(16-03-2016, 04:05 PM)Anton wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.(16-03-2016, 03:11 PM)Wladimir D wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Then it turns out that the gallows written last on the page, since the bad pen affects only the gallows.
Good observation! Althouth another possible explanation is that the specific movement of the bad quill which produced this defect is utilized only when inscribing the gallows. Also, I think that vord 4 in the second line (qockchar) has its r defective in the same way.
There's something going on with those gallows in the first and second row (f6v). If the quill were defective, the first stem and the "o" would also be thicker or filled more significantly. The "quill defect" is only affecting one letter.
It looks like an attempt to draw it differently, perhaps to add in emphasis (which, by the way is a characteristic of pilcrows, to make one stem a little thicker than others but I'm not suggesting that's the reason for it in this case, only noting the fact for information purposes).
The gallows look like they were drawn with the right-hand stem first (after the left-hand stem is in place) and then the extra loop and thicker stem to the left of the right-hand stem (the one touching it) added as a second stroke slightly to the left to thicken it. It's very unlikely the second stroke is to correct a defect, since other letters would have defects from a bad quill and you can see the same process, unfinished, on the gallows in the middle of the third line—the scribe started to add a second stroke and stopped partway down and the subsequent gallows does not have the second stroke, as though he maybe decided it wasn't such a good idea to keep doing it.
Also, for interest's sake...
Look at the EVA-r glyphs at the bottom of the same page (6v) and the "or" on the last line...
Not only are some of them darker, as though they may all have been added at the same time after the main text, but look at the weird spacing. They do not follow "comfortably" from the previous characters in terms of word-letter spacing as if they were written in sequence and they are clearly not re-inked. The darker ink by itself might mean redipping the quill (although it doesn't explain why the subsequent letter isn't also darker) but combined with the odd spacing, it is worth noting.
There are many sections of the VMS that look like they might have been constructed in two passes.