There were two forms of ancient Greek handwriting, uncial and minuscule. According to the manner they were written, NT manuscripts are designated as uncial or minuscule.
Uncial are derived from the capital letters used in stone inscriptions, but their corners are rounded off to facilitate writing. As a matter of convention, uncial letters are not joined together and words are written without division between them. Uncial was used for literary purposes, and NT manuscripts written earlier than 10th Cent were written in uncial letters.
Minuscule is also often called cursive; the letters are connected though much less continuous than modern English handwriting. Minuscule was used for non-literary purposes like personal correspondence, business and legal documents; it is likely that Paul's letters were probably written in minuscule, though no minuscule NT manuscripts from 1st Cent are known.
One of the earliest manuscripts of the Gospels, but also the earliest manuscript to carry a date, dates to 835.
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