I am also uncertain if the variations in the d-shape are meaningful. And that's after creating 4 transcripts and looking at each glyph many times.
In most Latin texts, the d shape (as it is shaped in the VMS) is usually 8, sometimes it's d or s (but less commonly so). The less-common VMS d with a straight stem often seems deliberate, and is even sometimes a slight distance apart so that it looks like a ligature of c + loop.
Is it a normal variation in shape, with no difference in meaning? Or is it possibly a ligature and that's why it varies more than someone would normally vary an 8-shape?
There is a cl ligature in Latin. I see it fairly frequently, but the loop is usually longer than the loop on the VMS d, so the shapes are not perfect copies of each other.
In most Latin texts, the d shape (as it is shaped in the VMS) is usually 8, sometimes it's d or s (but less commonly so). The less-common VMS d with a straight stem often seems deliberate, and is even sometimes a slight distance apart so that it looks like a ligature of c + loop.
Is it a normal variation in shape, with no difference in meaning? Or is it possibly a ligature and that's why it varies more than someone would normally vary an 8-shape?
There is a cl ligature in Latin. I see it fairly frequently, but the loop is usually longer than the loop on the VMS d, so the shapes are not perfect copies of each other.