The Anglo-Saxon alphabet, and the forms and sounds of the letters, are
shown in the following table:—
[Illustration]
Two useful Anglo-Saxon letters have disappeared from modern
English,—namely, Þ or þ th (_th_in), and Ð or ð th (_th_ine).
The Anglo-Saxon letters which vary from those now used were doubtless
mere corruptions of the Roman forms,—viz. the capitals A, C, E, G, H, M,
S, and W, and the small letters d, f, g, i, r, s, t, and w. Several marks
of abbreviation were used by the Saxons, as ꝥ _that_, ⁊ _and_, &c. These
were not original members of the alphabet, but were introduced probably
for despatch.
About the year 1567, John Daye, who was patronized by Archbishop Parker,
cut the first Saxon types which were used in England. In this year,
_Asserius Menevensis_ was published by the direction of the archbishop in
these characters; in the same year, Archbishop Ælfric’s _Paschal Homily_;
and in 1571, the _Saxon Gospels_.
On the two following pages will be found a plan of cases for Saxon types.
[Illustration: SAXON UPPER CASE.]
[Illustration: SAXON LOWER CASE.]