When in doubt as to the type of Capital--for any purpose--use Roman Capitals.
Examples: _Half-Uncials_--fig. 6 (Roman); Plate VI. (Irish), Plate VII. (English) fig. 170 _later_; see also pp. 40, 44, 413-415. _Uncials_ (Plate IV. and p. 38). [p304]
[Illustration: FIG. 170.--_Part of an English eight-century MS._ (_British Museum, Case C, No. 68), enlarged three times linear._]
The main types are the "round" Uncial and Half-Uncial, commonly written with an approximately "_straight pen_."[77] They are generally treated as _fine writing_ (p. 262), and _written between ruled lines_: this has a marked effect in preserving their roundness (see p. 414).
They are very useful as _copy-book_ hands (see p. 70), for though the smooth gradation of their curves, their thin strokes, and their general elegance unfit them for many practical purposes, yet their essential _roundness_, _uprightness_, and _formality_ afford the finest training to the penman, and prevent him from falling into an angular, slanting, or lax hand. Their very great beauty, moreover, makes them well worth practising, and even justifies their use (in a modernised form) for special MSS., for the more romantic books--such as poetry and "fairy tales"--and generally where speed in writing _or reading_ is not essential.
With an eye trained and a hand disciplined by the practice of an Irish or English Half-Uncial, or a modified type, such as is given in fig. 50, the penman may easily acquire some of the more practical later "slanted-pen" types.
_Carlovingian ninth-century MS._--_Fig. 8_ (_enlarged, fig. 171_): [p305]
_English tenth-century MS.--Plate VIII._ (_enlarged, fig. 172_):
_English eleventh-century MS.--Plate IX._ (_enlarged, fig. 173_):
_Italian twelfth-century MS.--Plate X._ (_enlarged, fig. 174_).
The use of the "slanted pen" generally produced _stronger_, _narrower_, and _stiffer_ letters. Its effects are detailed in pp. 43-47, and fig. 11, and may best be studied in the tenth-century example (fig. 172--the letter forms are described on p. 416).
In the Carlovingian MS.--which does not show these effects in any marked degree--we may note the wide letter forms, the wide spacing, the long stems (thickened above by additional strokes), the slight slope of the letters, and the general effect of gracefulness and freedom (see fig. 171). Carlovingian MSS. may be said to represent a sort of mediæval _copy-books_, and their far-reaching influence on writing makes them of great interest to the modern penman, who would, moreover, find one of these hands an excellent model for a free "formal hand."