Volume / Number: 2 / 186

• London United Kingdom British Library Cotton MS Nero A. II (foll. 14–45)

Origin uncertain. Verona has been suggested because of the abbreviation for 'misericordiam'. Some graphic features, too, speak for North Italy. But a Romanic centre north of Italy is not to be excluded, if the spelling ci for soft ti is any guide. The exemplar came from an Irish centre, as contents and ornamentation suggest, and was written in 767, as appears from the chronological note on fol. 35v, which cannot be the date of our MS.

Script is a not very expert pre-Caroline minuscule: a is closed; the upper eye of e rises above the line as in Beneventan; i-longa is used, but not regularly; the left branch of the cross-stroke of t forms an open bow; z resembles uncial G with a wavy flourish to the right; ligatures of fi, ri, te, ti are frequent.

☛Bischoff, Katalog 2 no. 2421.

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