Scribal Hands

At least two scribes were needed to complete the painstaking work of copying, transcription, and illustration of the manuscript. Page 79 recto and 141 verso feature the hand of rather unusual scribes, shifting from confident professionalism into a less-practiced, wandering letter formation and calligraphic connections. An apprentice or perhaps an interested child took over the pen, wrote several lines, then returned the work to the expert. 

Courtesy of Penn Libraries. Reproduced with permission.