Not an inch of wasted space

Take a close look at line 20.  Anything look off to you?  While reading semi-gothic cursive script (and in Latin, at that) is not always easy, the last half of line 20 is seemingly completely illegible.  That’s because it’s not words at all – the pen-work here is simply to fill in the rest of the line for aesthetic reasons.  You’ll also see this kind of pen-work when the scribe tested the flow of ink from the quill.

 

f. 8v, Anonymous, De cura sterilitatis mulierum and De infirmitatis occulorum, mid-14th century, 10a 135