|15th Century English Chancery Hand| Script Type : minuscule
Date : 15th century Location : England |This sample comes from a
petition of 1439 in the National Archives, London
(E.28/file59/No.57). By permission of the National Archives.|
|Unfortunately medieval scribes did not design the shape of
their documents for the computer screen. The upper picture shows
the form of the document, only legible if your eyesight is
exceptional, while the lower one is a grab from one corner to
show the letter forms. The petition is from William Pencrych, a
Welsh cleric, who lent 20 pounds to William Tame, Archdeacon of
St David's and never got paid back. I must confess to childish
amusement about the idea of him petitioning the king about this.
The language is English and the script is the form of bastarda
which was specific to the English chancery.| |Pass cursor over
letters to see enlarged examples taken from the page illustrated
above.| Distinctive letters : This is a neat and clear chancery
hand that is relatively easy