ABSTRACT
The graphic requirements of written language do not change but letter shapes do. The outlines of letter shapes could be modified, so long as the essential elements at cue-height (which enable readers to identify letters) were not altered to such an extent that the modifications would impair a reader’s ability to recognize these elements easily. The most frequent modifications in a set hand were introduced by scribes to embellish letter shapes. Style in handwriting is characterized by features of penmanship chosen and developed for conspicuous effect, but the choice of appropriate features and effects was determined by a prevailing sense of decorum shared by contemporary scribes and readers.1 Features of style and the character of the penmanship, like the sense of decorum, have always been subject to changes of fashion.
