(Also known as Caroline miniscule). A calligraphy script in use in Europe from the eighth through the eleventh century. Carolingian minuscule was created partly under the patronage of the Emperor Charlemagne (hence Carolingian). It was more legible than earlier scripts and offered new features, such as lower-case letters and spaces between words. Web resource here.

Detail from Cod. Sang. 317 (p. 9). St. Gall Abbey Library. St. Gall, Switzerland. 9th c.