Thanks, Patrick, this is very interesting to look at. One thing I wonder is if the hypothesis holds that the first bifolio was for practice. Would a later herbal A bifolio give more consistent results?
Some people also have naturally varied handwriting. This is one of the reasons why my own handwriting is very ugly - I admire people who can be consistent like a typewriter. The differences between some of these types are small enough that they may occur naturally within the same hand. So then I assume we'd look for the dominant type, what the scribe is most likely aiming at.
Edit to add: I tried something similar a few months ago but had to give up. The inconsistency was driving me crazy. You seem to have a firmer grasp on the situation
Some people also have naturally varied handwriting. This is one of the reasons why my own handwriting is very ugly - I admire people who can be consistent like a typewriter. The differences between some of these types are small enough that they may occur naturally within the same hand. So then I assume we'd look for the dominant type, what the scribe is most likely aiming at.
Edit to add: I tried something similar a few months ago but had to give up. The inconsistency was driving me crazy. You seem to have a firmer grasp on the situation