaks in the poetry. However, the

use is not regular or systematic and it seems that, while it could indicate a break or pause in

recitation, the use is more for effect upon reading than for any grammatical purpose. The main

use of punctuation aside from medial points in the Exeter book is to signify section or text


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endings. The combination on this page of a colon and a dash indicates that this is a section end,

rather than the ending of a text proper which would warrant a larger combination of

punctuation. The scribe has also used a wrap mark before the final word of the section, to

indicate that it belongs to the previous section and not the following one. These were to avoid

carrying over onto an extra line and to keep the formatting of the next text in line with the rest

of the book.

The wrap marks also ensured that the scribe had enough space to produce the Litterae

Notabiliores that preceded the next text. On this page the initial and the mixed majuscule a

stretch over the two lines of text and a little beyond, but keep within the ruling frame for the

entire text. The initial is still under three lines in height and is therefore quite small; it is also

undecorated with no white space or circular motifs at all, and is supported by only a single

mixed majuscule. This corresponds with the fact that it is only the beginning of a section, and

not the start of a new poem.

The page shows almost all the features that characterise the Exeter Book, both in foundation

and script. The hand itself, with its idiosyncratic traits, and the use of abbreviations and accent

marks epitomise the way the text is written throughout the rest of the book. One of the only

features lacking is that of a decorated Litterae Notabiliore, and a greater variety of mixed

majuscules; or even a drypoint drawing. However the preparation of the parchment and the

writing on this page alone shows that the scribe took a pride in his work and this is echoed

throughout the book.

exeter book commentary (essay)

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