There is also the Gothic rotunda, associated for the humanistic study and used for classical as well as vernacular texts.
Let's try to imagine how these small serifs "changes" take place. A scribe decides to make a different mark; beautify an "m" by bending its leg, or lengthen the "e"'s tail. Others scribes like it and may follow the trend. After many years, that anonymous monk's design eventually becomes standard "practice."
As we see, including the design at this time is a social activity.
(One style of the rotunda is associated with the Italian poet Petrarch, and thus with the coming of vernacular literature).
what's vernacular? the speech of the common folk.
it is cool to make your own codex. here's how,