As the name indicates, littera hybrida is a mixture of scripts. It combines features of both littera textualis and littera cursiva. The script can be defined either as a textualis with a 'simple' a and descending hastes of f and long s, or otherwise as a cursive without loops but with straight hastes of b, h, k and l. Littera hybrida matured during the Council of Constance (1414-1418) and was introduced on a large scale in northwestern Europe around 1425. It competed with cursiva with great success and grew to be the 'national' script of the Low Countries, even dethroning textualis as the most common script for books. In liturgical manuscripts, however, hybrida was hardly ever used.

Literature

• J.P. Gumbert, 'Iets over laatmiddeleeuwse schrifttypen, hun onderscheidingen en hun benamingen', Archief- en bibliotheekwezen in België 46 (1975), pp. 273-282.
• Pieter Obbema, 'De opkomst van een nieuw schrifttype: de littera hybrida', in: idem, De middeleeuwen in handen. Over de boekcultuur in de late middeleeuwen. Hilversum1996, pp. 69-76.

Sample

• The Hague, KB : ms. 73 G 32, f. 30r; Weesp, 1457

[...]

van ledewich horen man Dat iij boec

ier lust mi mit corten woerden

wat te seggen van lodowich den

gloriosen prince van doringen · op

dat he die weerdich was in desen

leuen gheselscap te hebben mit hoer

nv niet vreemde en si van horen

loue · want hi was een suet toe-

troester ende en mede werker alle

der weldaden die si dede · Ende wie

[...]

The Hague, KB : ms. 73 G 32