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For some years Malcolm B. Parkes's English Cursive Book Hands 12501500 has defined Anglicana as a cursive script1 written in a rapid duct facilitated by curved, connecting strokes, which developed a distinct and dateable morphology in several letterforms, including the "d."2 According to Parkes, the downstroke of the looped ascender of the "d" transitions between the end of the thirteenth and the beginning of the fourteenth century from a high-contrast diagonal (that is, wider than the vertical strokes, see Parkes's Plate 1 (i), late thirteenth century) to a relatively even stroke (proportional to the vertical strokes, see Parkes's Plate 1 (ii), mid-fourteenth century).3 Parkes attributes this change in contrast to a change in pen angle, from "very oblique" to "almost upright":
Scribes changed the angle of the pen from very oblique to almost upright. This is most immediately obvious in such details as the elimination of the heavy diagonal stroke in the looped ascender of d. The handwriting appears to be more vertical, and the strokes acquired added dimension.4
Some questions arise from Parkes's claim, which has been accepted by other paleographers and manuscript scholars. First, what does Parkes mean by "angle of the pen"? Does he mean the angle of nib cut?5 The angle of pen shaft? The direction of stroke?
Parkes argues that in the second half of the thirteenth century, as subsidiary features of letterforms were exaggerated for "calligraphic effect," the duct slowed and the pen was held at an oblique angle, constructing heavy contrast in diagonal downstrokes (see the loop of the Anglicana "d").6 In the beginning of the fourteenth century, as calligraphic reform reprioritized ease ofwriting and legible graphs, the duct quickened, and the pen was held at an upright angle, reducing the contrast in diagonal downstrokes. So, in the span of half a century, Parkes argues pen angle transitioned from about 45 degrees, or perhaps even 135 degrees,7 to about 90 degrees. Is such a dramatic change in pen angle realistic? Is it possible to find the angle of the writing instrument in letterforms preserved on the manuscript page?8 If so, do existing angles give evidence of this change in pen angle? If not, then what change in instrument or approach caused the attenuation of the downstroke of the...