Meanings
- The s character with a form of the short s (round s) looking like a small B in some Gothic hands like Textualis (Textura) or Gothic Cursiva.
In Cursiva Libraria and Formata, closed round s appears mostly to have been traced in two strokes: a curved or straight vertical stroke and a 3-shaped second stroke [...].
2003, Albert Derolez, The Palaeography of Gothic Manuscript Books, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, page 1512 more examples
an example of the type of cursive practised in Germany from s. xiii, of medium quality (German cursiva media), which owes a great deal to the influence of cursiva anglicana, seen in the rounded loops, the descent of the final minims of h and m below the line, and the closed round s [...].
1990, Michelle P. Brown, A Guide to Western Historical Scripts from Antiquity to 1600, page 104On the foundation of textualis rotunda are grafted cursive features reminiscient of anglicana, such as the closed round s, loops, and descending final minims of h, m, and n.
1997, Faith Wallis, “The “Book of the Head” in Osler Library MS 7586”, in Jacqueline Brown and William P. Stoneman, editor, A distinct voice : medieval studies in honor of Leonard E. Boyle, O.P., page 121
Cite this entry
closed round s. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/closed%20round%20s
“closed round s.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/closed%20round%20s. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “closed round s,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/closed%20round%20s.
Source: closed round s on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.