Pre-motor and motor activities in early medieval handwriting

Abstract

After an explanation of bodily experiences and their neurochemical and physiological backgrounds, our focus shifts to movements of hands and fingers influenced by emotions, to be found in the well-known 11th century manuscript "Hebban olla uogala". Analysing this oldest handwritten Flemish poem by comparison to standard orthography and with the help of letter frequencies did not reveal irregularities caused by emotion. The phrase, meant to be a pen test, should therefore be considered as half a pangram. Emotional factors could nevertheless have been present. Gregorian chant notation in the upper corner of the manuscript suggests that the poem was accompanied by a melody, possibly within some choral setting. The emotional benefits of choral singing are finally considered.