Editing Uncial script (section)

==National styles==
Due to its extremely widespread use, in [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]], [[North Africa in the Roman era|Africa]]n, [[Italy in the Middle Ages|Italian]], [[France in the Middle Ages|French]], [[Spain in the Middle Ages|Spanish]], and "insular" ([[Early Christian Ireland|Irish]], [[Wales in the Early Middle Ages|Welsh]], and [[England in the Early Middle Ages|English]]) centres, there were many slightly different styles in use:

* African (i.e. [[North Africa during the Classical Period|Roman North Africa]]n) uncial is more angular than other forms of uncial. In particular, the bow of the letter {{angbr|a}} is particularly sharp and pointed.
* Byzantine uncial has two variants, each with unique features: "b-d uncial" uses forms of {{angbr|b}} and {{angbr|d}} which are closer to half-uncial (see below), and was in use in the 4th and 5th centuries; "b-r" uncial, in use in the 5th and 6th centuries, has a form of {{angbr|b}} that is twice as large as the other letters, and an {{angbr|r}} with a bow resting on the baseline and the stem extending below the baseline.
* Italian uncial has flatter tops on the round letters ({{angbr|c}}, {{angbr|e}}, {{angbr|o}} etc.), and a sharp bow (as in African uncial), an almost horizontal rather than vertical stem in {{angbr|d}}, and forked finials (i.e., [[serif]]s in some letters such as {{angbr|f}}, {{angbr|l}}, {{angbr|t}} and {{angbr|s}}).
* Insular uncial (not to be confused with the separate [[Insular script]]) generally has definite word separation, and accent marks over stressed syllables, probably because Irish scribes did not speak a language descended from Latin. They also use specifically Insular [[scribal abbreviation]]s not found in other uncial forms, use wedge-shaped [[finial]]s, connect a slightly subscript "pendant {{angbr|i}}" with {{angbr|m}} or {{angbr|h}} (when at the end of a word), and decorate the script with animals and dots ("Insular dotting", often in groups of three).
* French (that is, [[Merovingian script|Merovingian]]) uncial uses thin descenders (in {{angbr|g}}, {{angbr|p}} etc.), an {{angbr|x}} with lines that cross higher than the middle, and a {{angbr|d}} with a curled stem (somewhat resembling an apple), and there are many decorations of fish, trees, and birds.
* {{Anchor|ustav|semi-ustav|poluustav}}[[Cyrillic]] manuscript developed from Greek uncial in the late ninth century (mostly replacing the [[Glagolitic alphabet]]), and was originally used to write the [[Old Church Slavonic]] liturgical language. The earlier form was called ''ustav'' (predominant in the 11–14th centuries), and later developed into ''semi-ustav'' script (or ''[[poluustav]]'', 15–16th centuries).