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What script goes on that?
So, you have some illumination in front of you. You didn't do the illumination, there was no included exemplar, and you either can't or don't have time to track down a similar or exact style as an exemplar. What do you do? This is quick guide to figuring it all out (though, of course, the most sure fire way to match a script is to look at an original, period piece).
Well, let's start with the two most basic styles, commonly seen in Meridies:
Bar & Ivy and Celtic Knotwork
Bar & Ivy
Here are some basic bar and ivy styles.
While some of these will come with a protogothic, especially early bar and ivy, my default scripts for these are gothic (I have a preference for gothic textura quadrata at a 1:1:3:1 ratio, with the extra top ratio for spacing and capitals, the second 1 for ascenders, the 3 for the body, and the bottom 1 for the descender) and batarde or another similar secretary hand. Batarde can be tricky and was usually used in poetry books an the like (see the third example, from Canterbury Tales). The super thick ones (like the first example) seem to exclusively have gothic, but that isn't a surefire rule (but not a bad bet for on-the-fly calligraphy). The others can be far more variable. The second and third examples are both thin bar and ivy, yet one uses a gothic style and the other uses a secretary. In that case, either can work really. Just use your best [medieval] aesthetic judgement. But if you have trouble with gothic (as I originally did), a thick batarde tends to work okay as well in a pinch.
Celtic Knotwork
These are the most common knotwork styles seen in Meridies.
The default in Meridies for this style is Uncial. This is not a terrible choice, just not the most accurate. It is, however, an easy early script to learn so I understand its widespread use. (In fact, illumination that actually belongs with uncial isn't widely used due to it's usual lack of... flare.) Very often with the basic interlace, the best bet is actually Insular Majuscule (commonly referred to as the "Book of Kells" script as it is pervasive in Kells, Durrow, and other such manuscripts). This is the case with the first three examples. It can be a little tricky with the flares, but once you figure it out, it's a great script for any knotwork you come across. The fourth example, which isn't always so angular or boxy, is seen in Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, and as such, the script you see is frequently called Saxon, Anglo-Saxon, etc. It is actually called Artificial Uncial, not to be confused with Uncial. It has similar features, but is a distinctly different style and most of the script is in the body (sometimes with a 1:5:1 ratio). Sometimes it is hard to distinguish between the different styles, but make your best guess when you need to. When I'm in doubt, I tend to use the rounder insular majuscle with rounder knotwork and the more angular artificial uncial with sharper shapes.
Like we saw with bar and ivy, there is a book hand used in this period as well. It is called Insuar Miniscule. This is used in earlier, simpler Celtic styles, like this:
but it quickly got relegated to use for notes, like this:
This is still a legitimate script to use with knotwork though. Again, it comes down to using your best [medieval] aesthetic judgement.
*To be continued...
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