INSULAR, SCRIPT AND MINIATURE. — The Latin script of Great Britain between the 7th–9th centuries and of Ireland between the 7th–12th centuries is today collectively referred to by the name of *insulare* (insular), first applied to it by L. Traube. It belongs to the group of national scripts, yet it has a distinct origin and development from the others. Moreover, it extended—naturally under different influences—to the Continent, in monastic centres that were established by the evangelical activity of Irish and Anglo-Saxon monks in France, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy. Properly speaking, *insulare* is essentially distinguished into two types: a rounded script and a minuscule; the intermediate type, which Steffens calls “semitoronda” (half-round Irish-Anglo-Saxon script), is rather a transitional form.
I. INSULAR ROTUNDA
This is the oldest type of insular script (7th–8th centuries), immediately succeeding a mimetic phase in which classical Roman forms (especially uncial and semi-uncial) were reproduced. These had reached Ireland and Britain with Christian evangelization. For a long time it was believed that the new forms originated in Ireland and from there spread among the Anglo-Saxons; today, however, the opposite view is more commonly held, though the question remains substantially open. It can only be stated with certainty that insular rotunda derives from uncial and semi-uncial scripts and thus appears as a mixed script in which the ascending strokes are so reduced that even letters of minuscule form are almost always contained within a bilinear system—hence the improper name “maiuscola insulare.” Its rounded ductus is the fundamental distinguishing feature, but the most characteristic sign is a triangular top (the “wolf’s tooth”) that caps the long vertical strokes on the upper left, and sometimes even the short ones (i, u). Due to runic influence, this feature is also transmitted to insular minuscule. Among the individual letters (cf. table, no. 1) the following are noteworthy: *a*, formed of two curved strokes, the left one thicker and closed in a ring over the right; *b*, in minuscule form, with a short, slightly curved left stroke and a very broad bowl; *d*, almost always in uncial form, with the upper stroke strongly bent to the left, almost parallel to the line; *f*, in majuscule form but in minuscule position, with the lower horizontal stroke resting on the line and the vertical stroke descending below it; *l*, with a wavy stem; *n*, often in majuscule form, with the middle stroke almost horizontal.A distinction between the insular rotunda of England and that of Ireland is not paleographically possible, nor perhaps justified, although Irish products are generally recognized as having a more angular and less regular stroke.
II. INSULAR MINUSCULE
In the 8th century a minuscule form of script gained ascendancy, the origin of which has not yet been sufficiently clarified. It must, however, be recognized—at least in part—as the result of a new fusion of elements already present in the rotunda, in order to meet the need for simpler and quicker execution. For this reason, its use was initially confined to documents, though never reaching truly cursive forms, and only in the 9th century did it triumph as a book script. It is rich in ligatures; letters are elongated rather than broad, with very angular strokes and descending strokes ending in a point. At first it retains some uncial elements, especially the round *s*, but in its period of greatest development only the *d* is found in this form. Characteristic letters (cf. table, no. 2) include: *a*, in cursive form (open) or closed in three different ways: with the ring topped by an oblique stroke from left to right; with the ring topped by a horizontal stroke; or with a curved ring; *b*, with the left stroke short and slightly curved and the bowl very wide; *d*, almost always in uncial form, with the upper stroke strongly bent to the left, almost parallel to the line; *e* that, in ligature, projects above the line; *p*, with an open belly ending in a thick dot; *r*, with the left stroke descending below the line and the complementary stroke very elongated downward; *s*, in which the upper curved stroke stiffens into two broken strokes, the first obliquely ascending, the second, thicker, vertically descending. Other signs are also encountered (cf. table, no. 3) to express the sounds *th* and *w*: the former is rendered with an insular *d* cut by an oblique stroke, and later with the runic sign *dorn* (= *d*); the latter with the runic sign *wen*, very similar to a Latin *p*. The influence of runic script is also seen in a particular majuscule alphabet, used especially for titles (cf. table, no. 4).In insular minuscule the distinction between Anglo-Saxon and Irish forms is more pronounced than in the rotunda; the former has a freer, more sweeping stroke with broader curves, while the latter is rigid, angular, with strong contrasts and less development of long strokes. This aspect becomes even more pronounced in the 11th century, when the Norman conquest in England suppressed all remnants of the script, which, however, survived in Ireland in thicker, stereotyped forms still used today for Gaelic texts.
Abbreviations. — Without entering into the debate on the origin of insular-type abbreviations and their relationship to Continental systems, it should be noted that texts from the British Isles abound in abbreviations derived from the Tironian system and from legal *notae*, some of which are later found on the Continent (v. ABBREVIATORE). Also frequent are certain characteristic compendia (for, pro, propter, proprius, quam, quia, quis, et reliqua, etc.) that have no counterpart in other Latin scripts.
III. INSULAR MINIATURE
In manuscripts from England and Ireland, miniature art exhibits features markedly different from those of other countries; however, recent studies (Masai) have shown that these are not original Celtic elements but rather motifs already known, employed in goldsmithing and transferred, first to England and then to Ireland, where they were adapted to manuscript illumination. The symbols of the Evangelists in the Book of Kells (8th–9th centuries) are a prime example.
INSULAR, SCRIPT AND MINIATURE — Symbols of the Evangelists.
Detail of a miniature from the Book of Kells (8th–9th centuries).
Dublin, Trinity College Library.
BIBL.:
L. Traube, *O Roma nobilis*, München 1924, pp. 1–10;
F. Steffens, *Lateinische Paläographie*², Trier 1909, pp. 110–112;
E. Mâle, *L’art religieux du VIIe au XIIe siècle*, Paris 1922, pp. 150–155;
F. Masai, *Irlande et Europe dans la première moitié du moyen âge*, Bruxelles 1950.
Instructions indicate that only the provided text should be translated, preserving all specified elements. Here is the translation:
The tablatures are classified according to the type of instruments (organ tablature, harpsichord tablature, lute tablature, guitar tablature) and taking into account the different countries (Italian, French, German, Spanish tablature) and the particular systems of notation (alphabetic, musical, figured, mixed). In German tablatures for organ and harpsichord, alphabetic notation was preferred: from A to G for the 1st octave, from a to g for the 2nd, from a to g for the 3rd, and from a to g for the 4th octave (H stands for B). For chromatic alteration and rhythmic values, there were special signs (dashes and codes variously arranged and placed). Italian tablatures for organ and harpsichord are set on two staves, the lower one often having a greater number of lines (e.g., 7). Two clefs on the same staff facilitate reading.
Figured notation was widely used by Spanish masters (both for keyboard instruments and for plucked string instruments). In it, the numbers from 1 to 15 correspond to an extension of two octaves. 1 - LA; ninth