Read The Script The Fonts Downloads About

The Fonts

Four styles, one scribal hand

EBH is an open-source digital revival of the calligraphic style of the Exeter Book scribe. 300+ glyphs. SIL Open Font License.

EBH Facsimile
Oft him anhaga
The primary font, complete with Old English characters (eth, thorn, wynn, ash), historical ligatures, archaic letterforms (bowed R, long S, three forms of Y), medieval punctuation, and abbreviation marks.
EBH Alternates
Exeter Book Hand
Contemporary characters interpreted in the scribal hand — includes J, W, and modern numerals. Designed for titles and display use where historical accuracy gives way to legibility.
EBH Alt 1.1
New in version 1.1
The newest version of the alternates family, with refined letterforms and improved spacing for on-screen use.
EBH Initials
ABCD
Enlarged and often decorated initial letters used to mark the beginning of each poem. Draws on both the manuscript initials and new interpretations in the Germanic–Celtic tradition.
EBH Runes
ᚠᚢᚦᚩᚱᚳ
Old English runes (the futhorc) as they appear in the Exeter Book — in the riddles and runic signatures of the poet Cynewulf — plus additional runes in use during the 10th century.

Interactive Specimen

Type in the scribal hand

Type any text below and see it rendered in EBH. Switch fonts and try enabling different OpenType features.

Oft him anhaga are gebideð, metudes miltse
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Glyph Reference

All characters

Every glyph in the selected font, rendered live from the font file using opentype.js.

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OpenType Features

Ligatures & alternates

EBH fonts use three OpenType features: liga (standard ligatures), fina (final forms), and aalt (all alternates). Most design applications enable ligatures by default. In Microsoft Word, enable them via Format → Font → Advanced → Ligatures.

Alternative glyphs are accessed by combining keys. For example in EBH Facsimile, there are three forms of lowercase y: y (curved), y2 (straight-sided), and y3 (F-shaped, from the insular gospel books). A full glyph reference is available in the download package.