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DAVID HARRIS

DORLING KINDERSLEY LONDON • NEW YORK • STUTTGART

A DORLING KINDER$LEY BOOK

Project editor Louise Candlish Art editor Liz Brown Assistant editor David T Walton Assistant designer Carla De Abreu Senior editor Roger Tritton

Senior art editor Tracy Hambleton-Miles DTP designer Zirrinia Austin Managing editor Sean Moore Managing art editor Toni Kay

Production controller Meryl Silbert Picture research Julia Harris- Voss, Jo Walton Photography Steve Gorton, Andy Crawford

First published in Great Bri tain in 1995 by Darling Kindersley Limited,

9 Henrietta Street, London WC2E 8PS

Copyright © 1995 Darling Kindersley Limited, London Text copyright © 1995 David Harris

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

A eIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 0 751301493

Colour reproduction by GRB Editrice s .. r.l.

Printed in Singapore by Toppan Printing Co. (S) Pte Ltd

Introduction 6

The Development of Western Script 8 Script Timeline 12

Getting Started 14

Contents

ROMAN & LATE ROMAN SCRIPTS Rustic Capitals 16

Square Capitals 20

Uncial & Artifical Uncial 24

INSULAR & NATIONAL SCRIPTS Insular Majuscule 28

Insular Minuscule 34

Bastard Capitals 78 Cadels 80

'ITALIAN & HUMANIST SCRIPTS Rotunda 84

Rotunda Capitals 88 Humanist Minuscule 90

Italic 94

Humanist & Italic Capitals 98 Italic Swash Capitals 100

POST-RENAISSANCE SCRIPTS Copperplate 102 Copperplate Capitals 106

CAROLINE & EARLY GOTHIC SCRIPTS

Caroline Minuscule 38 Foundational Hand 42 Early Gothic 46

GOTHIC SCRIPTS 'Textura Quadrata 50 'Textura Prescisus 54

Gothic Capitals & Versals 58 Lorn bardic Capitals 62 Bastard Secretary 66

Batarde 70

Fraktur & Schwabacher 74

ROMAN & LATE ROMAN SCRIPTS Imperial Capitals 108

Script Reference Chart 120 Glossary 122

Bibliography 124

Index & Acknowledgments 125

INTRODUCTION

BOOK PRODUCTION The production of a manuscript book is

a complex business, requiring the skills of

numerous craftsmen.

GENERALLY, LATIN-BASED scripts fall into two categories: formal - that

is scripts used as the instrument of authority; and informal- the cursive or quickly written scripts used for everyday transactions. History repeatedly shows formal scripts degenerating into cursive forms, which are, in turn, upgraded, fmally achieving formal status as new hands in their own right. The pages of historical analysis in this book chart the rise, fall, and revival of these hands, and explain the emergence

of other Significant scripts.

Practical advice

Following the historical study of each script is a practical guide to

the construction of the letters in

that hand. A complete alphabet is included, showing the separate strokes needed to produce each letter, and indicating the probable sequence

of these strokes. To the left of this alphabet, the chief characteristics

of the script are described and demonstrated in a separate panel.

The appearance of a script is influenced by a range of practical factors, including the cut of the nib used to write it. Full information about tools is given for each script.

Introduction

FOR 2,000 YEARS, the western Latin alphabet has developed and been modified by a vast range of social and technological changes, providing a rich and varied resource for the modern calligrapher to quarry. This book charts that development, presenting scripts

in both historical and practical contexts. Calligraphers of all levels will be able to explore the origins of each script and understand anew the construction of

the 26 letters that we use every day.

Ascender line I

MAGNIFYING GLASS A magnifying glass or eyeglass is a valuable aid to examining the leuerforms in historical manuscripts shown in this book.

Copttal hne

Majuscule (capital leuer, upper·case leuer}

Stem letter

(main stroke) space

Headline I (waistline, _l./ine)

~PMa"ale I Baseline

Descender Ii ne

LEITER ANATOMY

In order to identify or construct scripts, it is essential to become familiar with the vocabulary of calligraphy. Unfortunately, there is no agreed standard nomenclature, so terms used in this book are those most commonly favoured by calligraphers and palaeographers, Alternative terms, including those used by typographers,

are shown here in brackets. For example, the

headline is known to some calligraphers as the "waistline" and to typographers as the "x-line". Although these letters represent only a few characters, the terms used to describe their components are applicable to all the letters ill the alphabet. A full glossary of the calligraphic terms used in this book is also included (pp. 122-123).

6

Minuscule

Coum., (lower·case

leuer}

.~.-

I Pen • width

Bowl (bow,

curved nroke) Cross stroke (crossbar)

Horizantal JOOI

I • I

\-- __ Hairline tail

Foot

I NTROD VCT/ON

This anal. indicates the dearee rf joma rd lea n if the leuet; in ,hi, case, d,e anal. is dose to 10°

The minim heiah' rf this f isjour pen width,

LEITER HEIGHT AND PEN ANGLE The height of a letter is calculated in pen widths, shown in this book to the lefr of the letter in the form of a "ladder". Each script is drawn with the pen held at one particular angle. The figures used to indicate this angle refer to degrees to the horizontal. Where relevant, the approximate angle of the forward lean of a letter is also given. This is measured in degrees to the vertical.

---~ The heioht rf ,he ascender is about three pen widths

400 __ The pen is held at an anal. if 40° to the hod ZOnta I

r--------- This leuer is writ'.n with a "slanted" pen (square-cut nib)

STROKE SEQUENCE

A recommended sequence of strokes is given for all 26 letters of each script. The use of transparent colours makes it dear where a stroke crosses or overlaps with another.

The firs, leuer in the sequence shows "he model that you should jO//OlV - in this example, a Caroline "'iousc'lle f (pp. 40-41)

The s'llSitivity if a quill pen makes it an ideal 1001 jor drawing hairlines

An arrow-head indicates where tbe

strobe finishes and the pen i, Ifted

The black arrow indicates the prowess if the fim stroke; on reaching the baseline, the pen is pushed bock Over thcfim stroke and upwards

The second uroke creales the ascender ~f' the letter and,finally, the crossbar is added with a third Stroke

WRITING TOOLS

Some materials and implements are more suitable for an accurate representation of a script than others. For instance, most scribes writing before 1500 used either parchment or vellum, which remain to this day two of the finest writing surfaces. Frequently, the writing implement is of equal importance. For a Batarde letter (lift), it would be' difficult to achieve the very fine lines with any other implement than a sharply cut quill. Advice

on the selection of surfaces and writing tools

is given in "Getting Started" (1'1'. 14-15).

_____ The quill has been shorn if most if its barbs, makina il easier to handle

Model scripts

The search for a definitive model

for any particular hand is virtually impossible. Within each script there are endless variations, ranging from the excessively formal to the almost indecipherable. Therefore the scripts included in the practical pages of this book are actually a synthesis of various different styles, and should be used to prompt your own personal redefinition of the hands. Manuscript sources

By definition, a script is a system

of handwritten characters, and the majority of the scripts included in this book come from manuscript sources. Where appropriate, an enlargement of a section from an important manuscript is shown, often revealing the basic ductus of the script under scrutiny and giving invaluable clues to the construction of letterforms. Imperial Capitals

One Significant script included in this book must be regarded separately from the rest - the Roman Imperial Capital. A product of the brush and not the pen, it was, until recently, not accepted as a script at all. Due to its complexity and importance to modern calligraphy and typography, it is explored in depth in a section at the end of the book. For the first time, the origins and structure of all 26 letters are demonstrated in an easily accessible way (pp. 108-1 J 9). Left-handed work

The step-by-step letters demonstrated in this book are the work of a righthanded calligrapher. Left-handed calligraphers can follow the same angles and stroke sequences, but might find it useful to adjust their normal vvriting position to the "underarm" position: tuck the arm inwards, turn the hand to the left, and shift the paper down to the right.

ibs cut obliquely from top right to bottom left can also be very useful.

7

THE DEVELOPMENT OF WESTER SCRIPT

The Development of Western Script

THE FIRST ALPHABET evolved in Phoenicia in about 1200 B.C .. This was adapted in the eighth century B.C. by the Greeks, whose letterforms were borrowed by the Etruscans and, in turn, by the Romans. All subsequent Western scripts have evolved from Roman originals. The scripts in this book are grouped in six categories: Roman and Late Roman Scripts (pp. 16-27, 108-119), Insular and National Scripts (pp. 28-37), Caroline and Early Gothic Scripts (pp. 38-49), Gothic Scripts (pp. 50-83), Italian and Humanist Scripts (pp. 84-101), and Post-Renaissance Scripts (pp. 102-107). The duration of each script is shown in a timeline (pp. 12-13).

PROBABLY the most important event in the history of Western script was the Roman adoption of the Etruscan alphabet. By the first century B. C., the Romans had developed several scripts. One was a quickly penned, cursive script used for correspondence, scratched onto a wax tablet or written with a reed pen on papyrus. This hand was influential in the development of the minuscule letter, including the Half Uncial (pp. 38-39). Another key script was the Rustic Capital, used in manuscript, signwritten,

and inscribed forms (pp. 16-17). Imperial Capitals

The third Roman hand produced by the first century B.C., now known as the Imperial Capital, was used in both stone-carved and brush-drawn form (pp. 108-109). Over 2,000 years later, the letters of the script provide the basis of our modern capitals.

By the fourth century, the Square Capital, a modified de luxe bookhand, had also emerged (pp. 20-21).

Another important script that had its origins during the Roman period was the Uncial [pp. 24--25). Similar in form to the Greek Uncial that preceded it, this was developed for use by the early Christian Church.

ETRUSCAN LETTERS These letters have been written in Oscan,

an ancient I talian language derived from Etruscan. In addition to the writing system, almost every aspect of Etruscan culture was adopted by the Romans, including the legal

and military systems.

This terracoua tabl .. , rf a ')'pe used to mark proper')' and land, shows clearly recoSnizoble leueiforms, such as ~hiS cbaraaer, which resembles an OVefwrned E

THE LATIN ALPHABET

This inscription from the base of the Trajan Column, Rome, is one of the finest surviving examples of Imperial Capitals (pp. 108-109).

The.oldest Latin alphabet contained 21 characters, as opposed to the Etruscan 20. By late Roman times, the Latin alphabet had 23 characters, the two additional characters - Yand Z - having been taken from the Greek Upsilon and Zeta. All of these characters have survived for modem use, with the addition in medieval

times of letters j, U, and W.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF WESTER I SCRIPT

CHARcLEMAGNE AND ALCUIN In many ways. the eighth-century Emperor Charlemagne modelled himself and his court on his Roman forebears.

Roman influence in the Frankish Empire was particularly

important in the areas of learning and scholarship, in which the emperor was aided by a prominent monk from York named Alcuin Under Alwin's abborship from 796- 804, the great scriptorium at Tours, France, was founded.

Here, the Caroline Minuscule was created (pp. 38-39).

Th. rounded lip if ,he penknife susgests tba: il

was also used Jar scoring __ - __

luies 011 the pase

The scribe cast< a cruical eye over the new!>' sharpened nih 1'he qUill

The jl n isbed ma n uscrt pi book lends authority to the monk's preaching

The book is be,rod and ,h e s crib. prepares !O make any n"cwary onnow,;ons 1.0 Ih. 'e_,1

Onc. the leave, 1'he manuscript are placed in order. ,hey M. stitched logether

The production 1 book covers was a separate u<ift requiring the skills ~ a team if' workers

THE PRODUCTION OF MANUSCRIPTS

These l Zth-century illustrations how some of the processes involved in the production of a

medieval book. First, the parchment maker would soak the skin and then stretch and scrape it. Next, the dried parchment would

be trimmed and scored in preparation for the scribe. The text would be planned in detail, with spaces left for the work of the illustrator and illuminator.

After the scribe had completed his text, the illuminator would apply the gold leaf, which was then overdrawn by the illustrator. Finally, separate leaves were gathered and bound, and the

cover fitted.

The punched hales ar€ jOined by scared line." between which the scribe would the» ",ri,e the text

The parchment i.' stretched an a wooden frame and scraped with a curved knife

Once dried and cleaned, ,h. parchment is trimmed 10 ';Z'

TcachinsJrom WTil.len mClnuscripL-s was a key aspecl 1 monastic 110

Small holes are punched through Ihe parchment, probably w provide gu idel i nes.far spad ng

Insular and National scripts

After the demise of the western Roman Empire in the fifth century, numerous hands developed in the kingdoms carved out of the remains of the Empire. Irish scripts, such as the Insular Majuscule (pp. 28-31), derived from Uncial and Half Uncial forms, are now known as "insular" scripts. Elsewhere in Europe, national scripts included the Visigothic in Spain and the Merovingian in France.

he most important means of communication between different nations was the Christian Church, which kept the torch of literacy and learning alive. Irish monks formed many monastic centres in Scotland and northern England, as well as in uxeuil and Corbie in France, and Bobbio in Italy. Meanwhile, monks from Rome entered southern England and were responsible for the widespread conversion to Christianity there. Caroline and Early Gothic scripts The first empire in the West to emerge from the remains of the Roman Empire was that of Charles the Great (Charlemagne). By the ninth century, his Frankish Empire stretched from the Pyrenees to the Baltic. A reformed hand devised by Alcuin of York became the established hand of the empire - it is now known as the Caroline Minuscule (pp. 38-39).

Outside the Frankish Empire, national hands persisted. In Italy,

the Beneventan script was one of the longest surviving post-Roman scripts, used from the mid-eighth century until 1300 (pp. 84-85). In England, the Insular and Anglo-Saxon Minuscules sufficed until the tenth century (pp.

3 35), when the Caroline Minuscule was introduced. Over time, the Caroline Minuscule became more compressed, anticipating the angular, uniform aspect of Gothic letters. This compressed script is known as Late Caroline or Early Gothic (pp. 46-47).

9

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Gothic scripts

By the end of the 12th ntury, a complex system of Gothic scripts had evolved throughout Europe. For simplicity, these are often divided into two groups: the high-quality (de luxe), formal hands used for both religious and secular book

text, and the cursive hands us d for documentary work and, from the late 13th c ntury, for vernacular book production. The two most important de ILL'(e bookhands were the Textura Quadrats (pp. 50-51) and its twin, the Presci u (pp. 54-55).

Bastard scripts

Gothic cursive scripts are known as bastard scripts, and they remained

in use until supplanted by the Copperplate in the 18th century

(pp. 102-103), some 200 years after the demise of the formal Gothic

b okhands. Bastard hands are difficult to ategorizc, differing from country to country, town to town, and trad to trade. How ver, general differences can easily be discerned between English (pp. 66-67), French (pp. 70-71), and German (pp. 7 75) models. It was in bastard text script that minuscul s and capitals of the same hand first appeared together - with the Gothic Capitals used to

b gin new sentences and denote proper nouns (pp. 58-59).

HUMAN I ST MIN USCULE 'Fhis 1lI311l1SCI'ipt page fi'om 3 translation of Pliny's ,Va/I"'1/ Hi~l<)r)' shows beautifully penned Humanist Minuscule letters. The handwritten Renaissance script was used ;1, ~ model for type by l Srh-century Venetian printers. It quickly replaced the Gothic models favoured by johann Cucenberg, rhe German i nven ror of pri uti ng with movable type.

TtXWffJ Prescuus IS. cboroacnved hJ lht! ·,'{,"W f!U')cel c;_! ccrtoill let ters. such as I his. r j;Qm the lI'i",I"'ill ['"",,",

GOTHIC TEXTUltA SCIUI'TS

This derail from the 131h-cenrut'v Windmill Psalter shows Corhic Textura Prescisus scripr V'p· 5+-5,,1 Doth the Prescisus and its [win script the Quadrara

wert' reserved for prestige religious book work,

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10

THE DEIHOPME,\T OJ· WESTEf\.\' SClIlf'T

G(lTIIIC IJASTAI~I) SCRII'T~

This page is from a Uook of Hours produced ill ranee afier the introduction of printing. Ownership of J handwritten book at this rime was an indication of high social status, The elegant script is

a larc Barardc hand known as Leure B,"r~~'IP:~II"JlPII' VJjJ. 70-7/), which

con ta ins J m ixtu re of ell rsive an d

T extura elern en ts,

mttnG ~-'Tfm .. nunm '\ilfuU [1I{i'I~mnlf, 11lItwli'lfll. ttlH- tr .qx rt MUfi1ct1l114 l)tHl1 ~wfIUlrtn!!Jn1lmI11l~ tl'fillll{h 1II11n'OUIIl\~r(t~~ .~ Dm l-'lf!ilstt;."f.'lO noS'ti. 811111111: HtJ(nOT t'to6u, .. \1{r16. Intllf mm'S, ~'~\)k,Jy.·H-IfIt,...- The nd,o[de leucr f ojien has

'{({II 10". ~ a JmmCli<'ejorll"ard lean, ,"

~~rn 1I11Il('"(flCfn Q)u~rf.fi docs the lon8Jor1ll <1s

llHI( ~l)"t ~\{f1!O"i1~ rrumn rr lIl{)ltrm nuuu ,"Irr m'fi 1£1 lUI) tll U 11') rt IlIttltlllll) [ IIl(tltlJ IInurrt",r))JIlIl1(l.'til III rt :ct fill 'lm 'Blqnfl1 f, 'iiuut I m(m n}!'O I It I II rt "gm"hRIIJ 'il/nr Mm .. ilms ll'qmotJ rt2mTtlttJ CnCqlf

MODERN C:ALUGRAI>IIY

This three-dimensional work. which measures 24 by 3S by 5 centimetres (9'1, byl4 by 2 inches), was created in 19'.>3 by Denis Brown, Entitled Phoenix, rhc page of I mula r letters - remin isccnr or the grea[ manuscripts of Kells and l.indisfarne (pp, 28-3 I) - has been penetrated by clccn;c wires as a metaphor uf the phoenix creating new life fiom rhe old.

Italian and Humanist scripts

In Italy, th formal Gothic script never really secured a footing. Italian letterforms of this period - generally known by the name of Rotunda

(pp. 8+-'85) - were rounder, with a much more open aspect than their Gothic contemporaries.

By 1400, a revised version of the aroline Minuscule script known as the Humanist Minuscule had home the establish d wTiting hand of the Rcnaissanc (pp. 90-91). Eventually, its adaption for type made it the pre-eminent letterform in Europe, and its use continues to the present day. A variant of the Hurnani t Minuscul that also remains in usc

is the Italic (pp. 9 95). 0 vised as a manus ript hand in 1420, it wa adapted for type by 1500. Post-Renaissance scripts

The final script of significance

is the Copperplate (pp. 102-103). As the name sugg sts, this was originally a hand engra\'ed or etched on sheets of copper. Typified by delicately join d loops and exotic proportions, this cursive letter could be e>ngra\"ed with far greater ease than it could be drawn, However, in its Simpler handwritten form, the Copperplate did have the advantage of being very fast to pen and, by the 19th century, it was the standard script of business and education. Modern calligwphy

A modern cal Ligraphy revival began

at the beginning of the 20th century with the pioneering work of Edward Johnston in England (pp. 42-43) and R udol f von Larisch and R udo I f Koch in Germany (pp 74-75). Since the 1950s, interest in calligraphy has proliferated in many cultures, both those with and without Latin-based alphabets. During the last 20 years, as calligraphers have explored and redefined lettcrforrns, calligraphy has become an art form in its own right.

JJ

SCRIPT TIMEl.INE

Script Timeline

300

Ow ROMAN

200 CURSIVE

GllEEK UNCIAL

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ffL~ 'r ~ ,tL- UNCIAL

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Key

Gr~y hlle: Chief line of influence Dolled line: Duration of s ripe for text WII'le line: Duration of script for use

other than for text

400

CURSIVE

HALF UNCIAL J I CURSIVE HALF UNCIAL

._--------------~ INSULAR MINUSCULE I

500

I

VISIGOiHIC

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600

700

MINUSCULE

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CAROLINE

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800

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EARLY GOTHIC

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900

Mi USCUlE

1000

1100

1200

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1300

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I , PRESCISUS I QUA 01 UITA •

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· -,.

I •

I I,

· ~.

ROTU DA

1400

1500

• •

1600

J700

1800

1900

FOUNDATIONAL HAND (BRITISH CALLIGRAPHIC REVIVAL)

with the hou

2000

12

SCRIPT T!MEI_INE

SENATVSPOP' ~ fomONSVA\-CO ~,
j_
IMI'ERIAL i 11.USTIC CAI'ITAL~ •
•
CAPITALS I I
_I •
----------------~ •
• .. •
I •
_l _I_
•
d.,-a I I MPR.OB"tTDVR •
•
I
i SQUARE CAPITALS
I rFn~)tt~OOfi~~~~ l- i--
•
I
he-rtF n I RUNIC CAPITALS
I

I • H]!:lln:fjR·
:1Pifio I • ~
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· INSULAR DISi'LAY i
i
CAPITALS I
• •
• ..
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I
!
•
•
~
r C<IJ: I. _st:IN:T n ,
LOMHARIlIC CAPITAL~ ;
•
•
tn\i~ mft}-C • HUMANIST MINUSCUI.E
I
'"'" I gulas nodes Jed
.- -
l3ASTAIW I
SECRETAI'.. Y • :;UoltoJignor mi ITALIC
_IL F-
~,ntt~bk~l ~·5>cmittc, ab abtl11 i
• G~o/
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I3ATAIU)E ~ I~I',AKTUI(
r·· .... Clll'PER PLATE I
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I CI;!(MAN :
• CAll IGI(AI'H Ie •
• REVIVAL _.
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• 13

G E rn»c S TlIfl. TED

--------------------/

Getting Started

THE ART OF CALLIGRAPHY begins with the tools and materials, and these should be selected with great care. Often, a struggle to achieve

a good result is an indication that the chosen surface or \"'Titing tool is unsuitable. Owing to

a widespread revival of interest in calligraphy, there is now an enormous range of pens l paper, and other equipment available. Here, basic information is given on the types of surfaces and writing implements you can use, and also on how to make the two traditional types of pen - the reed pen and the quill.

The reed pen

The reed pen and the q uill (oppmi1e) have been used since antiquity. Although both have nov been superseded by other writing implements, [he reed pen remains an ideal rool for expressive calligraphy, It is usually made from a hollow-stemmed garden cane (Plrmgllliris commrmis), but some calligraphers use a synthetic material. such as pia tic rubing, instead, A 'harp craft knife

is required to make a reed pen - always take the greatest care when using it.

1. Cut a length of cane about 18 centimetres (7 inches) long. Use a strong craft knife to make a cut about 4 centimetres (1'/, inches) long [0 reveal the hollow centre of the cane.

3. Return to the underside of the pen and carve shou lders between the two Cuts. Make a square or oblique cur across the top of the nib as desired (see "Straight" and "slanted" pens, opposite),

2. On the reverse SIde of the cane, directly underneath the first CUt, make a shorter cut to create the flat tOP of the pen nib, Next, remove any pith from the core of the cane.

4. Finally, make a longitudinal cut about 1.5 centimetres ('I, inch) long through the centre of the nib - this will make the flow of ink easy. The reed pen is now ready to use,

14

SUR.FACES

For practice

and trying Out

initial ideas, a lightweight designer's layout paper is ideal. For

more formal work, good-quality paper is important - preferably a smooth, close-grained and acidfree type. Vellum, made from calfskin or goatskin, is the finest material (or writing, with parchment a close second.

WRITING IMPLEMENTS

In addition to the reed pen and quill, there is a huge range of writing implements from which the calligrapher can choose, Fibre-tipped pens are ideal for crying Out ideas, while, (or flexibility and economy, detachable nibs are an excellent option. The use of a fountain pen guarantees a constant supply of ink, although a spring-loaded dip pen is more convenient for changing ink

colours easily. A broad-edged brush is essential for constructing Imperial Capitals (pp. 110-119)

Use a small pointed sable bmsh Jor drawing !Juil<-up leuets

/I standard

lpen holder can

jrl. jj vllrlel),

of detachable

Aflb,e-dppcd mbs (opposite)

pen,s Ideal jor

prcluninary "'ork

The col/iar"phic fountain pen is OM of the mOSt com·eni.em tools

Spring-loaded dip pellS are ideal Jor larqescale work

.. c

~

Q :t ,.

;:;

... "' z

il'orchmem is madefta", sheepskm, and is lO"eher r:md morefibro!/s dum rdhlm

I ~~:.;o;eed

-cxpressia'e callif}rapl'J'

A broad-edged s)'n!he!ir or sable brush IS

essen!ialJor lmperial Capitals

I ~

GETTING S1iIRTED

Speedball obltque-an ntb

USI G A WHETSTON'

To sharpen a steel nib, hold the pen at 45° ro the whetstone and stroke the top side along the stone.

DETACHALlLE NIIlS

Mile/ull

sqtlore-elll nib ----iii:=~

Detachable reservoir

Jor MilCheli nib _---'l~-)ojI-

;1 101le. broadedscd sable or symhelic brush is used Jor larpe-scale Imperial Capitals

\ """"'"

is the most.

traditional if 100is

The quill

Although the quill is probably the finest of all writing tools, it is not as convenient, s other implements and requires more practice in handling, Being of a softer material than a steel nib or a reed pen, it require gentler pressure than you would expect, but the subtlety of line that it produces is far superior to [hat of other pens. Turkey. goose, or swan feathers are [he most useful, and duck or crow may also be used for formal work.

1. Cut the shaft of rhe feather to a length of about 20 centimetres (7}/. inches) and carefully strip the barbs from it using a scalpel or sharp craft knife.

2. Holding the shaft firmly, make a long, sweeping cut on the underside of the quill. Carefully make a second cur ro shape the shoulders and pare rhe edge. [0 forlll the tip.

3. Make a short longitudinal cur through rhe centre of the nib ro ease the flow of ink. Remove the pith from the centre of the pen and any remaining material on the outside,

4. Place the rip of the quill on a cutting surface and carefully cut acres the shaft to create the nib edge. Make a square ell! for a "slanted" pen and an oblique em for a "straight" pen (below).

"STRAIGHT" AND "SLANTED" PENS

Throughout this book, there are references (0 "straight" and "slanted" pens. This can cause confusion, as the meaning of these terms appears to be contradictory. The "srraighr'' pen is held horizontally, producing thick stem and thin horizontal strokes. The "slanted" pen is held at an angle of about 30°, creating horizontal and vertical strokes of similar weight.

/1 ",rroisl>l" pell has an obltove-cui nib. w, at an ansle if abo." 70° 10 ,he .~h~fi il is icil!dl_fO( !UjPlJi such dS 'he !-Ia!! Iindol (pp. ·H)-41!

II "slanted' pen has" .'quare nib, cui '" rigl" allg/e .• 10 ,he .'''oJ; u is idea] .Jor scripts sncti as the Coroltne Minuscule (pp. 4()-41)

15

ROMAN &....LATE ROMAN SClU'PTS

Rustic Capitals

IF THE CALLIGRAPHER of today is sometimes confused by the rich variety of scripts available, both modern and historical, then the opposite must have been true for the scribe of the early Roman period, who had only three basic hands. The first was the magnificent Imperial Capital - the most complex of all scripts, used in stonecut form on the great monuments of state (pp. 108-109). Secondly, for everyday needs, there was the cursive script - the quickly executed hand used by everyone writing in the Latin language. Thirdly, there was the Rustic Capital, an elegant alternative to the Imperial Capital and popular with both signwriter and scribe.

FROM THE .FIRST TO the fifth century,

the Rustic Capital was used for de luxe manuscripts, particularly works by Virgil. After the fifth century, it lost favour as a manuscript hand, although its use for titles continued for centuries afterwards. As far as is known, the script was not used for Christian literature, and the conversion of Rome to Christianity in A.D. 313, with its attendant use of the Uncial (pp. 24-25), may be one reason for the demise of the Rustic as a bookhand.

Rustic Capitals also served as stonecut letters, often used in conjunction with Imperial Capitals on the less

! 11 \ "-'\-5 V.\ tA \ A·r i\O(\l\,l A \. 1 o r\ t S' 1. V C'l A 1) V N . A L

The nib would bo v. been held at a near "en iCG J for the upright strokes

;C'f.t .\

fOF. ON ~\. i\.\'Cl ~ r 0 ·DELICt \;j·Dl. \t l·N.f~

1 ~ \ ~J 1 \ J\ '1 N 1 f (x D f ) 6 - .. \D5 D\·~\E·\ ENlf0.\ ·lot·

VER I.LIUS ROMANUS, ECLOGA If

This magnificent and

rare example of a Virgil manuscript in Rustic Capitals dates from the second half of the fifth century.

The words are separated by a punaus (mid-point), instead of the saiptura continua (continuous script) typical of this period.

prestigious monuments.

1 'N C L l' 1 r l 1 1; I ~ T [ xr 1 V S'

SXNCTlSSJm~ro~R1~e1-lJT€J-olTJShlSTO~~J ""fin ,n lua.m CAf'Lh:'.~LE,.M . er:fioblAborem ~ enuum mrnuenJum ""oLW'ncbo.uu'-.9'~",.reru~menftcunJ.ubr1Mr::t:u""fa"emrerplar im",uAfue~urhu~p~on~eu~~~ (iue;xd"'fil.,.rort(uataJtb:

THE HIERARCHY OF SCRIPTS Rustic Capitals were used for titles until the late 12th century as part of a so-called "hierarchy of scripts".

Rustics were used for chapter openings, Uncials for rhe first lines, followed in this example by a fine Caroline Minuscule rex! (pp. 38-39)

16

RUSTlC CAPITALS

~

.\ \l N _\1 \ A \ ~ NT

. b SY.\ \ b 1\. E

The pen or brush is hold or an angle if 40° for the broad dilJgOlwl stroke

Rusric CAPITAL R The execution of the letter R begins with ~ twist of the

pen at the head of the stem.

The]."1 if tbe letter turn slighllX downwards bifore fl n i,h i n8 IV i tb 0 n up 11'0 rd jl ick

...,ti-----'----7--- The porerait illustration shows Virgil siuing beside a lectern, with a capso 10' storing scrolls 10 his l'!fi

The inrerlinear gloss bas been II'ritten in a modern Italic hand (pp, 94-95)

PETER HALLIDAY This modern version of Virgil's Edogue V11, written in black ink on cream paper, was penned

by Peter Halliday in 1983. Note the contrast he

achieves between the broad horizontal and

diagonal strokes and the thin verticals.

Writin8 materials

The fact that we have evidence of the Rustic Capital in both manuscript and sigmvritten form shows that two different writing implements were used. The script would have been written with equal fluency with either a reed pen - or after the fourth century, a quill- or a brush. The brush used would have been a broadedged, f1exible sable, held at a nearupright angle to create the thin stems and broad horizontal strokes.

A simple ductus

The basic difference between the Imperial and the Rustic lies in the complexity of the stroke weight.

The strokes of the Imperial are even, with no sharp contrasts in weight. This effect requires numerous changes in tool angle (pp. 110-119). The' ductus of the Rustic is simpler to pen, with a pronounced difference

in stroke weight between the

thick and thin strokes.

PAPYRUS LEAF Papyrus was the principal wriri ng su rface for over 3,000 years u mil the late Roman period. It was made by pounding together two strips of papyrus leaf laid

at right angles

to each other,

DETAIL FROM VERGILlUS ROMANUS, ECLOGA. 1I

17

ROMAN &.__LATE ROMAN SCRIPTS

Rustic Capitals

THE DUCTUS OF the Rustic Capital is different from the other hands shown in this book in that the pen angle can be as steep as 85° to the horizontal for the thin vertical strokes. This angle

is relaxed to nearer 45° for the foot serifs and diagonal strokes. Therefore, from the top of the stem to the beginning of the foot, the pen must twist as much as 40°, and this transition is the key to well executed Rustic Capitals. With its serif, thin stem, and broad foot, the L (below) typifies many Rustic letters. The letter height is generally between four and six pen widths, but can reach seven.

1. Using a square-cut pen nib, begin the serif of the letter L by pushing downwards with the broad edge of the nib. The pen angle should be about 65° for this stroke.

3. At about halfway to the baseline, anticipate the foot serif by gradually turning the pen to about 50°. This will create the distinctive Rustic thickening of the stem base.

2. Pull the pen downwards to the right, while twisting the nib from 65° to almost vertical at the line of the stem. Without lifting the pen, begin drawing the fine stroke of the stem.

4. Lift the pen, tum it to 45°, and add the foot serif in one finn, downward diagonal sweep. The foot is a major element in the script for it leads the eye forward to the next letter.

This broad sweeping ruroe is draWl'! ill one smooth stroke with a pen angle of 45-50°

Diagonal sweep

It is the repetition of the downward sweeping strokes, combined

with the near-diagonal strokes of the feet,

that gives the Rustic Capital its characteristic rhythm. These strong Strokes provide a counterpoint to the

fine vertical stems.

\ There is t!o

1 \ crOSSb~ ot! the A

\

1

f-

-1)

£

TheE is a tall letter and nses above the headline

3

11

-

The second

3 stroke of the

lal/ F rises above the headline

3

11

This alternative L il2 fomlofGis l "

used on the

bouom line of 1

a page of text _ __ _~J

f( -'11-f('

2 ---...JI

This ]oml of G is most commonly ,jsed

18

I 1.. J.. 17li5 1 .. 5 the 111

modem

form of]

I --

1 ......

.-.:.:l..-'I' The stem

2 of !lIe] is

i d entical 10 that of/he I

...-- -.-~

............. ~

2 3

2

The seri] of the 1111/ L rises above the headline

RUSTIC CAPITALS

U--{ -

This 15

the mod", 1 form ofU

\T·

;;; ::;.~:lIe \1

ductus (IS the A

. --

3

~\ X _\~ 24

J

rT::forI!lOfYisl~ f2-

used for all text 1 1"-

except th e b. ottom

line of a page ._

J-'"

Use thi: form \

of Y only on 1

the bottom line of a pllge of lex!

4

z

3

,..._,. 1··_····_· .

______" 171 e Z colli d

1 .. allemali". ely he

2 COll1p leted in a

single stroke

- _._-

19

ROMAN &_LATE ROMAN SCRIPTS

Square Capitals

AS A LATE FOURTH-CENTURY Roman hand without fiprecedent or descendents, the stately Square Capital [Capitalis Qyadrata) falls awkwardly into the evolutionary pattern of Roman scripts. Because very few examples survive from this period, the duration of its use and the development of its style are subject to conjecture. The script remains, however, one of great dignity, its grace owing largely to the openness of the letterforrns and the clear letter separation.

IT IS OFTEN BELIEVED that the Square Capital originated as an attempt to interpret the brush-drawn Roman Imperial Capital (pp. 108-109) in pen-drawn form. However, the thick down trokes and hairline horizontal strokes of the Square Capital point to the use of a horizontally h ld pen, in contrast to the angle of 30° required to produce the visually balanced vertical and horizontal strokes of the Imperial Capital. This suggests that the Square Capital may have been derived from another source. Contemporary influences

It is perhaps more likely that scribes writing in Square Capital looked for inspiration to contemporary carved lettering, rather than to the brushcreated capitals of their predecessors. One such example is the fourthcentury plaque in the Church of San Sebastiano, Rome (riant), in which stroke angle and letter proportion coincide with the manuscript hand.

Small ,.,1< are Jrawn with the corner if I he pm nib

SQUAllE CAPTTAl M The broad downward strokes of the !,,,/ rypity the Square Capital letter.

Parchment was stretched across a wooden frame and the re'idualjlesh removed with a circular knife

PARCIIMENT MAKER

In Rome, parchment was an established rival co papyrus by r\.D. 300 and was the principal surface (or writing late Roman manuscript" such as the Codex Vatitanus 3256 (opposite).

It was invented in Pergamon, Asia Minor,

in response to an Egyptian trade embargo in 197-158 u.c, that cut off the supply of papyrus.

SAN SELJASTIANO PLAQUE

The inscription on this plaque in the Church of San Sebastiano, Rome, dates from between the years 366 and 384. otice the imaginative ligatures of certain letters. such as N- T, H·R,

V-A, and T·E, and the way some letters have been inserted inside others.

20

SQ_UARE CAPITALS

h2·.\.llvsL.\ 1 v. 1.1 v: . D.\'I.\..\IV UH\C~\."l.\.~I., E . \ L L\.1'l " I r< •• :.o.:. I'[ L\.(_ ;UllAU v--t :l,\. 1 I '11 ~ f\ I I D.\ 1I N .\

1 V .\1 r l P .. RI ;1..1 (_;<._ )R.t,lt l·,\.:tG \"1.\ LL,;\, 1\.11 :x x ~ [, ... It,\. ;-"':,\:>.trrtl.'\ 1t.'\',"'[1 t'~CI ~fH C).\;o..,; [I~sr U JIG :"'\.:\-.\\ tv ,\'\.,\.ltL'J\.T' t ... L\.Rll ..... L\f)O_1..0j\.I.'" I ~\\:J("II 1_\1 rJ~or') L1 D\' ~I ~~\'n,Cr r..:~ I ~ :~£ f'),\l.(_:a_' 1.\$ l'r~I.\L'l j[" r-r I :-t:-:..{ ).\lOlll.\llt:\' .. I [RI t ~,'l,' \'

~ ;"';~11l "II' -\'J\\ 1.\.\ICL\N[ll~.\'lo.·;\TH)\ T ,...~;\( -q." nil h. -.1 :u~ J ~ II \. xu r v II...: I \. l\ \ [X )n'()~.J\NLC~'~ ~J ,'\U\'fll.l' \~'\.H'" r-t xr« );t.\l)1 11 \1':10\'1 MJ .. L .... c·,.· .\1'~ t .... ~ 11.1.1.. )1\1 (~U~f 1..::-"; I ~L·I i l )~it IR fll" ~Il:\:.-_:' '"

l' ,~;ll ivvs I.' II ;t rv '" 1 ~ f t..~ 1I r~~ v r .. 1'1.\ 'i-l' H"\',\ ':itlt

I \1'r.\'1 I.. "ll.t I fh )11U I sir I~Lb""'lT IN11.\'l -.yu.\ I 1:--.111 l. ... lt._)J I YXU I 'Fo 1 f , ... 1 U ~ 00.\\1 ~ .\X1V J .. ~.\:'l!'.. C't'\'OI-'i'. I~I f 1_\'1l~1 ()\' I'.:OH RR.\!\ I r-......r~ICL\.nltl J..I

£ l~U!, 11\. uuu.r-: ~;\'T~ II f~.x;~r,,;.u cxc

L\lCl rRL\I I ,:::,".\H\R.\.~'·OIISt). \.' '\ \ \;e~I-:;r.\ \ .,' t-If \',v. .\(;~'\:".\ .\.11 n~ ivsrnvst R,\~r[,c L"~d~,\Ct, (_:oscx~~.\n·L\.\1 [,\'\lX:H\"I~~OL'\"CUC":,\'T ~ P K't I'..: Il\' I\\_ [I 1\1 J'\ l ~ i I'd P\ R I .... \.l~ R l~ II rvx ':"\~"\

instead d Ih. more common Ih ick fl rst: stroke,!! In. Ieu or R, a h~irlin. suoke has been used

DETAIL FROM CODEX VAT/CANUS 3256

I n this detail, it is dear that the script is written without word division and punctuation. On the fine

upright Strokes of A, N, M, R, and V, the pen is turned from horizontal to vertical, which produces a strong contrast in stroke proportions. The triangular serifs that terminate the hairli ne strokes have been

added with the corner of the pen nib.

CODEX VAT/CANUS 3256

This manuscript of Virgil's Georgia was written in Square Capital, in the late fourth century. Perhaps one reason why it has survived is that it was written on parchment instead of the more fragile papyrus. Because of the scarcity of examples of Square Capitals, it is difficult to assess the duration of the hand, and there is no evidence [0 suggest that it survived beyond the early fifth century .

Survivina examples

Only two known surviving examples of Square Capitals exist, compared to some 400 of the other late Roman bookhand, the Uncial (pp. 24-25). Both manuscripts are de luxe texts of Virgil dating from the fourth century. One is the Codex Vaticanus 3256 (lift), housed in the Vatican Library, the other a text from the monastery of St. Gall, Switzerland, From this scant evidence, it is clear that the Square Capital was the most shor tlived of Roman scripts, and palaeographers are forced

to conclude that in terms of

the evolution of calligraphy the

hand represents a blind alley. Time-consuminq work

One reason for the short life of the Square Capital is the time it would have taken scribes to write each letter. The multiple angle changes and difficult serif constructions require considerable patience (pp. 22-23). While such time-consuming labour may have been acceptable for titles, it would have been highly uneconomical for text, particularly in comparison with the more practical Uncial

or the Rustic Capital. (pp. 16-]7).

Th. tall L is '!fien found in inscripl-ions and .manuJeripts from the lar.fourth cemury

J

21

ROMAN &_LATE ROMAN SCRIPTS

Square Capitals

THE SQUARE CAPITAL is characterized by a combination of broad strokes - both straight and curved - delicate hairlines, and neat serifs. Of the dominant broad strokes, the diagonal is the most difficult to draw, involving a pen twist as great as 45°. The simpler vertical strokes are made with a single movement of the pen, held almost horizontally. Upright hairline strokes occur on the letters A, M, N, R, W, and X and can be made

by skating the wet ink from the main stem stroke.

Most Square Capitals are about [our pell widths high

Complex letters

The perfectly balanced letter is one of the most complex letter> in the hand. It consists of one broad diagonal, rwo hairline verticals and three serifs. A series of angle changes is required for its construction.

3. Return to the headline and build up the serif under the horizontal stroke.

Basic elements

The Square Capital letter is about four pen widths high, with the letters F and L drawn slightly higher than the rest. The script is best drawn with a reed pen or a square-cut steel nib.

Use the comer of the /lib to add the serif> of tile A

Use the comer rif tile Ilib to add the serif rif are C

2

~~-

CBegrflth€ 1(:

ClIlVe rif the C

with the edge

of/he .,ib .

Drag the tail rif!lw C wi If> the corn er of the tlib

771e corner oflhe tlib is IIsedfor adding the

serifs

1. Begin the N with a pen angle of about 45°, p rogressi vel y tu rn i ng the pen to the vertical as it reaches the baseline.

4. Now draw the leading vertical stroke with the comer of the nib and add the serif.

_D

2

-The F is a tall leiter, rising sllghliy above the headline

'U

2 --.

2. Make a small

horizontal stroke on the -, G'

headline, then pull the

wet ink downwards

with the edge of the nib. "___~ -".

5: Still using the comer of the nib, add the serif at the head of the diagonal stroke.

]1 Drag the tail rif the J with the corner rif the nib

22

S@ARE CAPITALS

3

Twist the penfrom 45° 10 '11m os / II OIlZOnla I for the d iagona I stroks of Ike K

The L is a tall letter, 1 rising slightly above

the headline

- 2

Use the corner of the nih 5 10 add the serifs of the M

~~~ 1~ 4 L ~ L_ ... - --0/--

7 3

Twist the pen jrom ~-Eh 45° to tile vertical «~i 1

for the diago"ai 1 I 6 2

.lIroke of the N ~ .

Use the corner cf the nib to draw the serifs of the N

-. eenl~fo~7:;oj 1)1

rifofthe R - - - --~------&

2

Use the comer of the nib to

add the top serf of the S 2

combined

S~I~.

"''Ii" stroke

23

This letter U is a modem col1jtlllclion

Twist/he pen from 90° 10 45° for the diagonal stroke of the Y

3

~

.~--------- 'lot ~~~___;

Twist the pen from 90° 1045°

jilr th« diagonal slro.ke of Ike W ~5 ~6 7 U,e the

-w-. .... _. ~- . -~-,.orn_erof

the n,b far

the senft

___ l _ .1..__ _of/heW

The two diagonal hairline> of the 3 4

W can extend below th« baseline

Use the corner oflhe nib 10 draw II! e senft oflhe X

3

2

--

L =: - U;::::;

.. 6 ~ I add the senft :::I-}5 oflhe Z

-_"4---~

VIRGil

The elegance of Square Capitals is assisted by genera ... inter-letter spacing and by interli"ear spacing thatequals the letter he'ght

GIOR_GICS

Two lines of Square Capitals

ROM/IN &_[ATE ROMAN SCRIPTS

Uncial &

Artificial Uncial

THE ROMA U CIA script (Littera Uncialis) originated in the second or third century A.D., possibly in North Africa. Although its beginnings are subject to conjecture, there are noticeable similarities with the Greek Uncial - a- curved, functional script that had been used since the third century B.C. and was the official hand of the Christian Church. By the second century, Christianity was increasing in influence throughout the Roman Empire, and it is likely that the early Christians consciously adapted the Greek Uncial to the Latin language as a script appropriate for their new religion.

THE UNCIAL SCRIPT was brought to southern England from Rome by the missionary St. Augustine in the year 597. Its name, meaning "inch" or "inch-high letter", is attributed to St. Jerome, a translator and compiler of the Vulgate (common) Bible. He possibly used it as a term of derision, in objection to the common practi e of wasting parchment by using large letters for de luxe books.

Ol'iBins of minuscules

The beginnings of our modern lowerca e letters can be discerned in the Uncial script. Th letters d, h, and 1 rise above capital height while i,j, n, p, q, and t drop below the baseline. A further departure from the capital forrn is the absence of any elaborate serif constructions. This simplicity makes the Uncial, together with the Caroline Minuscule (pp. 38-39) and the Foundational Hand (pp. 42 3), ideal for learning the basics of P n handling and calligraphy.

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Paragraph openinBs ore preceded .. ~tlNTUR}l..UI''S'.'I'lON1NQefff"}t;.:~

by a 10 roo, letter ill tbe =e» --l;-'---o.4;',=o~~~~~~;"'''I1' ."c.,,,,,,,co,,,,,,,l,, f'''''' P"OF"'-"-S1O

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• qtlQ'El'If.,Jon .. OIl'.Jef{cq:p.urr A eccumltcc)'[.\.1(,e1-

. I' \.uR'e~IuSejl>19C' J1f "'''''''''''''1''''

of h.\ne't':l'n._l!~ ejX~ pL'lll ~c:r .. \"'(U ro~'

~~~~~g~i~~~~~~!~~~

ClilUSf"ORG'.»t..'\")Sc::;.I<'U;\.i>:I.¢'} .1h.."'C: 9o.'\.e,se-cU'tol[\J,.-tc0t4S'1 nUTh'\;l"Io:Dj:

I o.rEn;oo ... Jt-l'iUR . 'Oe"'\.>:nIN.l.' ..... -re

UNluen'f:Om DNcllaU('(\~ OOPR.:J. ~.,_ PlI10PMUPROP£SSl0}4eYlo,?$ l!cleSlJi.STlC)..t.l""t\.£P(.'RNosartt. ... ~'1,..f

•

Hairline s/rokes should be drawn asfillely as possib!«. usill9 / he /ifr. comer oJ, he nib

UNCIAL SCIl..IPT This economical Uncial script was written in about 450. The pen is held a r 30°, giving a well-rnnnncrcd, flowing quality to the text. The text is written as saiptura continua (without spaces between words), which was C0l111110n for this period.

ARTIFICIAL U, CIAL;I

IJ road diagonal and vertical strokes, contrasted with delicate hairlines, rypify Artificial Uncial letters.

The A r!!Jieial Uncia/form <1 a is drawn lI'irh ibe pe" held ncor to the horiz.omal

. I] + CC !'l~lU . o ex 10')11 Q)ell,n~o

f o<..O,'\le'l:\J\,Lo;)...l (j 'TOr~lS

/' qunn C.\PUT ccct. !".~.~_.:__ _

i - OCDIC.\T .\Lr.\. P()c.s

~' . P·CTRO~l_l..N~UB\lt()ORUQ:') C'>'-TRCXT)I~()CPNIR' .\.BBXS <)C(JOTI .\.rr:CCTUS

j

i

,1/

PI~NOR\ CTlITTO COU rrieque (ncosq'OPThNS T\~TlINTeR<;~U()I.\ p.~TRL

1.'\'c.\ci.lS <nffT)on.C<n SC01PCR h.\BCnC Locum

The revis ions j n I he.fi rst line seem 10 have been made by a 101.,. unwwred hand

_ The dedicoror)' versefrom the Code" A miatinus siIoll's lypicalljJlne s"!fed 1I'!!jldal Unctol leuers

CODEX A.I/lflTI,\V8

The Codex Aillimiwis Bible was written in Wearmouth and J<mow before 7 16, Initiated by Abbot Coefrid, this imposing book is the earliest known Bible in Latin and was produced

for presentation to Pope Gregory II. Although mistakes occu r in the first, second, and fifth lines, the remaining script is a tour

de force of the Artificial Uncial. The finely drawn hairlines and delicare serifs are of a superior quality to those in the Vespasian Psalter (opposire).

24

(). ol\no-

,.: .... ...,.).tl'l H,)!",.'.nl'l

NS S()I~ { "'.LJUOTI~~rl

liiT');\oilR()';)J ,\NT si.'\'r t1f1.(nt: ~,:"5t'S~n;s ll·,ti);:~

.J,IY '..... l .. iJ.r- r ul'-~' ". ~ '111 ....

C.\J{,\;eS (lle,\S qlll'TRIf',uIJ\NTnll~ ,,,,lnllelfOCI

, •• ", ~.,., ~ ... 2' ~ ",Il.p.

IPSII:-:fIlH1)),.TlS<lNT eTC eCIOCRtll':T',

• ,,; ".,'1" .... , 1.1 1',,1 '"i'- r.;.6,...~ "~&,"h",~r-~'

"ICO~SIST,\'NT .\.OUURS'll! n n ie CM:'TR.,\ NONTrn>6

,'1' .1. ,,' t.u ft." ._ It' :)'i-I'1't'"

'I',IT CUI~{l')CUln'SII"'SUIt(,").'TlNlnc; pnoclrorn

, IN I ,'iJC ceo S'Pl;<I~',\I'>O'

_..., ....... , ,r ..,,q.,,, ' .I',H· tcr",rl'i )...-;. It HI~ .·!'\IJIIL~

I ~,,\ll)-peTIl :\'0 NO hA,"C ueurn IL\.()) (]Tr~h.-':I~rTe(n

,.t.,I\' .' ,:;.Ii ~~"U ,j ,l. ~ .... h;-:lr 10'1" " ....

I:\!O()(nO (NI Olnl\:ll~(IS QU:;lIUR UIT:\.en)e e' n."'IUS'

,1'. .. !~fj-. f' 1,"'1 ',~'I,l!- '111''''(.' ~,'ri'l(L'';' ~j C! .!l;"'ltr~ti,,·.oI

T UIOHMll UOIJlNT~TCU) ONII.!TPROT60.\Rx[eplcsco

l-" - ,I" IJ ~a '1~' 11';-")-';"'\1':: 1

J UlN .X1\SCCONOtTlllC It'T:>'IKHl.N:\.CuLllS40 INOICCll"-(l

_'-, I 1.11,1, "," ;"fl.)J,· .ue-

ROo') 'J) IHYrC;l"rnne 11'1: "'1.\SCD~On'O 'l'MH, RN,\.cdl 'r

.;".~ .. ~ ..... ~ ~

~lleTR:\ 1~,\J.T;\Ul'nnc·

,',.:,' ,..04 "1,, IfIIIot"fJI" • ., • ~ ..... i. ..,. ,~

UNCMI'I'eIl) t-::-.;::\.I:r",UITC,\pUTlneUIO SUjJt"U In'll

.~.. 4~ • 11, " '. 1 -f'il .... I-.,~TI'~ ... •• ·~.i,. .¥--I·I.·ju.llrt'1."S'"~C1Io'"-

(COS (l)OOS C1RCUmO CTllTHIlOI.,,\I'>O IN'I'XBeRN1\.CutO

... ,·,,lo.l.· f ... ,1"1'fOIn· Jl~t{ it'J'·';1.' T':oI,~ ~1~

CIUS hO$TI;\fJ) III 1\llxrIONl$ C:\.I\TI<.r.O C'lPS~,ltiOIC\'r')

~'""'IP\' }".;!I_" ~,",";':I t~ '1.1·~t'- "II.J I~'-I~'" .rd~'~'L. r- ro!l~~

S·'IcIDII)N6 UOC{'lm lYH':Ml) II U xc L\(l ';\I n M)TC

~ •• [,II"" ~I ~ 1 ~ I~ l~' _, ~ •

t).\ IS~TRtREn" "f,' G1·G~:\.UOlll)O' •

Tue VE'P;\SIAN PSAtTER

The Vespasian Psalter was written at St. Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury, in the early eighth century. The interlinear gloss contains the earliest known copy of [he Psalms in English, The opening D from Psalm 26, showing the figures of David and jonathan, is

ehe earliest example of a historiared initial in Western manuscripts, The illuminated title is written ill built-up Roman capitals,

The i"'''/inear 8loss lI'as added In Ihe nimh cenlUry

DETAIL FROM THE VESPASIA l~SALTER The serif in thi detail arc slightly bolder than those in the Codex Amiatinu: (OppOSIte), which indicates the lise

of a I ess sharply cu r qu i II.

................ ,

I ,~

o ~()'t) ~C RJ ~'-'{JI RI (

• l..w >-

(l)NIP>lIS OI6[)US

r ·IG{l)

.~l.!

Nler

RUt}) 'J)R(_)'l~ ~~IYr ) iN osc )~( rt

1 • I( ... "

J)cll{~ {~~/~I..~urrlnC·

.. '

Artificial Uncial

The Uncial hand was well established in Britain by the time the twin abbeys of Wearmouth and Jarrow 'were founded in 674 and 682 respectively. Soon, the monks of Wear mouth, Jarrow, and Southumbria ( ngland south of the River Humber) were produ ing manuscripts of a quality equal to that anywhere else in urope, Their work included the landmark Bible the Codex Amiatinus (opposite), However, the hand they were using wa not the Uncial of St. Jerome, but a highly intricate and serifed version, with thin horizontal and thick vertical strokes, and serifs reminisc nt of tho e on quare Capitals (pp, 20-21), This extremely beautiful calligraphic hand is known variously as Artificial Uncial, Late Uncial, or Romanising Uncial

of the Canterbury Style,

25

ROMA I &..LAT£ ROMAN SCRIPTS

Uncial & Artificial Uncial

THE UNCIAL IS A practical writing hand and as such presents no difficulties to pen. The Artificial Uncial, however, is subject to considerable elaboration involving many pen twists and changes of angle, Both forms of the script are regarded as bilinear - written between two horizontal lines - but they show the beginnings of a tendency that ultimately leads to the development of our lower-case letters: F, I, N, P, Q_, and R drop below the baseline, and D, H, and L rise above the headline.

Basic differences

The Uncial letter is written with 3 pen angle 000°, Simpler in construction than the Artificial variety, it

can be quickly and

Arlificial Untia!

easily penned with a steel nib. The more complex Artificial Uncial letter is written with a pen angle of 100. It can be penned with a steel nib or a quill.

Pen twists

In the Artificial Uncial, the characteristic pen twist [hat occurs on the serifs of letters

C, E, F, G, K, L IV, and r can be executed simply and quickly.

1. Begin by drawing a

horizontal hairline stroke,

using the full length of the nib.

2. On reaching the end of the stroke, gradually twist the pen anticlockwise from the horizontal to ncar vertical and lift. The resultant serif is indented, with a small blob visible at the top right-hand corner.

BI,,/,

Uncial A

Artificial Uncial A

~

p'\.~ra", lire haitiine loop with 'he comer <if the ITib

TI'e second mid Ihird stroke. of tire B caIT be cow billed

For tire scwlld

stroke of tlte C, IwiSI. fIle lIib awic/ockulisc and dmg the ink downward:

P,,/I oW the tail of lite with the corner <if the /lib

~ o 1~~2

Uncial D Artificial Uncial D

For the serifs ofll,e E, {wist file ITib ollli-clockwi,e and drag rile illk dowllward,

To d"ntH the serifs of the F, ttuis! {lie lIib ami-clockwise and drag the illk

downwards

Complete rile wIVe fwd Mil <if the G ill a single stroke

Modern Artificial Uncial]

The I and J are drawn ill 1/ ,ingle stroke

Dmg (>111 lite tail 'if tire I alld J II'illl tlu: corner of the nib

26

Indentation

TJ.e sedf WI! be left will, Ihe {,fob ami illdemmi"'l stil! lIisiMe

B

TIle Artificial udal E (mild be ene/Med

2

F ~ J . ..,........_, ...

Uncial F Artificial Uncial F

s c IcC

Uncial G Artificial Uncial G

b b

Uncial H

Artificial Uncial H

Uncial B

Artificial Uncial B

Modern Uncial]

u! J A,ti!J J J

Uncial J

3. The serif carl be neatened

by u illg the corner of the pen

nib [0 draw a hairline stroke

back LIp [0 [he headline. This extension is then filled ill with ink.

c

c

Uncial C

Artificial Uncial C

Uncial E

Artificial Uncial E

UNCIAL &_ARTlFICIAL UNCIAL

TIle Undal L rcscIII bles a llrilllrsmie tetter

TI.e Artificial version retains tire "ppcarmrfe oj a capiral

Artificial Uncial L

Both fonns 1M have a mirrrtswle appearall(e

rom

Uncial L

Uncial M

Artificial Uncial M

011 the third stroke, twist tIre nib to the horizontal

Drag out the rail 11he K with the <orner oj the nib

At the end oj the second stroke 1 the L, twis: the nib ami-clockwise and dmg the ink downwards

]

On Ilrefirst stroke oj the N,lwist tile lIib /() the vertical

Begin the first stroke oj the N at 45° and twist /0 a

o

Uncial 0

Uncial P

Uncial Q

Artificial Uncial Q

Alternative- Q .. Artificial

Uncial Q

Rl~ g"l

Uncial R

Tire second "lid third strokes ~r the Q may be draum as a sillgle siroke

2 TI,lS altenwtive

()) A.t!fhial Urrrial

jamr ojQ iral tile appearance oj a capiwlletra

'}=-

Drag the tail to Ihe righl with the corner lif tlte lIib

s

s

2

To draw rhe serifs oj rllt S, twist the nib anti-dotkwise

and drag the illk downwards

Uncial S

Artificial Uncial S

For the serif oj l/leT, IlIIist tire nib a!lli-clo(kwise alld drag ri,e jrlk downwards

Uncial T

Artificial Uncial T

u U'~ t

Uncial U Artificial Uncial U

v " ~~'

Uncial V Artificial Uncial V

These [orm: ofW are modem constructions

W {O'WJ

Uncial W Aftificial Uncial W

2

For Ihe serif 1 the X, twist Ihe IIib antid",kwi.le Gild

drag tile il1k downwards

2 ___

z,- -~J

Artificial Uncial Z

These forms oJV are modem constructions

x

Form boil, serifs of ttie Z by IIII;sl;"g the nib mlli-clockwise arid dra,'(.~hl<g II,e illk downwards

Uncial X

Uncial X

y.

Uncial Y Yci,l

Uncial Y

Uncial Z

TI,e simpler Ullcial Z carl be perl11ed ill a sillgle stroke

27

') ..

C011 Rfill ~Ql" ,

pUl pCJ~('l;SP{J II '1() " :. lpS012lJTTl e&~ ~fb.11Jl

,

101 urm 1P81 T,-)O~~~I

INSULAR MAJUSCULE

Insular Majuscule

THE INSULAR MAJUSCULE (Insular Half Uncial) derives its name from its origins in the islands of Britain and Ireland. "Insular" is from the Latin for "island", and "Majuscule" refers to the height of the letters, much larger and bolder than those of the complementary Insular Minuscule (pp. 34-35).

As a prestige hand, the Insular Majuscule is characterized

by letters drawn slowly and carefully, with many lifts of

the pen (pp. 32-33). In early medieval Britain and Ireland,

it was the favoured hand for sacred manuscripts written

in Latin, including two of the most beautiful books ever produced, the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Book of Kells.

BEATTTUIJES PAGE FROM THE BOOK OF K_ELLS

The border of this page from the Book of Kells combines

rhc eight initial bs and incorporates both zoomorphic and anthropomorph ic decoration. The horizontal stroke over "spu" in the first line denotes an abbreviation of "5pirilll" ("breath of God"). The horizontal stroke is a device used by scribes for oftrepeated words. Also typical is the letter 11 in the 13th line, which has been extravagantly extended in order to fill space _ The use of fed dots to outline initials and ornament text is mor-e sensitive and restrained here than in the Lindisfarne Gospels (pp. 30-31).

(0'1<,1 ,</,tIdy if the rh,inner ink on the r aives due, to

~ he (ons.[.ruCl.ion if' I nsu la« M~jLIS,ule leuers

THE GOSPEl OF ST. MAR.K

The insular Majuscule is without capitals as they are used in the modern sense. Chapter openings, such as this detail from the Gospel of St. Mark in the Book of Kells, commenced with a line of display capitals, a Versal (pp. 58-59), or a combination of both _ Verses would open with a larger character, which was often decorated or filled with colour,

Til. a scend er if tho leu or b slants to the riah,. ",i,h ,he wedae ,<aU b~ io '" i "8 o ver In. bowl if In. leu or

INSULAR MAJUSCULE r

The principal characteristic of the j nsular M<1j uscule letter is the wedge-shaped serif on the headline (pp, 32-33),

The I hick.ned base i, c,"",.d b} mOL"ina tbe pen ,haIL , I)' to the 'iahl- if rho stem and then push; nil i{ up to the midway point

IF EVER THERE WAS a golden

age of calligraphy, it was the beginning of the eighth century, when Northumbria was one

of the most flourishing centres

of art and scholarship in western Europe. lnteraction between scriptoriums of the twin Augustinian monasteries jarrow and Wearmouth (see the Codex Amiatinlls, p. 24)

and that at Celtic Lindisfarne (see the Lindisfarne Gospels, pp" 30-31) led to the production of some of the greatest achievements of medieval art. The Book of Kells

The Book of Kells was written at some time in the second half of the eighth century and the early years of the ninth century, probably by IrishNorthumbrian monks. Its place of origin is shrouded in uncertainty and the first record we have of its existence is an account of its theft in 1006 from the monastery of Kells in Ireland ..

The four illuminated Gospel texts in the Book of Kells were written

by at least three scribes in insular versions of Uncial (pp. 24-25) and Half Uncial (pp. 38-39) letters. These would have derived from characters originally introduced into Ireland from the ancient region of Gaul by St. Patrick and his missionaries.

29

INSULAR &_ ;lTIQNJIL SCRIPTS

CHI-RHO I'AGE These ornate display capitals on the Chi-Rho page of the Lindisfarne Gospels make this one of the most impressive leaves in the book. A variety of influences are evident, including Greek, Roman, Half Uncial, and runic.

Eadfiirh's use of the capitals is highly creative.

There are three different (0ll11S of rhe letter A on this page: two on the second line, and a third, OC form on the bottom line (pp. 32-33).

The Lindisiarne Gospels

The richly illuminated Lindisfarne Gospels date from the end of the seventh century, when the scribes of the Northumbrian monasteries were entering their most productive phase. The Gospels were written

in Latin by a Single scribe, Eadfrith, who became Bishop of Lindisfarne in 698. An interlinear gloss, providing a translation of the text into English, was added in the tenth century.

The Durham Gospels

In addition to the Gospels from Lindisfarne and Kells, there are a number of other books and fragments from this period that reveal wellexecuted Insular Majuscules. Among the most outstanding are the Durham Gospels, which are contemporaneous with those of Lindisfarne and

may even have been written

in the Lindisfar ne scriptorium.

The elegant, well-balanced hand is markedly similar to Eadfrith's. Other examples include the Echternach Gospels and the Book of Durrow.

TAll..A I3ROOCH

This intricately decorated brooch was found in Ireland in 1850 not far (r0111 ancient Tara. The date of its construction is unknown, although striking design similarities with some decorated

initials in the Lindisfarne Gospels suggest an early medieval date.

These curvilinear palterns are ve~J' similar 10 [hose in the l.ind;ifar"e Gospels (right)

DETAIL FROM TI"IE CHf-RHO PAGE Til e in terlaced birds and ell rvilinear patterns in this detail are almost identical to decoration on the Tara brooch. This style of zoomorphic interlacing is of Germanic origin.

" ,

30

INSULAR MAJUSCULE

ST, JEROME'S PREfACE

This beautifully decorated page from rhe Lindisfarne Gospels shows the preface to the text ofSt. Jerome, The abundant use of red dots around the in itial letters is a common design feature of the; boo k.

As well as outlining the letters, the dots provide a background of delicate colou r. One folio in the Lindisfarne Gospels is decorated with over '10,000 such dots, The rubricated letters at the rop of

the page indicate the end of one

text and the beginning of another.

The mt erlinear gloss, wrillcn in an A n8'oa Saxon mimlSCtdc (pp. 34-35), is I,ne earliest SfJn·jl,·inS

r ransJm}an ima

II "ala-Saxon of

II,. Four Gospels

In ,n;, work b)" Deni" /3rowll, the ",edie,'al Insular Maj"scule leuers ba Ire been reCft!:al ed in CJ modern con! ex!

DENIS BROWN This calligraphic piece, entitled Cultum! Decomposition, was created by the Irish calligrapher Denis Brownin 1993. At 1.2 by 1.6 metres (47'(, by 63 i nches), it is a work of great scale and power. The medieval artistry of the J nsular M ajuscule letters are seen to be systematically corroded by the symbols of moderni ry. the elcctri c cables.

.. •

Manusaipt decoration

The scholar Giraldus Carnbrensis, writing in 1185, remarked: " ... you may say this was the work of an angel, not of man ... the more I study, the more I am lost in fresh amazement." He was describing,

'"

in all probability, the decoration

of the Book of Kells ipp. 28-29) . This, along with the illustrations

in the Lindisfarne Gospels and other works from the early medieval period, represents the highest achievement of Western manuscript decoration. From the carpet

pages (pages without text and filled entirely with intricate designs) to the decorated initials and display capitals, and from the shields, trumpets, spirals, and knots to the labyrinthine interlaces that dissolve into fanciful animal forms, the craftsmanship

has remained unsurpassed. Today, we view the work with the same wonderment as Cambrensis, often requiring a magnif)ring glass to study the fine detail.

31

INSULlIR &. NATIONAL SCRIPTS

Insular Majuscule

THE INSULAR MAJUSCULE is among the most prestigious of scripts. Most letters in this hand are built up from a series of composite strokes and involve multiple pen lifts. Ascenders and descenders are minimal. The script tends to be bold, with a letter height of between three and five pen widths. Clear spaces should be allowed both within and between letters, and interlinear space is generally equal to about two minim heights.

Pen angle and wedge serifs Insular Maj uscule letters are written with an oblique-cut nib. with the pen angle between the horizontal and 15° .. The distincri ve wedge serif, such as

that on the IJ, is made by drawing a short downward stroke at about 450 into the main stem .. This can be preceded or followed by a hairline stroke along the top of the wedge.

Horizontal darts

To create the darts char appear on letters d, g, t, and z, use the back of the pen nib. Begin by drawing a diagonal stroke to the right, followed by a short

downward stroke, then pull the pen to the right to make a long horizontal stroke. Letters g and / have a second dart; create this by twisting the pen downwards to an angle of about 15°.

..... _-----,~:....,;_--- The comer of the nib am lie used 10 dmw tire short dart

Alternative dart

An alternative technique to that described above is to use the corner of the pen nib to define the dart before filling in the outline with ink.

Or form of a

Uncial form of a

b

-c-

2

Prr,lrlM fi r51 p" n of tire stroke

The oc [onn of a is "fte" "led

TI,e stein of lire b ,lro,Ad ",me 10 111e ltift

Uncial form

ofd

d

Alternative d

T/1e bowi rif lire a liwrrJd .....,. ...... ~_ .• be ,podol'S

The ,ewlld .<1 filke !if Ihe a fi"isllCs wili, a skaled iIOir/illt

Balance the IOfloj Ti,e stem 0"<1 IIIe bowi of II'e b

3

2

The secolld 5 trola: of Ilrr c is <I ,epamle, prrsi-.ed slrolil

4

1

-c

2

2

Tire I,~irli"c <If the e ra/l bf extended 10 fh, righl a"djilli.li",' will. n d.IT

Com plete rill ll!l:alld Sifilke ,if II'e r i • a SI'lgtr mOJ)emeljt

Dmw lire ~nn qf lil~ f /0" 011 lire 11m

Dr~w lire 11m horironta! ami! q{ lire g will., 1/'( bark <if I II e Hi!

32

IN5UUlR MAJUSCULE

h

2

of the h call he combined

3

~lJ-

TI'e arc oj the k call be made in

m

After drawing the serif, the m can be completed without liftillg the pell

Eith e r oj these nvo [onns oj n call be used

1

~

2~ 5 4

Tbe cross stroke if the n can be extended 10 the rlghl t" fill spare at the end oj a line

Alternative n

O Theois-

composed if two sinSle opposing strokes

1

-P --

1l

After drawing the serif, the p Carl be completed in a sllIgle 51roke

3

33

R--

2

771e serif at the top if tire q is a va ria timj of the wedge senf

1

--~-

2

2

3

.{;;

J

The fiua! uroke if Ihe t is pushed

2

The v takes ttie fonn oj a modem u

4

6

4

3

The hairline oj lire x is skated or draw" witl, the lIib comer

4

SlI1ivelllr: :"'lb-'-IP-s-id-e-d+:4JlI-~ Jor the IOllg horizontal Slro~

Draw t/'e third stroke oj the z Im'lh Ihe edge rf the ,lib

/SSULIR &_N.ITlO.Y.I[ SCRIPTS

Insular Minuscule

ALONGSIDE EACH OF THE MAJOR prestige formal hands, .n. there has usually developed a functional complementary hand for use in everyday transactions and for writing nonsacred manuscripts. In thc case of the Insular Majuscule, the complementary script is the Insular Minuscule, which dates from the late fifth or early sixth century. Its use continued in England until after the orman Conquest of 1066, and in Ireland it has survived for Gaelic use into the 20th century, making it one of the most enduring of all Latin scripts.

THE INSULAR MINUSCULE was brought to the British mainland from Ireland bv St. Columba and

-

was taught at the monast ri s of lona

and Linclisfarne. As with the Insular Ma j uscu lc, the script was then disseminated on the Continent bv

,

rnissionarv Irish monks. The term

I

"insular" is applied by palaeographers

to indicate a shared culture between Ireland and Britain, free from

C ontincnral in llucncc. Anglo-Saxon hand

After the Council of Whitby in 664, the influence of the Celtic Church weakened in England, Scotland, and Wales and a more distinctive AngloSaxon hand began to emerge Its quality is classed in four grades: hybrid, which contains half-uncial clements and the oc form of a; set,

a ar fully executed, formal hand; cursive, the basic, functional

hand; and currcns, the quicklv penned, informal hand. By the early ninth century, the most favoured hand in sou thcr n Britain was the poi n ted cursive minuscule, and it is this that we us' as our model (pp. 36 37).

Po INTEl) l'vW,'USCULE J' The name derives from the characteristic long s\\'~ep of the descenders. This is ill contra t to the sqllar<?r descenders of rhe set minuscule.

LINIJISI-ARNE The him}' of l.indisfarnc was founded in IOHJ. on the site of the earlier Al1glo-S.l>:on monasrcrv.

!.RXY ~z.\BOu.e sxlocnoi .. ns(noitUf:'r<"lltC

1 ~J c1CuLum~'-JUhl-t1L1UUf11 ~Lhur l4'dttwntr 1n(lrtc•

~ , ""nc11r1(ltcl1,ut.tf Jq,.tnsuur b{lf1(.1~!"i nlu!ctui

, ,Ix 1'1<.01 HWJA S?lLI.\I()X/S

d III f'rcJlwrbia Salautouis, a work

by [he great Anglo-Saxon historian Bede. was writte n in an Insular Minuscule script that had been perfected in We,lrll1outh-j;lrro\\" by 75(),

MERCIA, I'RAYI,R-I!OOK This page of set minuscule from 3 Macian pr;! )'er- boo k was written in the ,'arl), nimh cemury. possibly ill WorcestCl". Britain, Compare the rclarivcly restrained decoration of the initial letter with that of Iiede's I listoria Erc/csiastica ("l'pMil1') . ,vh ich features spirals, frets. and knor interlaces.

r ~ •

DOl .'1 iN)I. allJ colour arc t:/icn used to decorate (he firsl leucr C?Fa rcrse

DEl t\11 II~( ),\1 A

MI R("I\N I'RAYrR-IH101{

,_:,~, . j:)l\.lll1l!; ..>bi;(,-\:1w 11~>pL6: ilb111'~I'~

, i l:>1\(.':lbllf "l1l11m,\I1) (\~Q.l\.t"~.\n:: ~l ... 11nkth'mi'n 5i ,rn.l;lncl ".101 ;:":_" ~ hl~1I1i)1I,\,!;q;u\mm • -.\1111~m'>

'\r<: Tl~ ,nll$tnU1l11n~Q,ll1m'J: hun IJlI<"1lium ~,uIDn~ <:I1,;;1ihI)\' . viil <l01111p<m:irt:G 1~,cq\etn. <:lqmec;;tt\. '1111 q"l.¢.\I1rr: c,\~;hm~ .';.--Ct:h1'\'un m,\ne (h'11l1)1,\ 'lIlM' hi t'1~ ~, ~ul-;-lno1ll1l1bt1s (';'SUrG\ alnnt.\ ~-"bl1,~e

\yr. bl1~':"(f. mllll 0111111l l~~<;; In~C1.:I~'1

f'l~F'tt' lle-Ii '\~Jl~ ~nlTru 1" '111,\t pi.1 ,M:,",,\lill! . 1tnlCoo met u,;'r 111 h,\nc, ,\t'.:.mr l~\"ll\,\n). 1t~f'1 1]1ttti\b!f TIIl"J!1 1n1\I-:'1I l11<!;o%f11 1n<Ut<>TLl~ ltrr"<ll-ro Of'lcm, t1cll~3'r 11O!tl.11;l lMlf ntl;mhpi' h'l1'11 "d 11'c"nl'0r\~ :.J.eUll1jt1liry' ""111II11,,,t'

J~"~ fllmtru .. l, .l~ll1nr~::ii flltl1n ... \Jml11p=lTni'~ '11H \f>- ' .. ~ )111 ,n.",

The central stroke o(lhc Jarse "forms the Je<1Ji1l8 stroke q( Ihe foJ/OH'Jn8 I'

• 3-1

l/VSU!JIR MINUSCULE

--5;~~~~:iic;;q;'iiij:.liiil~1 Tho decoration around tbe tnnial b resembles IharjoumJ

111 mew/work on (J 'ward in T,e,..hl.hJle, Com ",,,II

1],. boxed coph al leners JemonS'lrme runiC' jl~/111ences

The shon s I, uml botl: mcdiallj. and I.rmmoll),

JlISTOl~JA ECCl_fiSIAST/CA

1 n Bede's Historin Ealcsiastica Centis Illig/MIIIII, written in southern England in about H20, the descenders are made ill a single stroke and terminated by an upward flick. The p~n

is lifted between each stroke.

(lF8"fjlm~ rr~rlD U1flfr ~tllhot rn"'='~ VJVtml In'ItI[~ ~1·1r= ~Wll",n romS''' "mlr8n-'6!~ ".~tt· .. ·)FOWO·r;' ·"''Pl' m, .... "'r.;ii ... vem II'P't lnldlWqmm I .. ~t" [,."~" ~"r' ""F I"""S l""t·"'t')f"m :9ffu ,,,~,,,,,,, .. '1t if""'" I'&> ~,)m;- 1","1,,, rmro W UO""'l"" &""'t"lf' boJ,l'" 1,1p'" 1",.~I't'!· 8f~' 1'1"'0'" ~'r~t'" 1"1""1., ,I~. ~",'J"""'til",,"""'" -''';;ohfrk.m ,.n, rl'trnn WI"",,"

..m-.,l,),,'

DETAIL FROM TI-I T-IISTOIWl ECCLI]SIA5 TlC,i

ate the two different forms of r that occur ar rhe end of the first an d second words of this derail. The LlSC of the upright form of the letter d in the second line is a departure (rom the Uncial form (pp, 24-25),

Compare ,hisjorm ifa ",id, d,e oejorm used i" I h. H is to ri a E eel cs iastlca

EXETER BOOK

Written during the second half of the tenth century in a fine Anglo-Saxon square minuscule, the Exeter Hook is an ,111 thology of vernacular poetry.

This whimstca! decoration, Wilh leuers LTon:90rmins mto onunals, is lessjofllwilhan tba: "sed/or capitols m the Undid'''''' Gospels (pp, 30 3 I)

Carolinqian influences

By the tenth century, the Insular Minuscule was undergoing changes, first becoming angular and upright and then, under the influence of the Caroline Minuscule (pp, 38-39), becoming more rounded, By the

11 th century, the script had entered its final phase of change, with the

I tters gaining a squarer aspect, Changes of pen angle

Throughout the development of

the early Insular Minuscule, it "vas the changes of p n angle that allowed the scribes to ex pres their calligraphic virtuosity, Thi element of play seems progressively to have diminished

a' the hand became squarer.

To the modern eye, the long, spiky descenders of the pointed cursi ve minuscule are made all the more dominant by their appearance on letters rand s (pp, 36-37). The other minim charact rs are rounded and compressed, which gives a more flowing texture to the page than any of the later Insular Minuscules.

II decorat iI'e ,"'eel' Ort Ihe .f/nollea ~Im may occur at

the end if a "wd Or line

35

1 SULAR &_NIlTlONAL SOJPTS

Insular Minuscule

CALLIGRAPHERS MAY WELL find the ductus of the Insular Minuscule one of the most satisfying to accomplish. In the Anglo-Saxon pointed minuscule shown here, the characteristic pointed aspect - most noticeable on the descenders - is created by progressively turning the pen to a steeper angle as the stroke is drawn. The pen begins at the headline at an angle of about 40° and on reaching the bottom of the descender has turned

to a near vertical. The minim height is about five or six nib widths.

1. Using the edge of

a square-cut nib, begin at the headline with

a short downward diagonal stroke.

4. At the baseline. the pen angle should be about 65°, reaching 75° at the tip of the descender.

The a is poi HIed at tile top

_4/_

(1 C
~ (1 L ~:-

~ -~))
G 2
-- - ---- 2. Return to the headline and begin the downward stroke with the pen at an angle of about 40°.

5. Once the descender has tapered to a point, begin retracing the stroke before separating at the baseline.

3. Continue to pull the pen downwards, gradually turning the nib in an anticlockwise direction.

6. On reaching [he headline, the pen should be at its original angle. Now proceed with the next part of the letter.

36

Tile ascen der of (" e f could rise above the head/hrt

Tile crossbar of the f shou! d be 011 d,e baseline

The bOUI/ of lire g could be more Opet1 than (his

711e letter j is a modcm COPlSlruclio"

INSUUR M,NUSCULE

The stem of the 1 <an be completely "pright

---"

-71 -- --~- 1".~{ .\'f.(

--- u-- ~ V

2

3

3

11---

3

l

------",

2 The 0 um be

drawn with one s troiee or two

--_-_--, -

______,~6,-=-----:

2

This modern form of r is more recognizable than the historically conea form

form --,j~",-----, ....... -----=-.".c->'1------. ... --lII!.--,r" ... __ ofr

Long s

The modern s is after! preferred

Create the leuer w by combining the u and v

2

3

Use either olle or two strokes to draw the z

4

The tall e was commonly IlgallJred with f, g, i, ITI; ", p, t , S, c, tij XI YJ and z

t

E-I ligature

4

37

CAROLINE &..EARIX GOTHIC SCRfPTS

Caroline Minuscule

!\ t first sight, the differences between the Caroline Minuscule f\.(Carolingian Minuscule) and the late Half Uncial scripts (see Vatican Basilicanus, below) are not clear. Th main distinction between the two is in the pen used to write them, the Half Uncial using a "straight" pen and the Caroline a "slanted" pen (pp. 40-41). In fact, the Caroline Minuscule was developed

in the eighth century as a reformed version of the Half Uncial. It survived in this form until the 11 th century, before evolving into the Early Gothic (pp. 46-47) and Rotunda (pp. 8 85).

By THE LATE ighth century, Charlemagne (Charles the Great, King of the Franks), had created a Frankish Empire that stretched from the Baltic to northern Italy.

Inspired by the glories of antiquity, Charlemagne instigated a great cultural revival. The prominent scholar Alcuin of York was made Abbot of St. Martins in Tours, France, where he established a scriptorium and Court School. It was here that the existing Half Uncial was reformed

to create the Caroline Minuscule.

A dominant script

Characterized by its clarity and uniformity, the Caroline Minuscule gradually became the dominant script in Europe. It arrived late in England, but was adopted in the tenth century for Latin texts, such

as the Rams )' Psalter (pp. 42-43).

Over 400 years later, it was rediscovered by Renaissance scribes and, in turn, adapted by icholas Jenson and other type deSigners

in Venice for their early

printing types (pp. 90-91).

VJ\TICAN BASILlCANUS The Half Uncial is usually defined by its capital form of ,,1 and by the oblique-cut nib used to write it (p, 40). Although lacking in subtlety, this early example, probably from the late fifth century, shows clear and unambiguous Ietterforms, Note how vertical the script is compared to the slanted Caroline of the Grandval Bibl e (oppo,ile).

The ascender is equal in heiahL to the minim

CAROLINE MIUSCULE 1-1 The Caroline Minuscule is written with a square-cut nib, with the pen held at 30° (pp. 4(}-41),

The minims adhere strialv 10 ,he headlme and baseline, c:re.alinn nem, Icaible line, '!ItW

38

CAROLINE MINUSCULE

FRANKISH EMPIRE

The extent of Charlemagne's Frankish Empire in the early ninth century is marked in red on this map of modern Europe. As the empire expanded north of the Alps, Latin and Greek learning was carried with it.

The, .. modem Caroline letters ha v been wr i!ten in eo uache on a backefound if watercolour

cJp;rall""e,s, loosely derived from Uncial and Rom~n models, hQve been created to h~rmonize with the minu,cuJ. hand

~ujdi~ne;Aris_e-{jkeplurnes Frorn'the~-wJ"i~ofmise-· 8ctweenth.,..,...outn..in &'''';'''5 1"1T'Iorni"ssu",W'J,jd.5~hUJn6 -the v.J.k,fD.:r,,"w5' Th~'aib-c"an.¥'"'sini~~sh...p-

whicl, steY Awhile;'»>JtJ.en JiB "-

In ",<>mh~[is.J7t;~ 6nourfid.J 1 c:rn.,lJvwJ.J._~rDn.

__.l\..1,Y1:t"ees-U"e_$one;c'milcs p~ ,

R"tul'),ed to P"""'"f;","'f0"'___'

INCIPIT LIBER

EXO DVS

SHEILA WATERS Composed in 1990

by the English-born calligrapher Sheila Waters, this work

is part of a triptych entitled Clor.rd Conceptions from

Above. The text is arranged asymmetrically in a stretched, modern version of Caroline Minuscule. The even height and straightness of the lines allow subtle colour changes

to be made to the letters without

the overall design becoming roo busy.

A square-cut nib

The major difference between

the Half Uncial and the Caroline Minuscule is the cut of the pen nib. The earlier hand is written with an oblique-cut nib, which produces an upright letter with contrasting thick and thin strokes. The Caroline is written with a square-cut nib, which produces letters with strokes of even proportions (pp. 40-41). Textural colour

When viewed as a page of text,

the textural colour of the Caroline Minuscule is quite distinct from that of the Half U ncial. While the Half Uncial letters have a static aspect, the Caroline letters have a slight forward thrust, an element most noticeable on the ascenders and descenders. Minims adhere sharply to the headlines and baselines, which emphasizes the script's ordered and logical aspect.

)\. .. 6 C S u r-r -: c:. 0'1': L ~O(y)lFi'flll0RU 15RA-beL

qUl1~'1'RES

S1 S~TTJ'··-l- IJ

f\-E S"yPT U CUOOli'COB 51j"'4guLl CUmz>ocnl BUS $U15 J]'4TROl e RU~T·

Rub e-T1. wm ro11· Leu 1 . lu dA.-. f r Tj._ch;ll..:('";"" z:.A.hul.cnr------- Th. square"CUI pef) .nib Sl'", the Caroline

._.......L. Min,,:;(ul. leuers a sliSh! forword tbrus:

ecben1)...mm. d.'-11Cr:n"'F...,,;,~m. ~ i7CNe-r"

THE GrtANDvAL BIBLE

E .,.-:x.f)-ot.$1-ct1 rom11c1 >.on 1 m ~rum '1 u ..... ee..3 I e r There is a subtle forward thrust to these exemplary

f ~ d ~ hr.· Caroline Minuscule letters. They are written

. .. U11-ri ':', ... ".'o.,..-.r,~ . le-pru"5111-Q...QU ft1CJLHY between four imaginary lines: the minims

"10 r e-p b >-.u-r::&nl. 1 n~·p-z:;oc-r->.z_-· g .. u om o-r-z::t.to ec: adhere to the central two lines, the ascenders

, I ...:> ' reach the top line, and the descenders reach

U'1 tu t!"1""fi r ~. 1,:(:1 U rom 111 '1: Co.sn~ 0 11 e:fi.4.A...o the bottom line. Th~ ascenders and descenders

,.., i _ • are exactly the same height as the minims,

39

CAROLINE &_EARLY GOTHIC SCRIPTS

Caroline Minuscule

THE CAROUNE MINUSCULE is one of the easiest hands for a calligrapher to master. As a reformed script, its original function was to communicate legibly (pp_ 38-39). The letters are without embellishments, the word spaces clear, and the ligatures minimal. Although closely related to the Half Uncial, from which it derives (below), the Caroline is always written with a "slanted" pen whereas the Half Uncial is usually written with a "straight" pen.

Caroline Minuscule -~ Th, C,,,J;,,, Minl/S.Wlea is a lillO-storey,

- - . - Op~" leiter

Half Uncial

-v=~- The Caroline n takes a

recognizably

- -- lower-cose form

A forward slant oj about 10° is tharaaenstic of the Caroline Minuscule leiter

TIle perl arlgle for the hand is ahoUl 35°

Basic elements

The minim height of the Caroline Minuscule is between three an d five pen widths, with

a further twO or three for the ascenders and descenders. The serifs on the ascenders of b,

d, h; k, and I have a clubbed appea.rance. Other letters, such as I, m,. and 11, have slightly wedge-shaped serifs.

J,;q.--- TI,,', oc [orm if a 1:S dia raaensuc of the Half Uncial

TIle Half Uncial ha nd retains the Uncial capital n

is umtten wilh ~ Ustralghl)~ perl (oblique-wt nib)

111e tl,;rd slmke t[ Il,e d coi/I.a be a continuation of the second

The sweep of rl,e third stroke if the e could con lin lie upwards -~-----------,-- ...... _..........;:!----- 10 joirl the bowl

2

TI,e stelll oj the f can also be made wilh a single d OU'f1 ward llrake

TIle bowl of the g should be left opell

~---,,;L-----------I,,,",-"'_---~~-------,"-r- this illward sweep or wi Ih a Joot (see alternative n, opposite)

TI,e Carolille Minuscule is written WI"tH a "5 Ian led " pen (square-cut nib)

40

Sk~le the tail of the i to fom, a j

CAROLINE MINUSCULE

Pull the foot of the I along the baseline

m with an inward sweep or afoot (see alternative n, below right)

Finish the n with an i>!ward sweep or a foot (see alternative

n, below right)

2

2

Alternatively, the p could be drawn ill two strokes, with the second

s troiee tontinu il1g to the stem

2

3

2

3

3

traditio>!aiiot1g form ofs

Longs

2

This altemative foot for h, m, and n call be used instead of the sweep

Alterna ti ve "

41

CAROLlNE &._E,lHLY GOTHIC SCR1PTS

Foundational Hand

No BOOK 0 THE mechanics of calligraphy is complete without a reference to Edward Johnston's Foundational Hand and its simplicity and integrity. Historically, it belongs to the early 20th century. However, the basis for the script is a manuscript dating from the year 966, the Ramsey Psalter. Beli v d to have been produced by scribes at Winch ster, the Ramsey Psalter was written in a hand now known as

the English Caroline Minuscule, an Anglicized version

of Frankish Caroline Minuscule (pp. 38-39).

By THE END OF the 19th century, under the influence of the Arts and Crafts movement in England, a whole new philosophy was emerging among artists and craftsmen. The basis of this philosophy was that the honest construction of an artefact was achieved only by the correct interaction of tool and material. Medical student Edward Johnston readily endorsed this idea and began, in 1897, to experiment in writing letters with a broad-edged pen. In 1899, his work came to the attention of W. R. Lethaby, Principal of the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London, who invited him to teach classes in Calligraphy and Illumination. In 1901, Johnston also began lecturing at the Royal College of Art, London.

In IllIS de/Oil. the "lumped" serif on I he I has been completed '!ftCF the stem has been <ir01l'"

THE RAMSEY PSAL-I ER The Caroline Minuscule of the Ramsey Psalter was one of [he hands on which Johnston's calligraphic work was based, In Writillg aud /l/lllHillating and u'llerill.l!., he stated, "it has all [he qualities of good writing in a marked degree. and I consider it, taken all round, the most perfect and satisfactory penmanship which I have seen".

Fou IJATIO AL P

With the pen held at 30°, the weight of each Foundational letter appears to be

evenly distributed between horizontal and vertical strokes,

TI tsnare- dne-- die JIto."

fine peccaro nof cullndlre-' '. m rferere nri dne.m Ifa-ere: nn . '. F ldC mlfmccnchAuu-dne

fU_f2 nof quema~dum

fpaaulmuflTlCC·.. .' .

-" . . .

I nrc- dne fperaul.nonconfiIn

dar lnMX'crnum·. .

,.....__ hyAU-lUS lUu~ III ~·M tW~. i mcdlarr-OJTi:i_opaadriidno.~

I L:uufare6(fupcr~ltarr-

cum tnfecu4. '. .

B ~ ansru dri-~ dt1o:{) sell d~ . '.

B en aquae omf qLLtC (up ¢Of fune dnO~tJ on1fulrnu:e(drlictfu, '" B en fol&luna- driO .:

bmedlQIC' fttLLtc cdr dno .

,-/ 1-'(

B momlftmbCl&rofdnO -

42

FOUNDATIONAl. HIIND

PI-AT!: 6.-" Sl.f\NTED~PEN·' SMALL~LE1~rERS, N ..... ·;: .. '·f/'II,~li~""/j£Jjf"")lk.urvI4iJlr_lll''': if, PIJIrIIO, 14-.

1. F~tI!td.uitM'{JIII(1!d: ;m('l(ccUr.:r'lt (orn,.!l hand for MS. work and eo del/clop iflto later forms (Ref. y..r, ~~ L. cello. V III.

& PI'· 305-;".110). ~

If. fld/if fllnr,I::.. r.ipid ~!HI pnctit'.ll hand (or modern MS. (Rl:f. W. &: L, cello. XXI. & I'j}, J} 1-315).

11[. R~ •. Ifr2it SmJII-l.tH('r Hilmi: suitable for the most formal modern MSS. {l~~f. \V, 3: L. (:0110. XX. & ])f)' .1 10.4':)· ll. :11m! ]11. f'I'~}' b-e oken us MS. models for pracrical adaptarion to priJJliHl' pain/lng] (fJr:;ilt[, &c.: cf PIs. 10, II, 1+. u~,

WORKSHEET

In 1909, in collaboration with the artist Eric Gill, johnston produced a series of tudenr worksheets on which he described the Foundational Hand as

€t h.1CC scnbimus i vobts ut &ludC.ltis.~· ~ Slud ittn wsrrum SIt. plenum, .

E't l!!l[(csr !lJ1!! LlI!riar{ll.~nJ.l-~-- Car~fid consideration "{Iexi Size. 1000er

1lUdUlLnJUS ah nHl' QlIlltllldlllllas "'eiOh', Gild 'paril'O is detnonsuoted in

Vl~)is: ('},yoniam Drus luxfsr. thls mawre work by Johnston

&"rmfhmr in ('() IWI! sllllrullac.

"excellenr for formal M" work and to develop into later forms". On rhc sheers, he modified rhe Ramsev Psalter ript by making it lighter and more upright:

and he included his characteristic "sharp-headed" serifs.

ST DY SI'IEET

The rna: n text of this study sheet from 1919 is written in Johnsron 's own fiilly developed Foundational Hand.

The ascenders are more ordered and shorter than those demonstrated on the earlier worksheet (abor/c). johnston's mastery of lralics (pp. 94--95) is also clear

E()WAI~I) Jm-INsToN

Through hi calligraphy, design, writing, and teaching, Edward johnston became one of the the 1110 t influential penSlllel1 of the early 20th century He is pictured here using his f.1Vourite

writing instrument, the quill,

"Slanted" pen letters

Johnston was encouraged in his work by Sidney Cockerell, the former secretary to William Morris, who introduced him to the Ramsey Psalter, It wa . then that he wrote to a friend:

"And so the idea arne - to make living letters with a formal p n". In his great instructional work Writing and !1Juminatina and Lettering, published in 1906, he explained his preference for "slanted" penletters, such as those in the Ramsey Psalter, over

the Half Uncial letters written with

a "straight" pen (pp. 38-39). Drawn with a broad-edged pen held at 30°, the "slanted" letters had the greater strength and legibility, and the text they produced was of an even weight. "Sha rp-headed" serifs

The most marked difference between Johnston's letters and those of the Caroline Minus ule is the serif on ascenders. Regarding the "pushed" pen strokes used for "lumped" serifs as forced, Johnston advocated the use of "sharp-headed" serifs made from "pulled" pen strokes.

43

CAROLINE &...EARLY GOTHIC SCRIPTS

Foundational Hand

"LMOST AS IMPORTANT in calligraphy as the letterforms is the 11. manner in which the words are laid out on the page and the textural effect that they achieve. With its regularity of ductus, in which arches, curves, widths of letters, and internal spaces all relate, the Foundational Hand demonstrates a perfect evenness of texture (see Inter-letter spacmg, below). The pen angle is about 30°, incr asing to about 45° for diagonal strokes. Minim height is four or five nib widths, with a further three for ascenders and descenders.

The key letter

As this composite character of a, d, e, II, and q shows, the 0 is the key letter of the hand. Take time and care to compose irs two curved strokes. It is

useful to explore the construction of Foundational letters by drawing them with rwo pencils taped together. The pencil points relate to the corners of a pen nib.

Internal spaces The elegant oval

of space within the letter 0 provides the model to which all other spaces in the hand should ideally conform.

Inter-letter spacing

The spaces between letters should be as consistent as possible. Many scribes train their eyes !O study inter-letter spacing as keenly as the leuerforms themselves.

1

11~-

3

b

To draw tire sen] and stent oj tl,e b, see leller)

2

c

Plllltl" fil"lt stroke oj tire c a long I II e base" ore

d

5 To draw tilt senf mid slem oj lire d, lee leiter!

?
e -: ~
3
2
--t f ~ $, h To draw 'h' ,,1l3

and stem <1 (he

_ _ h, see letter I

3

.. .

tJ

To draw tire ,enfs oj are i and j, lee letter I

44

FOUNDATIONAL HAND

.......-:: 1

k 7:,0 .: I/'-:S~ "l. tJ

and stem oj the k, see ieuer I

- ---- ------ . ~

Pus h the edge oj

floe nib doumu/ards 10 the lefi (1)

Make aM inward curtle 10 join the mai" stem (2)

m

To draw In e leriJ oj the m, see leiter 1

n

To draw the

serif oj the n, see leiter 1

0-

Return 10 Ihe lop and pull the pen dOWl1wards 10 draw the stem (3)

To com plete the letter, p u /I th« strolee along the baseline (3)

2

P-TOd,"W<h-: /:: Ln 4

senf qf the p,

see letter I

5 The fifth >!roke oj the p can begw to the left qf the s tem

~(1- '_'---

To draw the senf of the r, see letter I

5

To avoid Ihe S lilting, stmd: the ji "t s troke horizon/a _II]

·--t----

--- ---

Pu /I Ihe secon d strok« of the t along the baseline

u

To draw tile -~[- -.1:

2" 3 4

sen] oj the

u, see letter 1

1

.~

v

'"'' y~-

1 2

. ~ ~

x ~- -~

4

1

'\;}'-

-" V--

3

Til'" Ihe pen nea rer 10 the h on'zon!a I 10 broaden the sero" d slroke oj rhe z

-&

This altemative s may pro~e

easier [or begi,mers 10 pen than the traditional form

g. Ah.m'ri.':- -

45

CAROLINE &.._EARLY GOTIIIC SCRIPTS

Early Gothic

THE EARLY GOTHIC script (Proto-Gothic, Late Caroline) was used widely in most of western Europe from the late 11 th century to the mid-13th century, a period that fell between the end of the Caroline era and the beginning of the Gothic. In retrospect, the script can be seen as transitional between the Caroline Minuscule (pp. 38-39) and the Gothic Textura hands (pp. SO-57), for it contains characteristics of each, including the rounded bows of the Caroline and the split ascenders of the Quadrata.

THE EARLY GOTHIC script evolved directly from the Caroline Minuscule. It was more compressed and oval than its predecessor and greater attention was paid to such details as serifs and the feet of minims. Its development was possibly the simple result of scribes altering their pen nibs from square-cut to obliquecut. This produces more angular letters and gives an upright aspect

to a page of text. The difference between letters 'written with a square-cut nib and those written with an oblique-cut nib can be seen when comparing the Winchester Bible with the Grandval Bible (p. 39). The Winchester Bible

The Winchester Bible is one of

the most outstanding books of the Early Gothic period. Commissioned by Henry of Blois, the Bishop of Winchester, Britain, it dates from about 1150. Written with a "straight" pen held at an angle close to the horizontal, the script features short, neat ascenders and descenders. These create more interlinear space than longer ascenders and descenders would, and so aid the reading of

the line. Many of the Lombardic Capitals in the Winchester Bible, used both as display capitals and as capitals within the text, are among the finest of their kind (pp. 62-63).

The initial illuminated P is extended to fill the lena,h if the column if'ex!

ST. AMBROSE, DE MISTER us J This page is from a theological tract. probably penned at Rochester Priory, Britain, in 1130. The Early Gothic hand used is in complete contrast [0 that of the Winchester Bible (a&o~e), Although the nib is square, the pen is held at an angle

close [0 40°, which results in a strong headline, reinforced by a sturdy baseline.

The bOil" is quue compressed, sil'ing i ~ (In twa! aspea

J----- The flick <ll the head <if the sum can either be drawn as an inili(JJ stroke or added on completion

EAKLY GOTHIC B This Early Gothic letter is written with the pen at an angle of about 40°.

THE WINCHESTER BIBLE

The illuminated initials in the Winchester Bible represent a high point in medieval artistry and are the work of six different illu 111 i nators, This initial letter P from

the Book of Kings hows Elijah being consulted by the me sengers of Ahaziah.

These rubrtcaied capiwls "j/eel. (he !lie of R".<t ie Capitals]or titles, (see n, hierarchy <if'trip". P: 16)

]ue,prT·!lun>. ~r.\t! .\l\\2>"Q>11·\U~1 11I~)j srs .. ,,,-chu:r1s,·t'1n ~r .\U :'Ti~lls._)I.r', St"" "-_l'~i.\ __ ~Ut"_'.

e ml1t'<lllbu( rot1m.mum f~lmonat\ cnrn ud V.m"t.it'C\1IIt'ii ~. r~ll\J'''~<''{"o'~'m (~~="'v!~\'\'i!"l'.tlr 11 .• " ... L~~ __ .my.tnltmm .,tTt«W.-mti

Ol.",·.,rrn.','anl.m"'f'l:m tlHIS.<Vt'lI11l<!i =, ~~. 4< mttlntf o~dn':, <>r;w\lU; :quo mwtt.tn l'<:t' l\~fm"m' C! l1'1t:¢'uiUm W -ltUWl(' '1U1 ,lbltmrf d~. ij!!ll': acmj-ik' "If <1= ~r-t[ "dmona: . .nq' 't!f~m ,'mo nem edm!'~"'l1n 'dtm!Il.'vnCmnm Ii'l"""((.,,.ufllrli lltlAtI<I';n ,wrnhtm 1nm.m{~ ptoo1<hffq1<'ttll.! 'l'l4mWtdrt"fulhtM, 1=,,,'. Domdll" qJ' m"pm.mn{,.rf m~llf W~\ l~~ mj-lknot"ttlllltlfu

dem: qu.un licam fum" .lhqmf "":r-un"l1tn- .A:~ t~ 4tlt'C$. <\' (mtum odot'¢m !I~ ~:t llLwo 110blS mun~'e'1AamJrmn>t'tlt;t ~. qKuoln> f~~lImu( = ''Fame ~mtJbii . d~· <:I'1ymi.. qd" &- <!d4jlft1re. n,urntUruf unmqunq, .t&~ qd ~=·~1.,(MW'. 'TtlId1~\""'&ft'¢;"m¢tmlltfft'd~~.

1) ee +urn cd~tn-~Utr;<l''c m~ f"'tr(~1rntf· mm.muni ~

1 = <tflmlum·~""d1~<'5'mlsn:'qulol munrm amlklrwft11'd" .. n Afmv m-<'5 d'.n~ JC,w 11«1f .tpMttt 1m 41xn" '1ut.\.....au( ~ U1t"IIm ~. &mi'n.un "011~' r.,j} lJF l~U-=-fimt: }f4f§t-. t"W-nlirt\:S ''Wf'<:ttmlmtf14ctlu1Um. ~qtud l~rtS.

-W'Q\i:¢ qutd t~¢I$' f1,..<n<;tl~ dt.Wcto d.:"l'crilru!un$' mtltl~ <Ii ~;£ aulOCu~ ;"llllia:ur 1lC\'N4' 'It01 Itt m 1m1W m~tIII~ :(.m1n(d>w ummnttm·V~ Jl!U' Wumm,. IUdIlh f4~'lltdt!h fummii iAcc1\'1=.. ijo!t .:o:m1idu·o\N. ~ ~.IS' f«t mm,lkwriI pm. t'ry<¢Iml>uC .tnptS

~d fi=-fmpnlm~. qIIl>\. ~UITt'fC!cn

I MV.'lE:\\~'· iIlR1T!lN

;;}C\ \[ 11 ' ~,

. \.l.,.~._ .. ,.. ... 'rt-' ::rll;.~ ... l.

46

EARLY GOTHIC

/'"7

~V-AW'<U.'~~L1B ~

~N''''~''lR.f ...... 1NCIPIT:XXI -

, J

m~IUC]Y,8

u lttm"" tt;'t,ttl ~fn~

rtUtlt. -mtmt eft ltbtaaotte'penfittfb." ..... ,,/--- These leuers are less compressed ,hon IS l),pimlJar Early Gat hie, ript

u:e- tttrlufq; pd1:1:tf Lance moderatC'b

~'<;,'!<'I j[1i1"buttc t1eq; 11ltttf( dtfcttfftottl fX'11dta

d' ~ /

epMftUtt;, neq; runm wl:porntcu---

ft?UdCUU rdttJqU4ti;~qutp-pc etuf fetmtras: ranra, ~ concepnone- fttttr gniutdc- ;'u~qrqs CZI5 ad foLun ~ ~ nixtt.'t

~"",,I"'" f 11ottndl? fu41ncUnam ~ nonnullf-Uero uat"Xttt'1ortb; peep--uf tnferultt11r ,.I at fi qwf eas1iWn-bur penenare-deftdemr 'ftni' qurK

n II tnutfuar::fedhoc fibl enXqucd fuuf (oa.lmur- abfcondat;; tjnde-b(";-

ne quoq: nartanone brilouca per f~lficaDOnE duaur. ToUror faCOb

r / /

utr,gaf popidtaf !t1ndef.4:d.tn!!rda-

l1rutf. ~~pLlranlf ~panr aet'&nc.uUC eaf;tdeaacafq; comclbufln

J,1f q~ ~pohaia fuetam amdOL apparuU;,.lUa ti q!W{~ ~ UU1~fitaJtfcrum:;/ a.rq: mbrrnc tnodu~ ~laz._effe&t~E- uann1jV61

'~ ..._.,.,_.. ~ fubdrzur; Pofurt;q: ear :lnC4ru1tw~

This Ver.<al leuer I dcp"mJrom Ccnhjc Com"enUOIlS in ,he eX(fCme

ilyormali,)' '!filS decordlion The pen is held at ~ shallower anale than in the t . Ambrose, I)" Mistcriis I manuscritn (opposite), resulliIJS ill less lesible lineS of ,..VI

PAPER MAKER The earliest European paper was made from rags of cotton or linen. which were chopped, soaked, and laid on a

sieve before bei ng pressed and dried, In Britain, relarively fine paper was a vailable by

the 12th century,

1\lIOR.~UA 1:\'jCJH

The Mom/in ill Job volumes were completed

in I 11 I by scribes and ill urn i natal'S at Cireau x, Fran ce, one ye~r before St. Bernard arri ved

and imposed the hard discipline for which the Ci rercian order became known. The humour and vibrant colour in the illustration of chis page from the manuscript are in sharp contrast to the work produced in the austere lime, that followed.

Development of Early Gothic

The Early Gothic script originated

in the areas that were subject to Norman and Angevin influencemainly ngland and France - before spreading to northern Germany, Scandinavia, Spain, Sicily, and part of Italy. As a result of English influence, more attention was paid to the feet of the minims, which were formally applied, as oppo ed to the upward flick favoured on the Continent,

As the script developed, minims generally be ame more compressed. The demise of the hand

The hand is perhaps best regarded

as the mid-point of the pendulum swing between the Caroline Minuscule, with its clearly defined letterforrns, and the Gothic Textura hands, in which the overall textural effect is of the greatest importance. Although influ need by the Caroline, scrib - s quickly realized that if they increased the compression of letters, they could alter the textural colour of the page. This reached its extreme form in the Gothic Textura hand , which quickly grew in popularity and displaced the Early Gothic.

47

CAROLINE &._EARLY GOTHIC SCRIPTS

Early Gothic

EARLY GOTHIC SCRIPT is written with a "straight" pen and

. has an upright, compressed aspect. The wedge serifs on

the headline of the minim characters help create a strong horizontal stress to the text. The minim height varies between approximately four and six pen widths, and ascenders and descenders frequently equal the minim height. Because of the great variation in pen angle - between 10° and 40° - various types of serifs are included in the hand. The most distinctive of all is the split serif on the ascenders of letters b, d, h, k, and I.

Split serifs

Create the split a cender with a pen angle of 40°, drawing the left serif and main stem first, then adding the thinner right serif (A). Alternatively, extend the thin serif into the stem (8).

D

c

_____ --/1' j

"Filled" serifs

A third method involves "tilling" the split serif (C). The pen is held at a constant 30° for the whole letter.

E

Early Gothi, leiters should be written with at! obliqHe-cJII m'b

TIle feet Ofl lite slrmg!Jt strokes of

the minims terminate wilh an upward

111m of the pen

Flat-headed and wedge serifs

A fourth serif variation is the flat-headed type (D), created by overlapping two strokes, with a pen angle of about 10°. A fifth serif type is [he wedge serif (E), which appears on the letters i, 1tI, 11, p, r, and II, as well as the modem letters j, II, and tv. This can be drawn

in one or two strokes, with a pen angle of about 40°.

Tire bowl 011 tire a S110"ld be Imge

-;1-

-U

-b Ti,e ascender height ~r tile b can equal tha: of the minim

_~----

2

Orni: tile crossbar of tile f to ,re~te a long finm of'

TI1ej is a modem ctmslruai,m

4

A Item mil/ely, die g coodd hI wmplmd itl three stroee;

3 Ti,e h ((wid

a/tentatively Iwvr a serifed joQt

48

EA.RLY GOTHIC

4

Pull rhe fi'l I srroke of the I along the baseline

3

This half r can be used The half r IS construaed

li ~'''"i "_nd_p_~I<J.---"",~>u~g,,:rok'

Full r Halfr

2

2

Thefir:;tltro.keojlhe ~1 - t could extend above the headline

,-y------ - -

~lT ~--

3

/

~ rn.. -~~~

3 4 TI,e v is a modem comt1llct.ion

The w is a modern

construction

S-t ligature

C-t ligature

r4 ~_~~3. 4

2

- -

49

GOTl-IfC SCNPTS

Textura Quadrata

By THE BEGINNING of the 13th century, the Early Gothic

_ script had evolved into a non-cursive, angular hand known as the Textura Quadrata (Black Letter, Old English). The name indicates the woven appearance of the lines of text, "Textura" meaning "an even effect in weaving". The script represented a revolutionary change in calligraphy - after centuries of emphasis on clear letter recognition, individual letters were suddenly subservient to overall textural effect.

WITH IT.S DENSE, angular strokes and diamond-shaped heads and feet, the Quadrata letter is to many people a graphic embodiment of the Middle Ages. In northern Europe, it was used into the 16th century for high-grade liturgical manuscripts, second only in prestige to its twin script the Prescisus (pp. 54-55). The Quadrata's decline as a de luxe bookhand may have been partly due to its large size; the demand for smaller, hand-held books meant that more modestly sized scripts such as the Schwabacher

(pp. 74-75) and Humanist Minuscule (pp. 90-9 J) were more sui table.

However, the Quadrata did survive into the 20th century in the form of

'cut letters, stained glass letters, and titles on deeds, as well as being much favoured in Europe by signwriters, shop owners, and deSigners of newspaper mastheads.

The our lines of Versais and illustrations we,. drawn in rhe spar", prOvided by doe scribe: here. ,hey have be.n Qudin.d in mowipoi"', ,ei,h the oold and colour sul! (0 be applied

THE METZ PONTIFICAL This beautifully crafted page from an early 14th-centu ry French man uscript shows Textu ra Quadrara at its finest. The even, textured effect of the page is created by the scribe's meticulous regulation of spacing and III inim height. The scribe !my have used an oblique-cut nib, which

would have nude the production of fine hairlines particularly easy (pp. 14-15)- Note the rubricated capitals S an d I, preceded by the capi ral P_ The

stroke through the stem of the P denotes the contraction of "par", "per" ,_ or "par".

,

TEXTURII QUADRATA .\" The script's most distinctive feature is the diamon d-shaped term i nals of the 111; nim strokes.

50

TEXTURA Qy:IDIVITA

PAINTING IN CI-JICI-IESTER CATHEDRAL This painting shows Bishop Sherbourne asking King Henry VIII to confirm the charter for Chichester Cathedral. By the rime the work was painted in 1519, the Quadrara would have been obsolete as a text hand, appearing only occasionally in brushdrawn form, The artist has padded out the text on the [Op line with awkward word breaks.

The inelegance of these breaks is possibly exacerbated by the requirement to place the word "Rex" above the King's head.

The spill ascenders and descenders have been exanoerated, particuarlj· on the

descea der '!! ,he p

,lIanf strokes, surh as those on ~he s, terminate wuh hairline }lourishes - evidence '!! ,he scribe's drwositJ

The roumer '!! thi: larne I·mal P .s used '0 cii'plc), !h~ (O.Q( rif arms c:I the If"Orncmoni J<mu/y

GOTHIC ALI'I-IAUET This page frOI11 a calcndar-, hymn-, and prayer-book belonging to Guillaume d'Orgemont dates tram about 1386. It gives us an almost complete alphabet of

Texrura Quadrata letters. including two ver ions of a, 1", and s. Close examination of

(he letters suggests (hat the pen may have been cur obliquely. This would explain [he relative thickness of the stem strokes. compared to the diagonal and diamond strokes.

The ,""Ion tbe hook includes Ihe oltemative GothiC a, ,,'hichJ2awres a double crossbar 'hrounh rhe co"nler

DETAIL FR.OM PAINTING IN Ci lIeI-IESTEI>" CATHE[)R.AL

The split ascender and descenders are particularly developed in this brush-drawn version of Quadrata, but [hey have caused the artist difficulties - [he ascenders of I etters d and I dash with [he descenders of the ps.

'V( {- -

. ,. ~,::?

~'--' ~~, .. ', , ....

r f/,

"

.((.9.11.(.

r.f ._!f.ytt.k. .m. ",.0 .n. q .r.i.r. . t . b . t .~ · p. 3 . t · ~ · .. (.Ct7f~ l\:.1!)_(

nr noftrr

qtlltS 1 ttl

. cttft «ttl r )t- 0

..

DottinB the i and j

The characteristic uniformity of the

o

Textura Quadrata letter produced

an interesting innovation that remains in use today. Having been easily mistaken for other letters, the i was distinguished from other letter by a flick (by the late 14th century, this had developed into a dot). The letter i also doubled up as a j, acquiring a tail when so used. Thi change, along with the late medieval inclusion of the I\' and the differentiation of I' and u, gave us our 26-letter modern alphabet. Script status

The status of a script is generally determined by the number of separate strokes and pen lifts used in its creation, a distinction particularly disc rnible in the Quadrats. Generally, the more angular and compressed the letters, the more strokes will have been used in their con truction. A useful indicator of the status of a script is the bowl of the letter Q, 'which can range from

a low-status, almost cursive form (sec th - Painting in Chich ster Cathedral, abOl'e) to a high-statu, , rigidly geometric form (se the Gothic alphabet, life).

51

GOTHIC SCRIPTS

Textura Quadrata

THE ESSENCE OF THE Quaclrata is the formal, upright letter with strokes differing as little as possible from one another. Curves are practically eliminated and the formality is only broken by the use of hairlines. These include the skating strokes that occur on letters G, e, and r, created by dragging the wet ink with the corner of the nib. The Quadrata's other distinctive features are the split ascenders and the diamond feet on the minims, applied with only a small space between each one. Basic elements

A "slanted" pen (square-cut nib) is used for the Quadrata. The pen is held at

all angle of berween 35° and 45° for stem strokes, adjusted to

a shallower angle for connecting strokes. Minim height is generally about five pen widths. The relatively large size of the letters makes the use of a reed

pen ideal.

I

Drawing a right serif

The split ascender is drawn in two strokes. Begin the right serif above the headline, pulling the pen down to the left to complete the stem in one stroke.

Adding a left serif

The pointed left serif should be a little shorter than the right one. Turn the nib onto its left corner and use the wet ink from the previous stroke.

Textural effect

To achieve the ideal textural effect of Quadrata, inner-letter spaces and inter-letter spaces hould each equal the width of one stroke.

{mer" word space l h ou I d be equal to about t(.110 nib widths

The bowl of tire a can be more rounded

1 -ntf-

T1ie !tIal strokf of the C (aM be finished with

a hairline

b-

~_ _L_

The ear if

14 the g (OIjld

be draw" as n ~--"",,---o_.-- .7--""11 ... 5 .... _ s_:p~ale stroke

2

~1

- -~;"., TI,e upward stroke - above the i and j mil be substituted for a _ 2 filII diamond strolee

52

TEXTURA QyADRATA

t

_llC

~-o

---- ~-

41---

-,-_--

J\l' 4

;,U_

,t

The O'0S> stroke of the t ,ai, be finished with

, __ --"a~h,airli,~e _._

11

]-2

4

3

Make 'lire that a small space is left between 11.,1' two diamond heads if leuers u and v

O-r

ligature

The rigill-halld

-~- bow of the p ,,,,,--

be) owed 11m 11

tire left-hatld /10111 of the e

Conjoined p and e

3

Make sure thai ,mali spaces are

8 left belulee" lite three diamond hrads of thew

,. ~

2

Drag the tail of rile x with the wei illk

+----* of 11'1 e seco" d stroke

______ ~--:--y~6 _

7

1

-7- -- The hair/ille diagoPlal ...----. if the z can be draWl! 2 as a separate stroke

~=-------

_____..

3

Make sure

8 tha: a small ,pace is left beuoeen each fool oftl1l! m

, ~-- -~~

3 6 9

4

2

5

4

2

.~ 2

Drag rlre illk with the comer of the I,ib 10 complete tile split. serifs at

J tz:: q 4 - ~--

.>

Skme the hairline of the r wilh tile comer if the /lib

Skare lire hairtin« of the 5 with the comer if the /lib

53

TEXTUR/1 PRESCISUS

Textura Prescisus

USE OF THE TEXTURA PRESCISUS (Textualis Prescissa, Black Letter) paralleled that of the Quadrata (pp. 50-51), both in its duration as a bookhand and in the development of its textural style. The two scripts even used the same Capitals and Versals (pp. 58-59). The chi f difference between them is indicated by the adjunct to the Prescisus's name, vel sine pedibus, which translates as "with its feet cut off". This refers to the square-ended bases of the minims and desc nders in the hand.

THE WINIJMILL PSALTER

The Windmill Psalter was written in England in about 1290. In this folio from The Judgement of Solomon, the fine filigree work is done with a sharply pointed quill. The steep pen angle used for the text produce typically angular lcrrers with strong diamond heads and narrow minim strokes. Stroke width and inner-letter spacing are equal.

THE OFtMESBY PSALTER

The Ormesby Psalter, written in East Anglia in about 1300, reveals a more relaxed form of Prescisu: than that used in rh c Luttrell Psalter.

THE LUTTlliLL PSALTER

The Luttrell P alter, written for a wealthy Lincolnshire landowner in about 1325-35, is Prescisu writing at its finest. The lines of text are uniform and condensed, each stroke neat and precise Th e thickening of minims towards their base may Indicate a twisring of the pen (pp. 56-57).

The lq,w,e-e"dcd Presdsus jeel contrast witlr the diamond [eet of Ihe QiladralO

TEXTUfV\ PR.ESCISUS /vi The flat feet of the Prescisus are the. cript's most characteristic feature.

BOTH THE QyADR.ATA and the Prescisus evolved from the Early Gothic scr ipt (pp. 46-47) and date from the end of the 12th century. Palaeographers are uncertain which of the two came first. It is possible that the Prescisus originated in southern England and spread to France, where scribes were inspired to develop the Quadrate. The arrival of the Prescisus was most likely the result of a creative burst from a calligraphic virtuoso. But, whatever its origins, the script rapidly became a more prestigious bookhand than the Early Gothic.

A precise hand

As a script, the Prescisus was a

tour deforce. It was as precise as its name suggests and scribes needed a particular dexterity to use a "slant d" pen to produce the artifiCially constructed feet that imitated the work of a "straight" pen (pp. 56-57). The length of time it took to write the script meant that it could be used only for large, prestigious books. Use started to decline dW'ing the late Gothic period, and the introduction of printing saw its final demise.

The Ita!!r is used ",/ten The diamond hcads4minims are DETAIL FROM THE

pf,·"'"pttrnoniiii"iUUm :qutil

....

55

Gotnu: SCRJPTS

f l·

Textura Prescisus

T~E PRINCIPA,L DIFFERENCE ~etween the Quadrata and Prescisus IS the latter s absence of diamond feet on letters 0,1, h J i, k, 1, m, n, r, t, and u , The split ascenders on b, il, k, and 1 are reduced or flat-headed (square-ended) and, in the extreme form of the script, l-etters OJ c, d, and e are even deprived of a baseline stroke. Prescisus has a more clearly delineated base than the Quadrata and interlinear spacing is approximately equal to the minim height.

171e Q"adrala foot' is diamond-shaped

The PreSCi.sHS JOOI is square-ended

Common elements

The Quadrata and Prescisus have a number of elements in common. Both have a minim height of

approximately five pen widths and both are written with a "slanted" pen (square-cut nib). A pen angle of 45° is usual for both Textura scripts.

VOlltline

tltefoal by drawl'Jlg along llie baseline aJld Irp to join

~ tne stem

1}TWlSI the pen

45° at the botlolll if Ihe <Ie",

\

Filled feet

To make the sguare foot, draw the stem at an angle of 450, then add the outline of the foot by dragging the ink with the corner of the nib, This is then filled in with ink.

Pen twist

A second method involves twisting the pen from 450 to the horizontal in a short,

swift movement (above).

Alternatively, begin twisting at the top of the stem (above righl).

Numerous tools an ",,'Iable fo, wrillng Presasus lettets, i ne! udi"g the reed pe fj

-:

Flat-headed serifs

Like the square feet, the flat-headed seri fs a re create d artif ciall y with a "slanred" pen. One method is to outline the serif with [he comer of the

nib before filling it in with ink (above lifi). Alternatively, add the serif by twisting the pen downwards from the horizontal of the ascender line to the 45° angle of the stem stroke (above).

II Drag !he ink wi!h tile

corner of the mb to 2

compl ere the foot qf the a

The .spli-::erlf oj --;" e b can be replaced wllh the flat-headed !ype

2

3

A haor/,ne alH hf included 0" Ihe c'

The Iwirll~e IIj the e sh auld touch the main SlfOki

Omillheao15 stroke W "l! this leIter lIS • longs

Use the corner oj the nib 10 complete the splil a.s~nde!.!f the h

4

AI!ernali'veiy, afull diamond can be used 10 dot the i and J

-c

56

frag the illk with tlie 1 mer of the nib to ___ mplete Ihe foot oj the f

11

Drag the i"k with

the COmer oj the ,

nib 10 complete th« . square foet qf the h __

/" /'

2

TEXTUM PRES CIS US

Complete the split serif of the k with the comer of the nib

4

The 1 could alternatively fea!u re all elollga ted diamond joot

4

6

3

The foot of the p could _fini,h sqwmeended

3

The _final hairline ~

stroke of the r 2

is a usifwl 5pace_filler ,. _

3

4

5

Lea ve spaces between the heads of u, v, _ w, ~ndy

-~u

-w~

A.II 01<1 the tail of the x wo'!h the comer of the II i h

•

The y shou Id be dotted WI'th "fi,1! diamond strake

.~-

The hm'rUne 'Imke of Ih e Z WI

In til is ex lreme fonH qf Ptesdsus, letters lose their baseb'ne strokes.

Extreme form of Pres cis us

Leuers d and 0 are among !he bowed Presdsus leiters that can be eas.ily conjoined

Two forms of half,

Conjoined d and 0

57

GOTHIC SCRtPTS

Gothic Capitals & Versals

THE PRINCIPAL DIFFERENCE between Gothic Capitals and Versals lies in their construction: Gothic Capitals are written with single strokes, whereas Versals are composed of several built-up strokes. A Versal is a single initial letter, drawn larger than the text script and used to indicate a title, chapter, or paragraph opening. The size of the Versal and the amount of gold and colour used to decorate it is directly proportional to the perceived status of the initial within the text. Although less impr ssive than Versals, the Gothic Capital is far from plain, with elaboration in the form of hairline verticals and diagonals.

IT WAS IN GOTHIC text that capital and minuscule letters of the same hand first appeared together. Gothic Capitals, which used the same ductus as' the minuscules (pp. 50-57), were used within text script to begin a sentence or denote a proper noun.

In important sentences or verses, Gothic Capitals were frequently usurped by Versals. In its Simplest form, a Versal can be an outline letter filled with a splash of colour. In more sophisticated forms, it can be historiated (see the Winchester Bible, P: 46), zoomorphic (see the Book of Kells, pp. 28-29), or floriated (see the Book of Hams,

P: 84). Alternatively, the decoration can be abstract, with spirals, frets, and interlaced knots (see the Lindisfarne Gospels; pp. 30-31).

Rounded bulO'" have been added !O the sIems to OiY. e.<ua emphasis to the leuer

Exuberantjlourishes if this kind Me limited to openino letters OT leuers on the "op line if a paOe if «"t

GOTHIC CAPITAL P Decorative diagonal srro kes and hai r1i n es reduce the amount of white space in the letter's counter and enh anc e i ts sta tus in a page of text. ln this P, the truck diagonal is complemented

by hairlines above Jnd below it.

®~ .$~' ~j} .. ~

. ..

./1\. l.~ +, $ .,

The collnt.er if each letter has been decorated with vertical @d diaoonai hairlines ----1~-'----....,.....lk-';

SAMPLE ALPHABET Two sets of Gothic Capitals have been drawn on this incomplete sample alphabet, which dates from about 1400. Although the letters are not the finest examples of Gothic Capitals, each stroke is clearly shown, making them useful

models for the modem calligrapher to follow.

Note how the scribe has created extra weight on some bowed letters by adding an extra stroke.

58

GOTHIC CAPITALS &.. VERSALS

Models for Versals

Over the centuries, Versals have been modelled on a variety of letterforms. During the Gothic period, they were generally based on Lornbardic Capitals (pp. 62-63). In both the Caroline and the Renaissance eras, Imperial Capitals were often used as models (pp. 108-109). Possibly the most ornate Versals ever drawn were those in the de luxe Nor thumbrian manuscripts of the early medieval period (pp. 28-31). These were derived from Roman, Greek,

and runic models.

Cadels

The other significant model for Versals was the Bastard Capital

(pp. 78-79). Enlarged and embellished by a series of interlacing strokes, this type of Versa] is known as a Cadel (pp. 80-81). Cadels were later revived for use with Italic (pp. 94-95) and Copperplate (pp. 102-103) scripts.

THE ST. VAAST BIBLE Written in northern France in the earl y l lrh century, the St. Vaast Bible is a product of the FrancoSaxon school, which had been producing books

of the highest order since the mid-ninth century. Ar first glance, the manuscript looks ahead of irs time, so sophisticated is the page design. However, the plait and knot decoration around the Versal betrays the manuscript'S Saxon pedigree (pp. 28-31).

",'W"=A--VIi:ll-- The sUi/[Je5rion if a bracketed sedIshows that these capitals "'ere modolled an Imperial 1000ers (pp 108-109)

ln this V."ol, the inilialleue" E and T have rn,en combined (!hil combinotion is (he origin ,!folJr modem ampersand)

SIMPLE VERSALS These Versals may be by the scribe responsible for the sample alphabet (opposite). They have been freely penned, with the letters drawn firs! and the decoration added afterwards.

PATTERN BOOK

Designs for Versa Is were chosen by the patron from pattern books such as this one from the 12th century. This page shows a final working pattern, in

which the intertwining stems have been accurately worked out.

59

GOTHIC SCRIPTS

Gothic Capitals

GOTHIC CAPITALS ~SE th._e sa.m. e ~uctus ~sthe minus:ules " (pp. 52- 53, 56-57) and are written With the same slanted pen. However, the capitals have a wider, rounder aspect than the rigidly formal minuscules, and the two forms contrast strikingly when used together. The number of calligraphic flourishes in each Gothic Capital make it an unsuitable script for writing a whole word or a full page of text. For this, Lombardic Capitals provide a less flamboyant alternative (pp. 64-65).

35°

Letter height

The letter height of the Gothic Capital is approximately seven pen widths, two higher than the minuscule height.

Hairlines

The inner-letter space is reduced by the use of hairlines, drawn with the corner of the nib, There are usually one or two vertical hairlines, and a single diagonal hairline on either side of a thicker diagonal stroke.

Cteat« -------II .. tile b,j /gel by weavi'lg rhe pen in a lingle downward srroke

._I;----.f,--,;- The poin!ed beaks of/he hackles me draum wi fh a jagged downward stroke

Bulges and hackles

The vertical strokes of Gothic Capitals can be given additional weight and interest in the form of bulges or hackles, which protru de to the left of the stem. Use only one or the other and always make the m consiste nt, Generally, calligraphers add three bulges or hackles.

4

"))3

t:/ 7111' bowl - of the B WII he strengthened willi all addilional $trokf

d ook",i" and drag Ihe iflk downwards

Alternative D

Theji'lt stroi:« of tI,e F exren ds belo w the baseline

._.i1'

TI,e Cllwe oj the E ,a" he S /rmg rh erred

wit/,m'l addil.io~al stroke

2

3

60

downward,

GOTHIC CAPITALS

The curve of the H can be slrer/gam!ed with an additional stroee

mhlGirlil1e curl ~

The sixtl,

stroke of the

011 both the I J could be

and the j, the _draum from

- bulges are -~~------=;;;;;;::-V--nghtto left,

drawn last 3 jinishil<g

!Vir/. lire hairlillt curl

----~

3

771 e cu we of the N can be strengthened

with GIl additional stroke

To draw the Q, add a tail to !lIe 0

4 The bowl of the ~O orQ call be a;:-.. strengthened

with at! additiona! stroke

Alternative 0 and Q

strellglilmed with an additional strohe

t,engthmcd wit/,all additiollal stroke

2

--~ ~--

1

'q]

1

r_!

The CUrve of the V Call be streng thened

,,,,-th an additional stroke

TIu [!1M of ___ =«: the W Ca.l be 6 s lrenglllet!ed willI all additional stroke

P,III the tai! of theY below the baseline

TilefootofrlleL cny

Cml be adapted /0

join 011 10 the following leuer

- -

4

2

61

GOTHIC SCRIPTS

Lombardic Capitals

ALOMBARDIC CAPITAL is a built-up letter characterized by curved stems and distinctive monoline serifs. Unlike Gothic Capitals (pp. 58-59), Lombardic letters worked well in sequence and so were used for whole words and phrases. They were successful both in penned form as display capitals and carved form for monumental work. The script was increasingly prevalent by the mid- 11 th century, and finally ousted by the Humanist Capital in the 16th century (pp. 98-99). However, it enjoyed a resurgence, particularly as a monumental letter, during the 19th-century Gothic revival in England, under the influence of the architect and designer A.WN. Pugin.

THERE IS A RELUCTANCE among

some authoriti s to use the adjective "Lornbardic" in relation to this

script, because the letters have little specifically to do with the northern Italian region of Lombardy. However, over the centuries, the term has

been widely used and accepted by calligraphers, typographers, and letterers, and has come to represent the particular combination of Imperial and Uncial elements that make up this distinctive hand of capital letters.

A simplified Imperial

Lombardic Capitals can be seen as simplified, pen-drawn versions of the Roman Imperial Capital. The multiple strokes of the Imperial (pp. 110-119) are reduced to a minimum, producing a letter that is relatively easy to execute (pp. 6 65). The Lornbardic script usually includes Uncial forms of

A, D, E, M, and T (pp. 24-25).

DoLS are used "n----IN the leiter N to

a;'·e ,he strokes

ex"" !Veiahl

LOMBARDIC CAPITAL M A square-cut nib is used to draw Lomba rdic Capitals, wirh rhe pen held close co the horizontal (pp. 64-65).

The letter M can altemafivelj' adhere 10 (J base J inc cross st roke t ",akina (he riahl-h<1nd stroke a mirror ima8c '!! I he ,.yi - h",,,1 on. (PI' 64 65)

The text ;''1

written in a

,,",y}/neEmlj' rST~O·

GOI,hic scrip I ~ ~ 1

(pp.46 47) -----7l'anno.mqmmn. m qurnta menftf.~m eim m me 10·

cepnumum lJrr,u, fulU1um chobar .-;'d,?t1U fmlli ~. d-'U1dl mftoncf dcrln quinta mrnftf.1pfvdt annufqumrufuaT1fnll .. gm:aomfn:o;tfloachtm - ' fufulm cft;. uerburn dnl ad V1W1U:Lftllu buzf faccrdocrm-mu:nachaLdco:mm recur Rumen

THE WINCI"iESTER BU3LE The Vision of Ezekiel, from the Winchester

Bible (pp. 46-47), includes a series of meticulously crafted Lombardic Capitals. In common with other works from the rnid-12th century, the cribe has shown little concern about breaking words at rhe end ofa line: for instance, "1/"\1 IPIT

EZECHIEL" reads" INCIPIT:EZEICH1EL", In the illuminated initial, Ezekiel is depicted dreaming by the River Chobar, The four interlocking wheels are symbolic of the four Evangelists,

62

LOMBAf{DIC CAPITALS

In this early example if a hisroria,.d Versa! (pp. 58-59), the Virain is shown in l.ne form if a capital letter I

These display leuers read: "IN NM DNI NPJ IHU PS INCPT LIB SACMMTR". This is an abbreviation oj "IN NOMINE DOMINI NOSTRIJESU CHRISTI. INC/PIT LlBER SACRA MATRIS·

,-

S c ~

THE GELLONE SACR.AMENTARY

In the title letters of this eighth-century text for Christmas Eve Mass, produced in northern France, we can discern the crude beginnings

of Lombardic Capitals. The scribe has used Imperial Capitals as his models, drawing the outline of each letter in a single stroke with a narrow pen nib. In the first three lines, letters fearu re internal decoration. The words of the title have been considerably abbreviated. On the second line the abbreviation of" DOMINI" as "DNI" has been indicated with a mermaid instead of with the traditional horizontal stroke.

.. .

Built-up letters

Unlike most other capital scripts included in this book, the Lornbardic letter is not the product of a natural movement of the hand. While each basic component of the Gothic Capital, for instance, is made

from a Single stroke (pp. 60-61),

a Lombardic component is built

up from several composite strokes. The side of the stems curve inwards, usually drawn with the pen held horizontally. The monoline serifs

are also the product of the horizontal pen; they are generally slightly concave and are not bracketed

to the main stem as they are in

the Roman Imperial Capital. Embellishments

The Lombardic Capital forms the basis for many Versals (pp. 58-59), and the amount of embellishment and decoration is limited only by

the scribe's imagination (p. 64). However, the stone-cut Lombardic letterform is often modified as a result of the nature of the surfacefor instance, the fine serifs are either thickened or omitted altogether.

The Lombardic has been used extensively on other surfaces: textiles, metals, glass, and ceramics.

/lelow (h. title capuals, Ih. chapter openi"S has been ",riuen in rabricated Uncial leuers (pp. 2 25)

/le/Ol' (he chapter openins, we teXt scrip' ha, been penned in 0 Ha!f ilncio! hand (pp. 38-39). recosnizabJe by its uprinl" aspect:

63

GOTHIC SCRIPTS

Lombardic Capitals

THERE IS NO HISTORICAL precedent for a full set of Lombardic Capitals and those hown here have been compiled from a. variety of sources. Unlike Gothic Capitals (pp. 60-61), they are used for writing complete words and phrases and so consistency is of great importance. Concentrate on making the weight of stroke, the level of compression or expansion, and the serif construction exactly the same in each letter you draw.

--1I-

- --

Waisted stems

Waisted stems can be created by overlapping two broad, curved vertical strokes and then adding the hairline horizontals at the top and bottom (abOlle lift), A more preci e method is to draw the whole outline with a narrow nib and then fill it in with ink (above cenfre),

Use a "arrow pen nib to add the decorative blobs at the end if the serifs

Rounded letters Define the form of rounded letters by drawing either the Outer or inner circle first. The latter often proves more practical (see letter 0, opposite).

G_

Expanded and compressed letters To regulate the chosen level of expansion or compression, use the spaces enclosed within characters as guides. Compressed letters have shorter serifs than expanded letters, Bows can be fully rounded or pointed.

Expanded leuer

Compressed letter

Display capitals Since [he 12th century, the Lornbardic Capital has often been heavily elaborated when used as a display capital Decoration can range from simple additional caselines to complex illustrations that are gilded and lJ1 colour.

Either of these 11IIO forms if A can be ~5ed

-~

Uncial form of A

B

c

Uncial form of D

_F

1

II II,

---- --

2

-

8

Either of these two [orms '?fD cm' be used

1

IT ]J1~5

-- 2

3

LOMBARDIC CAPITALS

1

Il '(]' IQ1' - ~ 'aII-

I~ 'fJ n ~2 s 2~d~' _

1

n '~'-~ c r~!,-

L '!tIk!5 U UOO-

2 7

m '~~2~ ( ~7 Vf!~:Z:VJ\iw'

~ -=--- - --

3 2

~ 'nr~' Thill_'

modem construction

o '02UD' __ s: _ ~7 ,!)6 ~

2

:...:_.._~ __ -11 W'_~'_-~5

2

a '(OJ(D} 5 Z »»: ~

6 4

65

GOTHIC SCRIPTS

Bastard Secretary

HISTORICALLY, THE MORE FORMAL a manuscript hand has become, the greater has been the need for a functional cursive script to complement it. Just as the Insular Majuscule spawned the Insular Minuscule in the eighth century (pp. 28-37), so the prestige Texturas of the 13th century (pp. 50-57) gave rise to parallel hands for the less prestigious work of the day. A series of complementary cursive scripts evolved both regionally and nationally, quickly developing into fully fledged hands in their own right. They are classified under the generic title of "bastard" (bastarda) scripts,

the term denoting a mixed cursive and Textura parentage.

THE CURSIVE SCRIPT (pp. 34--35)

had probably been rediscovered for documentary use in England towards the end of the 12th century. Although speed was the most important consideration, the script was also designed to impress, as the loops and linking letters testify. The French form of cursive, called Secretary

or Chancery, was introduced into England and Germany at the end

of the 14th century. When Textura features were incorporated, it became known as Bastard Secretary in English, Batarde in French (pp. 70-71).

I\IlEDITATlOJ\.rS oi-;

THE LIFE OF CHRIST

This manuscri pt page shows the translation into Middle English by Nicholas Lowe of a popular l Jrh-cenrury Latin work attributed

co Sf. Bona ventu ra, One of 49 versions

of the text known to

exist. it dates (rom a bout 1450. The

The wI' loop if' he w silo" Id not exceed minim heian,

BASTARD SECRETARY HI The fI! reaches ascender height and is identical in both

111i nu scule and capi tal form.

Tile il/uminmed border and Versal arc characteristic oj 15th-con",,! Eng/i,,1! mdn user i pi. work -....,.-;,.::w.

Til e do urn weird fl ic k jrom du~ ascenders I.~ knOB!fi as an HeJephanr.ts ~rtmkJ'! ----E--Th""'" .. ~,r"'";." .. ,

The ) •• 1 '!F the minims turn upwards ----::--:::~~"1<,'ilU"l'~:.,;;~l';IIi~al1li'I"'IIltf<".t!!'tp<:''"ajF_IJ!I~'':1

The horizontal </rok. over .1" ""'p""a n d denoi e! the abb mv ta t iOIl cf {I word

KANE MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPT

Dating from about 1430. this earlier translation of St. Bonaventura', Meditations 011 the Life of Chris! is also the work of Nicholas Low!'. In rhis version, the scribe has made use of borh the Anglo-Saxon thorn sign and the modern Iii for writing the word "the". Notice also the serifs at the feet of the minims, which are turned upwards and not broken as they are in the Bastard Secretary of the Adam an d Eve text (opposite).

66

BIISDIRD SECRET-1RY

/

The ,",<I includes a sel <f capttal leners wriuen with the Same dUCI-I..J!!.- as the lowercase text (PI" 78-79)

The impressive height and loopiTlg/orm <f,h.8oslord Seanary \I' make n the most strikillg feller in rhis paBe of te.\'(

DETAIL FROM ADAM AND EVE In this valuable detail, a split in the quill allows lIS to see very dearly both sides of ea~h stroke. Notice particularly the letter.f: thIS IS constructed with a single stroke, the pen beginning at the vertical, then turning to about 300 at mid stem before returning to the vertical for the descender (pp. 68-69).

French and Germanfeatures There are certain features that help identify a bastard script by

its nationality. The French form, for instance, is most distinctive for the calligraphic feast made of the J and long form of s (pp. 70-71). Early German cursive scripts were characterized by bold, expanded minims and tall ascenders and descenders. When thev were

/

contaminated with Textura features

at the end of the 15th century, the Fraktur and Schwabacher hands em rged, featuring "broken" letterforms (pp. 74-75).

En81ish characteristics

In English models, it is the letter w that attracts the most attention - the same impressive, looped form is used for both minuscules and capitals (opposite). Another English feature is the long, downward terminating flick from ascenders, sometimes called an "elephant's trunk".

Generally, the English Bastard Secretary tends to be staid and prosaic, lacking the subtle shifts of pen angle that characterize its French counterpart. As a result, it was highly practical, and so had a long life as a document hand: it was used well into the 18th century.

ADAM AND EVE

This text of the stQ,·y of Adam and Eve W,]S written in English in about 1415. A fine upright aspect to the letters suggest~ that they were written wirh an oblique-cur nib. In the best English

,,; Bastard script traditions, the til is well pronounced and the "elephant's trunks" are boldly drawn,

67

GOTHIC SClUPT5

Bastard Secretary

i\. S A FUNCTION A L, CURSIVE script, the Bastard Secretary is

.i\. written with as few pen lifts as possible, with letters linked wherever practical. Consequently, the hand can be penned far more quickly than the formal Gothic scripts, such as the Textura Quadrata (pp. 52-53). Ascenders are complemented by strong, downward diagonal strokes known as "elephant's trunks" > drawn to the right of the stem at an angle of about 45°. These echo

the downward diagonal strokes of the minim feet.

The angle oj t.he "elephant's trunks" should be consistent t/"m'giro" I the lex t

TIle tail of the h is II.wally dragged to the left of the letter, almost at a parallel 10 til e baseli" e

Key letter

The II is a useful

letter with which to start practising the Bastard Secretary.

It includes both the "elephant's trunk" that sweeps from the head of the ascender almost to the headline, and the characteristic downward pull of

the pen at the foot

of the stem.

R_ -- ._- '~
2
-8 t- ~
"
2
~
~ ()~/ Complete the
. _ hair/ille loop
of the dill Q
single stroke ~2

The e is almost arcular and call have tile appearance oj a leuer a

The tail oj the e could jo", rhe second stroke

The second stroke oj the f retraces the first to the headlille and CIIfVes slightly to the riglll

For flu first siroke -/:/ of the f, gradually . / twis! the pen /, 10 the venical ~ I~

1

(-~

1 2 #

~~4

3

Make a hairline

1 stroke from the

the headline, before 2 starling the fina! downward slroke

. and lail

Drawing an upward loop

With irs sweeping hairline loop, the

d is one of the most di trnctive letters in the hand. After drawing the bowl, create a large arc by pushing the pen upwards in one sweeping movement.

Adding a downward diagonal Without lifting the pen, make a strong downward diagonal stroke, curving it to the left to join the bowl at its midway point. This stroke will echo the shape of the loop.

Basic elements The pen angle for the hand is about 40-45° and a square-cut nib is generally used. Minim height is four pen widths, with the ascender equal to a further four widths,

1)

The leiters i and j can be dotted

68

BASTARD SECRETARY

-- The bowl and - rigll! foot oj the

k are drawn in

_ a single stroke

t

~J

.~-

--L

Sligh/ly extend the Joot oj the I a long the baseline

Twist the pen 1 ~----

10 the vertical /'

to produce / ti,e tapered "/

descender7;- .---~-

oJthe p / 3

Twist the pm to the vertical

2 10 finish the

descender of the q with a hairline

2

TI,e half r is used to

1 Jollow leiters with a

right-hand bow --~

5 ----0

~ _t~});)J

A separate fifth stroke is nOl required Jar the w if the second or Jourth stroke is extended

--y

..«: ---:/-

., .)J

?' ~ - ~ Drag the hairline

tail oj the y with

the COmer oj the

~_ _ _ _ _ pm .,ib

2

Conjoined letters

Conjoined leiters are less a Jeature of the Bastard as Ihe Quadrata, but this Jorm of p-p ligature is quite comma"

Abbreviation of "that"

Y -t lind w-t ((ealllriug the AI'S/a-Saxon thom slsn, p. 66) lIIere cOlllmo" abbreviatio"l of the words "that" and "III/wI" respedively

69

GOTHIC SCRIPTS

Batarde

THE BATARD~ (LettIe Boufguignonne) is the ~rench equivalent ofth Engli h Bastard Secretary (pp. 66-6/). It was developed at the end of the 13th century and used until the mid-16th century, evolving from a lowly cursive bastard hand into a formal, prestige script in its own right. Batarde achieved its most sophisticated app arance in the mid-15th century, an era when the popularity of the printed book was increasing among a whole new section of society. In this de luxe form, it was the hand favoured by Burgundian court cirel s, henc its alternative name.

By THE suo-I 5TH century, book tllu tration in France was moving away from medieval stylization

(pp. 54-55), becoming less intri ate and more naturalistic. The Batarde hand used for manuscript books was shedding its own Gothic ancestry - letters were lighter, seeming to dance on the page. This effect was achieved partly by making several changes of pen angle during the construction of each letter. In returning to the major key after each change, the scribe could create a rhythmic harmony across a page of text. This is particularly noticeable in the Froissart Chronicle (opposite). However, in other Batard scripts, such as that in the Book of Hours (riaht), the harmony of the text is achieved ins ead by the maintenance of one constant overall angle.

The splt: ascenders are one of several GOlhic Teunra character) tics iha: hare .suH'ived in this bastard script

BOOK OF HOURS This page is from a small prayer-book written for the wealthy Poligny family in about 1470. The script's Gothic origins are clear: ascenders are split, descenders modest, and minim strokes terminated with feet remini cent of rhe Quadrara (pp. 50-51).

The overall textural effect is closer to the dense authority of the Gothic Textura scripts than to the light harmony of a true Bdrarde, such as that achieved in the Froissa rr Ch ronicle (opposite).

The tail of the p i, painted and ('an be drown' either upright or slight.!y"amed

Th is baseline cross

st roke Can be e"tended ... hen the leuer begins a ward

BATARDE P

In constructing the Batarde P a series of pen lifts and angle changes is required (pp. 72-73).

70

BATARDE

rulltnlnq'l'~Il<ll{t>od;~/f(i11 mIIlC"'fflH}Itc .. U ur~ulJlll "'"mc:ttr'W blil~II"lIfin~~Jftt ....l.YN~U·.U-.,.u(<<tt1'vllmML..ITC' n pm.ftwft'U'h:~'1l1fGlllt'\;'U'" (-If{fi"l; (t,l (f)UrrrnU1fJU(("Lln'I' t(tfllllU.'!-l.~I~IU .:lIfo ':Irt\1l'lu~",'i:\ofit'U(,(.1I1jfifl't ffn~'~ III t('( ~II l't- ~.'U1 rn~ ~

'""t:!:' lit 1--111 1"(1 II( JIIC'lIII !nll~If'\"II (]It-ttC r_l}lmIC"filr"-'I~Ii"""tII;t t111tnn'\Nl(ff"tlF-r-rI".U'lIlt't' [it cnufet(i",m«']IJ('(tDp pu~nlnlr"ltflt bllrr II aU' _ "'liTtlb-II4Iftun'-CUmhfl. ~':l! fir ft Plilif tntnct-Ic- "'11",111"

--r!~rt (1 It I1IOtU"l-"'I'lUli~l!!' C~u'l t'C" 11il'1I j",,~'n' "'1~"'1'v'1 r "t. t:t1 '~.Ifi'r"nllm" r.I~Ir' rrt ... ~I~"" t:{'iW~ I f~(,11 ~,n~

"""t'fi"(t111,{\uot't'ltrl'I(Ff'l'III(" -n'Op liill!Jllruftnr(Hc' ... fr~ 1",,1('(fI~~'Utl",..IRW'&-C;PO ('t iiU\"('fIo~'-h:"H·«~tU«" Il""r'th\"~f"na;« ~

13.F-(ltfll,,~(~.:,au .. tt'C'flt

t;~;~ ~:~:::II "I:~ ::~I!n~jZI

1,(I.{~lr~.!t,-t'rt.~ r-~rnllfr'''' ~tI\HU 1(' fnjrfdl'ft. (."'''"''1rtI'' "I",r illef-pnlct,II(UtC'" I"'''II~ '.:""OIrUI(,ll/i""tlm'i"~(;' "(f't ('iii urn9"",u.(t.~.'V,~ ~'Uf""'I(' p r '':tt«{fl' ..... 11111'1 ~,~ 4.'11'""'1un\ .. (~ (1'''fp:I~tr1't melu ntllnlt(j!4f f;nl'(j"./nat-

THE FROISSAR T CHRONICLE

This is a copy of the l-lrh-cenrury chronicle of Jean Froissart, A delightful book, it has

a modern appearance, owing partly to the relationship of text ro margins and partly to the restraint shown ill the decoration. The feet of the minims end without elaboration and the

SCl~Pl is g"ner,lly more cursive chan that used to write the Book of Hours (opposite).

"ftm/ftll[~{f,~~lJ.tRIflnrlf.l ," n~du,mlltHIIi('l""Iil( ~r~1'HI' ftMIf''''hf'''I!~dnttt« iU'"",,,., t1lltU"llf"II~'f.p'tu"(Q~~.r "~lf'~ll:'ftllep.~"tr:;"tl:\wOl ICflmf«( l[tllla-plll'~'tI'~"""" jd" .tm~l Lil" b:1 .. III.HI tI"C' n,l.) luU11('n jll~~LLn.~U(' ~.U("':~ .. ,11('+ otr II u a",ll tmm.'I:'t'- r"~lw ~UfL:t't1'1;!fl hlf'lll(lOLIF 1ft'- t't!'\~ rr f«r."l:mll1«(-~L.'IjItm1tlflU:lt{ ·lltU~r~I."4;"w-U.f:<t~'fnu'f~m'lII"''''~'fIlIl(tl;"lrl/llrv.:1 1""\'\'rnJJ1lrn,·~,\."rt'I(Jillntf.~

Iliff' (1 i)'C\ll~lftnU.it d It ""-I n'Vc~lI,"\li"-wlC'"r t1IltI'lint -r:tl[l '&·tmli('~~l'C~11r;!t tt~ e 11,t. 1,'"11 I'{" '1111 'nIl'llt (lntllfllr!'u

, ~"1 R'"'(:fHtt fIN\' mt ~nr~ ","-fuNtI (f~lnlr 1tt'~II~~t:lu" ("ll,n/fifr:'lfi.lII\Ol'f'Uj.lU Io'td' I('Ull'luf"I[Uih:"'if"-ItJ: • ...-1...,v(t('(,t("~U("tdl(t'tiii.;r~\\"'t·'fr hHU I"WlUlH'llt(f""1"\' f4t(f \1" n'n~ .. r .!'Iluikmtl,r.

{::,j~~,£,,~,

-fjj'C 1~IIIPfn'lf«Jlln"III(lrr.f htr nu ","W{d~Ulmtt:""1 n.i't\JII_!ri.m;m.·,

C"'fl""" l!ii,·.

DETAIL FROM THE FROrSSART CHRONICLE The initial C is decorated with a Cadel (pp. 80-8:1). The horns on the letter g are similar to tho. e on the g of another Gothic script, the Fraktur (pp. 76-77). Both the half r and full r forms are used ill the text.

Thefor",ard lean if ,he I",", r is one <?Jlhe mos( distinctive cboracterisucs <?ft:he Botard.

VITA HRlST! PACE

This page from La VeJ~i1eat1(e de In Mort lhcsa includes the ru bricared prologue to the main text, which opens with a Versal, The book dates from 1479 and was written by David Aubert

of Ghent, scribe to Philip the Good, Duke

of Burgundy. In the illustration, we see the scribe presenting the book to his patron.

Vita Christi

The cnbe of the Vita Chri ti page from La Ven8eance de la Mort lhesa (lift) had arguably lesser skills than his two contemporaries featured here. He does not achieve the harmony of the Froissar hronicle or Book of Hours, his pen angles are inconsistent, and he is unable to return to any constant pen angle. Common features

In some examples of Batarde, the f and long form of s lean forward at an angle. By keeping the angles of the e two letters absolutely constant, the scribe can create a counterpoint to the main harmony. This textual effect - known as "hot spots" - is

a common feature of Batarde.

Other frequent characteristic

of Lettre Bour8uj8nonne are the overlapping strokes reminiscent

of Fraktur (pp. 74-75), and the delicate hairlines used to join strokes; these seem to add a further ense of movement to a page of text.

71

GOTHiC SCRIPTS

Batarde

To ACHIEVE THE most successful Batarde letters, the use of a quill is recommended. A sharply cut oblique nib is required to produce the exquisitely fme hairline strokes. The clubbed J and long s are frequently written more boldly than other letters and have a forward slant (the two letters have the same basic form, with a crossbar added for the}). This produces ''hot spots" within the written text and makes for a distinctive textural pattern.

Prepare to add the crossbar to the f by wming the

quiit to 10°

TIle key leiters f and IQng S should leaN slightly /0 the right

Drawing the f and long s

The many changes of pen angle required to draw the Batarde f and long s are typical of this sophisticated hand. Begin about half a minim above [he headline and gradually

tum the pen from 30° to the vertical as you pull the pen downwards, finishing with a hairline. Retrace the first stroke, looping outwards to the right to create a thickened stroke, and return to the original angle of 30°.

TIle (Unfed hairline stroke at the top oj the ieuer q can be COrIliflllOl!S with the descender

Descenders The descenders of letters p and q are made by turning the nib anti-clockwise from the horizontal

to the vertical, finishing with a hairline. The descenders may alrernarively slant to the left, echoing the forward lean of

thef{above) and long 5.

The heigllt of the Bnlarde mini", is aboutfour pen widths

Flat feet

Flat feet occur on all leading straight minims in the script, such as the stem of the t and the first leg of the n. In a more cursive version of Bdtarde, the minims may terminate with a flick at the end of the downward stroke, as on the second leg of the II.

6-

-,~

Fillisl'llre jim and r/'ird strokes of the a "'illr a irairline {lick

2

---

----

Tire ,,,,,,c of lire c terminates wilil a hairline flick

2

TIle ilair/ine stroke oj tlte e is drawn at an allgle of allO"1 450

Draw the hairlim 2 crossbar oj the fa/ all mlg/e oj 10°

3

TI,e C/,,/,iJed shape of the f Catl be exaggerated

TIle ieuer f call lear, forward at a more pronounced angle til a II this (pp. 70-71)

4

A' haidine at tne lop and tail oj the leuer h is characteristic

The leadil1g stroke oj the h jillishes with a flat [oot

72

- 2

(

-:

l

J/' r- i at,d -;~2__.

J call he dOlled

-

[

'm

draum ill a ~

li!lgre stroke 2

The stem and leadi'lgfoot of the k call be

11" fl.' .. ,d second ' fi1 strokes of tl,e I (all 1 U.

be combined .:.......,;_

2

5

J (~

The foot of the I (an be extended slightly

2

2

Twisl tlre pm ],~

10 a lIear venica!

allgle to for", the haitline destender

of'he p

'~

5 6

~.

J

2

'~

t

1~'

The stem and fool

of the t (lII1 be drawil in a sip/gle stroke

BATARDE

2 --.

4 -

J

-;:=;;

4

53 S

Theiirs! two

strokes of tile v .,I

(all be dmwlI in a

single movement '?

55J ?i

The w is constructed 2

from Illm ,mUoillcd vs

X out the haitline ]

tai! <if the x lIIid, the Comer <if the nib

p

2

.i;'-

TIle leiter z call altentativelv be drau", ill a sillgfe Stroke

Where pmrliml, Bdtnrde letters mil be connected

,pilh lrairlille stroke.>

Joined letters

The p m,d h are tire ollly leuer: 1.01 joiued hetc VJI a hm-"lillf siroke

TIie righl bow of Ihe h alld lire left bow <if the o (all be toujoined

73

GOTHIC SCRIPTS

Fraktur & Schvvabacher

FRAKTUR (GERMAN LETTER) is a marriage between German cursive scripts and Textura Quadrata (pp. 50-51). Manuscript examples of the hand date from about 1400 and it first appeared as a typeface about a century later. Early type versions of Fraktur, and its more cursive, vernacular cousin Schwabacher, remained close to their pen-written origins. They were designed by the leading German calligraphers

of the day, including Johann N eudorffer the Elder. The two scripts continu d to influence calligraphy and type design until the mid-20th century, and had a formative influence on the work of eminent practitioner Rudolf Koch (oppOSite).

, . ,,;. t: ~~
. 1t
"" ........
~l m tm m

THE DIFFERENCES between Fraktur and Schwabacher are difficult to define precisely. Both feature th swollen body and pointed tail of the Batarde j and longs (pp. 70-71), as well as curved strokes on the bows of letters a, b, c, d, e, 8, h, 0, p, and q. Diamond strokes reminiscent of Texture letters ar a distin tive feature of the hand, but there is a tendency for terminal strokes to be curved. All letters have a rigidly upright aspect.

Generally, the S .hwabacher has a broader, more cursive form than the Fraktur, and does not have the forked ascenders and excessive elaboration of that hand. Some of the most striking versions of chwabacher were penned, centurie after the script first appeared, by the calligrapher and designer Rudolf Koch (opposite).

WORKSH lOT

This portion of a worksh cet (ah<lllc) is possibly the olde r surviving example of Praktur-relarcd

lettering. It was written in about 1400

by Johannes vom Hagen, who refers to the hand ;15 "Nottula Fmauranun" ("broken notes"). It is from this

term [hat the name "Praktur' is believed to have been derived.

The toil q[tl!is p, an'! that <!For he, letters on the bouom line r:/t".H. mlJ)' hove been added by hand (!lier (.h. I,ook "a.< primed

FR.AKTUR A

The distinctive spikes of many Frahm letters

are the product

of overlapping strokes (PjJ. 76-77).

The Fraluu« a ,.~ always a si/l8Ie-storc.f leuer with an enclosed bowl

-r " ,

. .".i£'

The illustrations and __:",;-,,-;,..,r.-.:, Versals were added '!lier the the le.n had been ccmplaed

74

FRAKTUR &"SCI-m'iIBtlCH£R

MATTHiius EVANGELIUM

In this German text of rhe Gospel 0(5[, Matthew from 1921. Rudolf Koch combines rhe features of Fraktur and extura Quadrara to rhe ultimate degree - rhe lines of text appear to have been knitted. Koch classified this style as <1 version of Schwabacher, and explained: 'The page should seem to be stacked with finished rows of

lines ... especially rhe space between word must not be broader than that between lines.I'The Versals have been treated in an equally robust manner, resulting in two beautifully designed pages of texr.

~INIII~IIII~illll~~ In Koch's lext, lilt ime-rlinear spare

l has .-irwally disappeared. aI/owing

jU!il sr:ll,denl white_FaT the c)'e ra ICon alona rhe lines ho'izonwl~'

in pUnctpjoZttUlU zfanva: ~ itt f«u((\ fccu{ouun ~mmt ~Udut\l~ ~t'O~~({duta ~ p(t~

reba ufgt ab RPm~g("mam:

:et afcptuagcnma uft1 ~b ~\ ", fd)a btcttur~ E~Utl ti6t tlom~ u(:t(lttmt( mott(~ i~(t~0 rium~~m(ttt« grattap(~ nat 90mtnU6ttcfi~ Slue ltla~

ria· nFt'mt"'ttl..,.,.+--~-,.-" +- The siraiqi«, compressed

j('; tin I~ itd'" tltt' a,lpecr rfrh. hand belfap

\:;U"'" ~l\~m~\lO . its Te<WfO oriElills: even [I,.

_ ' no:tubt1~nlU6 beo faiu ' .. ~".'~'';''I leuer f has an "prifl"rJI>rm

tW ~).; PRAYER-BOOK

t(tntlG, .. '"O:PKO(cupmttt$,$ -<":'~:.'~I These pages from

" at' the prayer-book of

, dUtl tt1, con"~r '_tO~.tt,-e: d ttl Emperor Maximilian

h were published by

Schonsperger of iiremberg in 1514, The Fraktur type was designed by Johann Neudorfler the Elder, E:1ther of three

gen erations of calligraphers. The border decoration is equally outstanding, being the work of Albrech r lJ iirer,

,-

DETAIL FKOM MATTHii S EVA GELIUM The controlled freedom of Koch's Ietterforms is shown

in this detail From Marrhau Evangeliurn (above), Radical in its rime. such work gave new meaning [0 the term "Black Letter"

(pp. 50-5 I).

/' German Letter

By the early 16th 'entUl-Y, a Furth r form of Fraktur and chwabacher had developed that has since come to typify German scripts. It featured "broken" letters created by the overlapping of trokes (pp. 76-77). Used only in German-speaking areas, this broken letter is frequently referred to as a "German Letter". The rejection of Italian scripts Fraktur and Schwabacher enjoyed longer lives than any other bastard script in Europe - in the early 20th century, half the book printed in Germany still featured raktur-based typefaces. This longeVity was a direct result of the German rejection of Italic and Humani t scripts (pp. 90-101). There wer two important factors in this rejection: firstly, the Reformation caused Protestants in northern Germany to reject Italian hand as

a politi al ge ture; secondly, it was widely believed that a Humanist script did not suit German text.

75

GOTHIC SCRIPTS

Fraktur

THE UPRIGHT, COMPRESSED letters of Fraktur are closer in appearance to the Gothic Texrura scripts (pp. 50-57)

than either the Bastard Secretary (pp. 68-69) or the Batarde (pp. 72-73). The hairline spikes, such as those on letters b, g, h, and q, are a di tinctive feature of Fraktur and do not tend to occur on the rounder Schwabacher letters. The pen angle of about 400 is altered only for drawing the pointed descenders .

..,..=:...._ The asunder cal! be drawn with a si"gie rounded stroke or witl, a split serif

________ Tile """im height is about five pel! widtllS, with a further Iwo for ascenders and descenders

TI,e crossbar is a .01111110" feature of lire letter g in borl1 Fraklur al1d Sdnvabacher scrip IS

Spike strokes

The distinctive Fraktur spikes are made by extending one stroke over the previous one, The more pen lifts there are in a letter, the more spikes

are created.

TI,e rail of the g can finish wilh a shon ~ hairline, a blob, or

a backward SII/Up; altematively, it call be looped (see g, right)

TIle pen nib should be square-cut for drawing F raletu r I etters

Rounded strokes Despite the Fraktur letter's upright aspect, many strokes are actually rounded. Here, the ascender of the letter b has been drawn with a curve to echo the rounded stroke of the bowl. Whether you choose straight or rounded letters or split or pointed ascenders,

it is important to be as consistent as possible throughout the text.

Altematille/y, the hairline can be draum as a continuation if the first stroke (see g, opposite)

The spike stroke overlaps the bot/olll if the rounded stroke of the bowl

____ir---- Fmkwr desanders are restrained, except on the bottom line of a page if text, wllere additional

jlourishes call own

Curl the ascender of the d back to II,e righl to avoid the letter til ring 10 tlleJ1i

3

The first an d seco,ld strokes of the f [0.; be drawn withou: lifting the pe"

"'!4 TIle second and Ihird strokes if Ihe g can

" ?_ _ be draum in "''"

3 wnliwJOus

movement

76

'~

__ 1~

~

Twist the pef! from 400 f 10 near vertical for the descender of the f

a ,t

FRAKTUR

(

t -1-

Begin the t 1

with an upward siroke

2~

3

The filial JOOI
4 7 oJI/le III can 4
m 121 terminate wilh a V 1
diamond siroke 2
h
The w is col1SlTllcred frO/II
a conjoined u and v
4 The fit/al JOOI 4
n of the n Can (ermillale W 7
with a diamond stroke
3\. Either of these tlYO [orms of 0 call be used

Full r Half r

Alternative 0

2

1 ~ P.1 Twist the

\11 pen from 4

2 '1/ 40° 10 n.ear~ If I vertical for 1 the descender I oJ the p

'~-

Gradually twist the ~

pert [rom 40 0 10

near vertical for the

descender of th« q ---. -

1111$ curling hairline tail caT! be used 011 leuers h, rn, and n

4

5

4

Use the comer oj the Ilib 10 draw Ihe hainine tai! of the x

3

Use the comer of the nib 10 draw (he hairline tail of li,e y

11,e third slroke

of II Ie z can altenlatjvely be pet/ned i'l Iwa separate strokes

This "elephant's ("",Ie" can be used 011 leiters b, h;: k, mid 1

011 the s, / he seq Ilenee can be altered, "lith the top stroee drawn second

Alternative II

77

GOTHIC SCRIPTS

Bastard Capitals

BASTARD. CAPITALS HAVE the same ductus as the minuscules that they accompany ipp. 68-77), and are penned with the same nib. In most instances, they tend to be wide, expanded letters. The thick stem strokes are often supported by a thin vertical slash to the right, and the addition of a diamond stroke in the centre of the counter is also common. Like the bastard minuscule hands, the capitals were subject to a range of individual and regional variation. Because of this diversity, the alphabet shown here should be regarded only as a general guide.

Draw the hairline: lIIi,h the comer <if 'he nib

Connecting hairlines On letters H, M, and N, hairline strokes are often u ed to connect

rwo main downstrokes, This hairline should spring from (he right edge 0 f the base li ne seri f.

Spurs Weight can be added to vertical stern in the form or diamondshaped spurs, Each spur Can be sharpened with a short hairline flick,

Limit the 1IIIIIIber of diamolld.siraped spvrs '0 mil) or III ree

Basic elements The pen angle of

the Bastard Capital is about 400 or the same as the minuscule that it accompanies. The letter height is about six pen widths, The characteristically wide letters, such as the B, are a direct product of downward and horizontal arced sweeping strokes.

"Elephant's trunks" The "elephant's trunk" so characteri tic of the Basta rd Sec retary (pp, 68-69) also occurs on capital letters H, K,

L, and X. Draw the diagonal trunk with the full width of the nib, finishing with

a short hairline,

-~,

2

r3 TIle C@lld Ilemaliveiy rake the fd'rlll of flie E (below j, bill Ili,hou' tlte cross stroke

TIre hai,lill~ venical on the E c"" be omilted

3

---

f Tlris do"ble stem F is reminiscent oj

the C~:~( ~~I;~

2

4

The lIpward linking Iwir/ille stroke,!! ,l,e H ;5 iliadI' lIIilll IIIe wwer of tile /lib

1

3

78

BASTARD CAPITALS

_i_

I

~ -----------

2

_£_j

--- 2

2

3

Drafll the haidine srrokes oj the M Ivirh the_. comer of /fle lIib

Draw/he aitline stroke

>jtheN ",ilit the comer oJthe nib

4

Draw th« Iwirlille

_~_I~~~

3

6--;~ rl~-

- - ---- -- --~- -

2

3

---O~ _'V I~L

4

Taper tlie tail of . tile X with the edge of the lIib

4

TI,is altemative Jorm oJh Jea/tlres a IOllg hair/ille tail

Alternative H

ln this Gnrpersmrd tire T is stressed

Ampersand

Alternative ampersand

79

l

."

C1DELS

Cadels

THE INVENTION OF the Cadel (Cadeaux) in the early 15th century is attributed to Jean Flamel, librarian to the prominent patron of the arts, the Duc de Berry. Flamel used these large, patterned capitals to inscribe the duke's name

in the front of each manuscript. By the mid-15th century, Cadels were widely used in northern Europe as single Versals (pp. 58-59), mainly in vernacular text written in the various bastard scripts (pp. 66-79). During the 16th century, they appeared in Italic text in increasingly elaborate forms.

(

FLAMEL'S CADELS

This page from, a manuscript belonging to the Duc de Berry was written by Jean Hamel in about 1409. Although the basic structure of [he Cadels is relatively simple, rhe fact chat so many have been used Oil the same page creates an impressive overall effect.

ENGRAVED ALPHAiJET This alphabet of capitals was engraved by Thomas Wesron in 1682 .. AJthough the main structure of the letters follows tha t of Bastard Ca pi tals (pp. 78-79), the basic forms have been embellished with typical Cadel scrolls and interlaces.

the Cadel contained

in the letter A is the left foot, which has been constructed (rom three strokes Ii nked

by a series of sh orter strokes. This linking system is the key to more complex letters, such as the H (abo~e).

Cpr. 74-75)

CADEL J-[

Despite the apparent complexity of thi; l 6thcentury Cadel, the main structu re of the letter is easily pennable (pp. 82-83). The fine internal decoration can be drawn with a flexible steel nib.

By THE END OF the 16th century,

the Cadel was frequently appearing as a Versal in printed form, and the advent of copperplate engraVing led to more fanciful elaboration than was achievable with a broad-edged pen. This paralleled the development of the various Italic and Copperplate hands (pp. 94-1Q7), with which the Cadel was often incorporated.

Interlace patterning

The Cadel differs from other capitals used as Versals in that it is composed of interlacing strokes rather than built-up strokes (pp. 58-59). It is drawn with

a constant pen angle - this produces thick and thin strokes that create a pattern with a continuously changing direction of line, In this way, substance is added to an otherwise skeletal letter.

Interlaced strokes can also be used to embellish the ascenders on the top line of a page of text or the descenders on the bottom line.

. 81

GOTHIC SCRIPTS

Cadels

THE GREAT VARIETY of existing Cadel models makes it very difficult to assemble a complete alphabet. These examples have been selected to represent a few general principles. Although Cadels can look very dallllting to accomplish, in practice they are often a great deal easier than you may think and, when used as Versals, they can look very impressive. The golden rule is to begin at the core of the letter and work outwards.

Letter spine

Always begin with the spine of the letter. Here, the spine

is composed of downward diamond strokes and straight vertical strokes. The pen angle for both [)'pes of strokes is between 35° and 45°.

1. Establish the basic structure of the Cadel in pencil before

re rraci ng the strokes in pen.

Use a pencil [or the initial planning oj the

letter's struaute __

r

Diamond strokes

A series of diamond strokes is a common feature of the Cadel spine. Move the pen downwards in a controlled, zigzagging movement, without altering the pen angle. A pen angle of 45° will give symmetrical diamonds.

Maintain a perl allgle of 45°for a series oj sliott, neal diamonds

82

The Cadet is decorated with delicate .flower and leaJforms

main strokes of the letter are penned, flourishes and

Cataneo's Cadels

These letters Band C are based on the initials

of Be mardi no Cataneo, writing master at the University of Siena, Italy, between 1544 and 1560. In their original form, they were used with text in Rotunda (pp. 86--87) and Italic (pp. 96--97).

The seeleton B consists of a spin" and two bowls

1. Begin the stem of the B with a double stroke, with the inner

1 stroke leading

into the stroke of the top bowl.

Next add the single stroke of the lower bowl, leading into a rail,

2. Build up the skeletal form with loops at the top of the

bowl and spurs to the left of the stem. Scrolls can be added a a final flourish.

The top

of the bowl has beet! extended

1. To begin the C, draw the spine and

the tOP curve in a singl e stro ke. The bottom curve can be

drawn in the form of a foot.

The inner hairline strokes alld 1 scallops are similar to those used il"l Gothic Capitals (pp. 60-61)

2. Build up the Cadel with a system of linked diminishing strokes to create "boxes" (opposite).

CADELS

Drawing a Cadel A

This apparently complex A can be built up quite quickly in four stages. Diamonds have been drawn into the legs of the A, so keep

a constant pen angle to ensure an even distribution of thick and thin strokes,

1. Begin by penning the five basic components of the letter: the tWO legs, rwo feet and top stroke, Allow yourself ample space between strokes,

Straight horizontal strokes are best avoided, 50 use curved diagonals for the fee: oj tire A

2. Build up the legs

of the letter with two complementary upright strokes on either side of the core diamond strokes. As a general rule, the legs should have more weight

than the feet.

~~

The lines of the senj

echo those I!! ri,e [eer

3. Keeping a constant pen angle, build up the feet. Changes of line direction can now be introduced.

Changes ojline direction have

been introduced

Finish the Cadel by terminating the strokes with loops alld hairlines

4. Now add the crossbar, breaking the

strokes as they cross the lines of the legs. Finally, add the decorative loops and flourishes.

Cadel ornamentation

In order to build lip [he weight of a main stroke or to create a change in line direction, various type of ornamentation can be used. The patterns shown below have all been created with the pen at a constant angle. Each involves a series of short strokes that move at 90° to each other in a series of thin and thick "boxes", This simple device can be adapted to form increasingly complex patterns.

This pattern

ill VO I ves a series of fOI" small "boxes ", followed by a line oj three "boxes"

A constant petl ollgle is essenua! ill tne creation oj "box" pauems

Basic "boxed" strokes "Box" steps

The basic principle of the "boxed" stroke . In a principle similar to the

is that when the pen moves sideways, a thin basic "boxed" stroke (above line is produced, and when it moves upwards left), this pattern involves the

or downwards, a thick line is produced. "boxes" moving sideways in steps. ThIS works best on curved strokes and reqUIres careful planning

Terminal "boxes"

I n this pattern, the

use of "boxes" allows strokes to be rerminared in different directions.

~

~ Th, semi-circular loops '''''''''' ~ <, without actually tou,h"'g

Interlocking loops A series of interlocking but unjoined loops can be adapted at a terminal stroke or provide an infill.

Mirror images This patterning is loosely based on a decorated descender from the 16th-century" Alphabet" of Mary of Burgundy" The two halves of the ornamentation suggest a mirror image, This decoration would work equally well from a top line of an ascender.

Small terminal loops should be drawn complete; this is easier than trying

to construct half a loop

The balance oj thick and thin strokes in the lift arm will be tile exact reverse oj those in the right anI!

1. Begin by folding a sheet of lightweight layout paper i.n half-the fold will represent the centre line of the image. Fold the paper again at a right angle to the original fold - this will represent the ann. Unfold the paper and work out the sequence, loops, and interlaces of half the pattern.

2. Using the right angle fold as a centre line, work our the strokes for the arm. When this is complete, fold the paper over the centre line and repeat the pattern from the seethrough image. Any flaws in the design will become immediately obvious when the pattern is reversed.

83

THE GOTHIC I FLUENCE on western European scripts between the tenth and 13th centuries was largely resisted in one major country - Italy. The clarity of classical inscriptions, still evident throughout the land, the continued use of a wide, rounded hand called the Beneventan, and the retention of the Caroline Minuscule, were all factors in th emergence of

a formal script that differed from its Gothic contemporaries

in its round, open aspect. It was known as Rotunda.

Rotunda

By THE 12TH CENTURY, the prestige Rotunda script had developed into an extremely formal and upright version of the Caroline Minuscule (pp. 38-39), with slightly shorter ascenders and descenders than

its parent script. The hand

also embodied elements of the Beneventan, most notably in

the rounded strok s on many letters. In contrast, straight strokes were square-cut and rigidly upright. A legible hand

In general, the Rotunda was bolder than the Caroline Minuscule, but the rounded strokes and modest ascenders and descenders created

a clear, legible script that was used for handwritten work long after the introduction of printing. The simplicity of the letterforms made the script equally popular as a model for typefaces, thriving in that form until as late as the 18th century.

The man] curved strokes, sudi as this on til e I Wet 0 , helped conti n ue the halian tradition '!J open, rounded scripts

The square bas.!inejoO( '!Jthe ieuer f is a dislincuve characteristic of the Rotunda

BOOK OF HOURS This small Book of Hours, produced in Bruges in about 1480, shows the evenness and regularity of the Rotunda. The script differs from chat used [or the Verona Antiphoner (opposite) in one significant respect- the upturned feet of the minims. Here, they are a continuation of the minim strokes, which results in slightly more cursive letters than was usu al.

The deht half oflh. o has a smooth" semi-ci.rC!liar sweep than the lift (pp_ 86-87)

ROTUNDA 0 The roundness of the 0 is the key to Rotunda and is reflected in all the bowed letters.

ot

t..~

bfco"ott U:)1nl11~l n1C.1 (q_nc t.1111.111.1 nutrrrn pt'rtltr pln11tH'

ms runnn I mns fLitl rni gIOll 0 tiOil11.1111Jrrro;phl 11 01' 1111 [011101.100 mcu rO~l1nl111~1 rrrnnnunr Glt rr firs t 11 rr f J.l1:1n rt [111111.1 £rO .. .mrr p.trrum.uug, t In. £fulrg-o ~"l)ftp:lrni

1l6111l(rnr()10lCfo115 (

.1Llltl~ er nc .. f0J16

84

ROTUNDA

Large-scale letters

As a manuscript hand, the Rotunda was written in a full range of sizes, from very small to very large, and was the chosen script for some of the largest known manuscript books in the world.

When written on a large scale, the letters can have a rigid formality

and the hairline strokes often seem disproportionately light.

Rotunda Capitals

Accompanying capitals are written

with the same pen as the minuscules (pp. 88-89). A double stroke can be used for the stem, with a clear gutter between strokes. In some historical instances, the Rotunda Capital was developed into a Versal. In others, Gothic or Lombardic Versals were used with Rotunda

text script.

A common feature of all Rotunda letters, both minuscule and capital,

is the sharpness of the cut of the nib, which gives dear, precise strokes and fine hairlines. In larger versions,

the pen should be clearly lifted after the completion of each stroke, while

in smaller versions, many strokes can be drawn in one continuous movement .

... I't--+-~c-- Tbese larqe-scole Boumda 11'."'" lack any cursive. Je(JOJ.fes: nO~e the CJt'18!.11arilJ wi~h which the ascend e rs and mOigh( minim strokes ha ve been drawn

Compare the unusual broke" jormsrj

I J'he strokes an capitols A. C, and E with

lhe mOre COmmon jorm (pp. 88-89)

THE VEr<.ONA ANTIPHONER

w~~t~n~~r~~:~~e{5~~~!r~~~J;~I~~;:~e~'i~l;t~f~~}~~~~0 _ ItmpJ,itbeofis Fin lo.ifum.([.t)c .1Jr~·(m

and C~lio in Ver.ona, Italy. This rype of book w.as often p- bi.-z rln 50f .. in f"ln.rub:i~n( toea., cori~

written In a large format to enable several choristers to . . A - . (': bt b· M...t_· "I . - .

read it at the same time. The Rotunda letters have been AUCt§+"ld Ilt emp . t 001' -tV:' Q' (m~'ltbeo

drawn with considerable precision, with idiosyncrasies 1: ,.- to .{. .,...... ~.b·' '( - -

arising only in 'he unusual broken form of rhe ",,,,I;. .IS6rccc f. ~£.!. O.:.Jlt 0 .. "'.tIC!.c:' ... ~t1ttl. 0 Ct. t. m

Thi, Carolineform rjdjeawres . tl~rt_lta Q b~c ?C!U ?cedebar. ~t l~ qacciect

an uprighl stem and curved bawl re I mdto:e ftQtU t)cducerec:'Z ftertli ferrile;

. rcd~uct+t!OftCB tii ~ln(tT U; ( as rfro .fcrtaib> t fruccu 0 fitTim if fmpbi~beod(Qr( poffe:.,t , '<1:.be mre fmpbf+l+t,in~nt~t, 01, empbttbc 2 of!e *.,(l enipb't_bt:9tt~' ,CfactuetUe qui (II

~ ...;: ..

ROTUNDA AS A TYPEFACE The type used in this dictionary was possibly frOI11 the fou n rs of the Venice-based German primer Erhard Ratdolt (pp. 90- 91), who had punches cut for a Rotunda rype in 1486_ This derail shows rwo different f0I1115 of d: the uncial form and the upright Caroline form - both can be seen in the middle of the sixth line.

85

Itsus» &..HUMANIST SCRIPTS

Rotunda

RTUNDA IS AN upright, open letter, which works well on

both a large and small scale. The characteristic straight stem strokes, such as those on letters b,f, and h, are constructed with the pen held at about 30°. The square foot is then added in one of two ways. The simplest method is to use the corner of the nib to outline the foot, before filling it in with ink. Alternatively,

the "dual ductus" technique can be used, which involves turning the pen from 30° to the horizontal in one short movement. Although the latter may seem more complex, it is probably preferable when drawing large Rotunda letters.

A spii: ascender CO" be used i'1Stead oj the flat-headed IIan'ery

Complete the .,weep 10 the rig/a ill n sillgle moke

Sweeping strokes

On letters in which the stem stroke ends in a right $\ eep, such as I (abo"e), the sweep is usually completed in a single stroke. On larger letters, tWO separate strokes are used

(see b, I, and t, rig"l)

0" large-scale Rotunda leuers,

) he err tved s 1 roke is draiun separately from the slraighr stroke

if the I'pn'glll stroke begins

af 30°, tum th« pen to rile hotizontal to creme a flatfoot

Key Jetter

The 0 is the key letter of the Rotunda. The bowls of b, d, g, p, and q closely follow its shape, and its open aspect is also echoed in the c and e. The first stroke is only slightly curved, closely following a vertical before sweeping vigorously to the right. The second stroke i much more semi-circular than the first.

Terminating flicks A.I an alternative to the sweeping Stroke, letters ur II, and j/ can terminate with a flick. These are severe and rather mechanical the stroke is simply executed with a pen angle of30° and without any directional turn of rile pen.

86

a The a is diaractetized bl' its haltline wrl

b TIlefl<H-headed

ascender oj rile b (all be replaced by _ a splil ascender

c

1~

OAllemalivelY.lile d call [eature a" up"gl1lltem 1

fAlternative

crossbar

g _h

T1 ,e jim -il ended osrender of fl.e h ca'i be replaced bl' II spli: ascender

••

~

TheJoor. of the a could alternatively _finislr witl, a sweep to

Ille n'glll

Twist lire peu 10 Ihe verlienl for tire crossbar oJllle f

2

--

stroke omitted

ROTUNDA

The jlar-headed ascen der of the k .an be rep/<ued by a ,pli I ascender

_1 _

],-

The finaljool of the

m~'h;' I,

Alternative foot

1T---~-

- ~

Alternative foot

__ 0

-p-

Allernative/y,

twist from the diagonal 10 the

· ---honzoMlalfo.r

the $enf of the p

1 -~._-

],

'~-

The ]lot-headed ascender oj the I can be replaced by a splil ascender

The setondfoo: oj the n co~ld alternatively terminate with a]lick

The second stroke of the 0 is more semicirwlar than the firs:

Alternative foot

tV

. -.-......_. 3

7

--,.,.---

Drag the ink wi.th the corner of the nib /0 make the Iall of the x

~- ~lr-

, ' __ . ~ __ 2 _

1

---------,~~- ---

-------1f------ ..... ----____//~--

-

3

Full r

Halfr

2

3

2~~

Each stroke oj the s begins or

2 end. on the central hainine

The use of the half r is common in Rotunda text

4

____ ID

AMy two letters WI'th oppol.ing bow, .an be conjoined

Conjoined d and e

Conjoined b and 0

Apart from COM joined le uers, Rotunda Iettefotm: are clearly separated

87

I1f1LIt1N &_HUMA 1ST SCRIPTS

Rotunda Capitals

THE STRUCTURE OF the Rotunda Capital is less clearly defined than the minuscule (pp. 86-87), Both single and double tem capitals can be used; historically, they were often combined with Lornbardic Capitals (pp. 6 65). The double stem capitals shown here have been taken from a number of sources and should be regarded only as guide for individual interpretations, As with the Rotunda minuscules, a "double ductus" applies, with all curved stroke and some upright strokes drawn with th pen at 30°, and the remaining strokes drawn with the pen at the horizontal.

2-~------ Sweeping atrued strokes Ile/p establish a rlqtlml

Tile pell is held at 300 [or the auved strokes oj th« Rotunda Capita!

A slogle diomond stroke reduces 'he 1I0/'III,e oj space

III tile counter

Counters The round, open nature of the Rotunda Capital tends to produce generous counters, The expanse of white space can be broken by the addition of spurs, diamonds, double hairlines, or a combination of these elements.

Square feet

If the pen is at 300 at the rap of the stem, the angle should be maintained for the whole stroke, fi rushing at the baseline. To create the square foot, use the corner of the nib to trace along the baseline and up tojoin the right side of the Stem. Fill in this triangle of white space with ink.

TI'e feel are ourlined m,dfilled in wirll the corner of lire nil!

Alternative form of M In this form of M, the double

stroke is in the centre of the letter and a large sweeping stroke ha been incorporared. The volume of space in the counter has been reduced by the double hairline.

11,1' gap between th« two stetn strokes ,/wli/d be abour Iwlf a PI''' ""dOl

Vertical l.air/illes call be added Ilrnmglr rhe counter oj Ihe B

~3 "~-,)

5

Diagollal/wi,/Illes call be added 10 the letter D (left)

E

4

~G

~

3

~

4
~ ~;
:::=:..->'
6
1
1 1 88

-......::;: 2

2

7

1 ~--

ROTUNDA CAPITALS

1 ---

Trm!' the pell

from the

[3 hotizonta! to 30° 10 dmw the final stroke of the U

4

-lflTUn1lhe

pen from 30°

to the hotirontal to

draw the first stroke

oftlie N

--x-J-

71,e cross stroke 1

011 the X gives

the letter

addiri01Jal weight

~ 2 1

2

~ p ;:'Jr;::~ l~

30° to the

. IwriZOI.'lal j 2 to draw tile

first stroke

_" cifrheP _

Alternative forms of 0

-~-~R Single stern

Rotunda Capital R

4

Intemal decoration ca" take the fonl! of hairlilre cross strokes arid diamonds

A"y Rotunda Capital CI'" be drawn with a single rather than a double stem; this pia iner form is best for use hi text with mi""sw/es (pp. 86-87)

89

ITAL/A!\" 8LHUA'VINIST SCRIPTS

Humanist Minuscule

THE HUMANIST MINUSCULE (Littera Antiqua) and the Roman Imperial Capital (pp. 108-109) are the two historical scripts most influential in our modern society. Between them, they give us the basic constructions of our capital and lower-case letters, both in handwritten and typewritten form. In the Humanist Minuscule, the darker overtones of the Gothic scripts gave way to the lighter sty le of the

Renaissance letter. It would be difficult to envisage a script better suited to the intellectual ideals of the age.

The serif> nm'. All Humanist Minuscule

bee" dr~"''' witt: letters have an uptight aspect

rhe pen held 01 30° with clearly defined strokes.

THE HUMANIST Minuscule was essentially a rediscovery of the

. Caroline Minuscule (pp. 38-39).

As a clear, unambiguous hand, free from affectation, the Caroline was considered by 14th-century scholars, including the Italian poet Petrarch, to be in harmony with the ideals

J

of the Renaissance.

Although the Humanist Minuscule was to have a profound and formative influence on modern Latin-based "Hiting, acceptance of it was initially slow. The Widespread popularity of the script came only after manuscript books were supers ded by printed works, and it was adapted as a model for text typefaces, notably by Nicholas Jenson of Venice after 1470 (pp. 38-39). It gradually replaced the Rotunda in Italy (pp. 84-8') and the Gothic scripts of Britain and southern Europe as the principal model for typefaces.

bone llo[unratJ5 rue coronalh nosiUc qUlcm ercrnarn. AnD Ingy dommc-t d eus mcus r n ('on1reau .. tu.o u iarn me

m.. r ConUt:rtrrc. P.'

o III [one IlC In fU rorr ru 0 '~1a.5 me nc cr r 11 r ra ru a, cornflds mcmJdcrcrc met

:=;;;;::..domll1c qUOlll.-lm III hnnU5 hun l:ma. 1 me d.orru ne: (IUOIllLlll1 ronrurbara h1llt omrua ofYet ~('illik arnrna mr.a ru r

bara ll,tfdc:{~d ru flomrnc Ll[~ £t

9_uO on u crrurc dnmmc cr cnpc ai

~ m.1I11 rne.irn : Cl[cLUm me far propter I

rru lcrrcorrlram ruarn .... u orn arn non d1' t n rnorrr (1'.u mcrnor Gt' ruti ..

~, no dUCCI11. Ijl115 (onhtcb,n,[ rrn ..... .._.,.,,_.,. horaul 1J18>r.nHtu. mr o lau,lfw per ~n Dulas nut l-cs I dhlm meum Jacb7

BOOK OF Hoon.s This Book of Hours was written in Bologna in about ISOO (or Giovanni II Benrivoglio

Arguably, the sumptuous decoration and brighr colours of the Ve::rsaL detract fiom the dignity of the text script it elf The flat serifs at [he heads of the ascenders are the narural

product of a horizontally held pen (pp. 92-93).

90

Sore tlre scrupulous (OnsiSIClll)' .,.irh 1L'hi("h these small QmpcFS"mis hot". /"'."

Jrml"rllhr0l18how fhe It!SI _~--4ll..T-I!4Itlr- -L ..... ~"""cuu~......,.outtrdmhcU:'ft

ch.ifiu' _Idi.m :'1"'~ m.",hr.r., rJnlS co~pons (ius d-r.Glr:nt c:&us &d.c Q !fibu. <i us. Poopla bee eelm 9u, II" 1n0 I'.lte,n &. lna~tI'm [""m· &~d h~rd)ltVxo.,I"iI!.:&uuntd"oi""" ne vna .Sdc'·a.lIlentum boc In'gnu", .1l.Lgp aueem dio> In c.b,,1bi lSoi Lc:cI,,/1.i. VOlu ram.n &. Yo.! ling,"" vn!Jr'lu,r~ .. xerem [uam Gcut1.,p rum dib.!."" vxor aueem tlln"" .. n;

rn p,omllr.on.· vl btMfi, nlll &.rrs I;;

g!""J (up" ".".m.F tvos i""'rtS no

ultad i",,,,,""iam p ... uOC" .. l'tfil.'" ""

il<o, (.dodut:.ll. iU", tn dif<ipl.I"." roruption.domini. S«Ut obtdit~d"

mln,scAr-n .. ltbuscumtimo~~l:runCi

rt rn Iimpilc,r.tc.<IOr::d .. vdtn lieu. ell

1I0:lIOn .. d """Ium C.ru;wlm qua"'"

m,ni!,,,, pl.l1nll:o: fod .. ,.f<irui c.hnlh

f.nUlw voltlntit.tmdci ~Q ..InJmorn

b", .. volun ... t .. rca.rtontos lieu! domi_

no& non hom'nib .... ,C ... n ... quon ...

vnurqUlrq~ 'Iuodc:un'll f<Wft bonu.m

II« reap.'''. do.",no. r. ... efuuu.s (,it.

!,btr.E.t "".dom,ni wem f.ci .. ill" tt",iltt:nlf:Smrn~s, Cc,ultu'luia &,110 tu.m&vdle.rdominusdl-rncali.s.ft 1 ~t I' .. I~. ~{onUQm a_ptionondl apuddw. , .• ~ r .. <

Do Wt:tofr .. ros """("tUmin;", do

mino &lnJn~ntia'VntUbJ.rtUs.ln ~a ..... ja.l ... ~

duue.vos acmatutamdei vt- FOffillS. _. I"if:W •• , .tt"'-c..r~

fl.Iru.dolttfa.inlidi.' d,.hrIi :'11.11' ,.

1'I'lm ROn ,0 nob" coUa£buo luor

(11$ caenem & f~nl:'inun. fed dtul"

The book has been hondwriucn on vellum -H-f"ttr.1

(.ltH ...... t."r 11 -.t ... r llll.I.,l,("~ In"thtillll 6

The rer;~/s ~re based on Boman and not l.ombardic

Imeifofms(pp.5 59)

ST. PAUL'S EplS LE Written in about 1500, th is rext co III bi ues i ta lie and H uman isr Minuscule hands to dramatic effect. Despite the diminutive size of rhe letters, reprcd uced here approximately the same size as they are

wrirten, each character remains distinct and clearly legible At a glance. the manuscript mal' be mistaken for a

. printed book.

In this margin annOfOl1an, rI" 'dr~1' me '!I;I,obi<" numerals ts cvidcm

['IUN EP TEXT

Fi fto:en rh -cenru ry

Adl'.l'bdi ..

A small Jetter

Like the Caroline Minuscule, the Humanist Minuscul ~ "vas an elegant hand that worked most successfully on a small scale. This is evident in the diminutiv 1 tter of the Epistles text (abOFe). In Italy, the Rotunda (pp. 84-85) continued to be used for large-scale book 'Nark.

Versals and capitals

Versals, so popular with Gothic scribes, were also 1.1 eel with the Humanist Minuscule, but these were increasingly modelled on Roman forms (pp, 108-/09). The use of capitals for sentence openings was now universal. Also derived from Roman forms, the Humanist Capitals were drawn with the same ductus as the minuscules and were the same height as th minuscule ascender (pp. 98-99). A rigid adherence to ascender and descender Jines, along with clear line separation, helps give an ordered aspect to a page of text.

ftt------- .... _ <'''P·f-i· Ap.{lol ..... Jmm .. '" ~I, 01 e ~ntts 1"Dmado m.£4lum \.lUI. mj!iluil. J.;"dt ft.,«"< C~d.m'~.1 \'t fr1I~"""'ItC< j)(mrrnnr.p","TI"" ill", ad WIIwmJ"t """ J"'''OI%h'.S",u~ ,tch [ .... 4"II7'nU. J."r", ",·b.m!!" ,1/ .. tTaLtuot:Poprem.':'" u,,;""!<fmJ' mil II",." fid., hOT'''''''' ", nil o lui i« p.rtnllb, .. v,i. in domino "H"""mm,uH. <II. H,mor.tf,~"nnw".m e."m.trm, tudm: 9uod en ma.nd~.cum p .. mum

!Iuno ..... '.niwf frr"t.' .. ftd ....... (II h,..oI."u,.

,,"r-',I:l. '. lIot..or ••• tllll, ~~r e •• L ... -I'. J

THI: IIANIJWR.ITING

OF I'ETRARCI-r

The cript developed bv Francesco Perrarch ,,;as probably che first Humanist Minuscule.

This annotation by the poet to his copy of Sucrouius's Liucs 0( Caesars, \VJS made i;l about 1370 and dearly demonstrates the degree to which

he hod adopted the Caroline Mim,scuie as a model for his hand.

91

ITALIAN &_HUMANfST SCRlPTS

Humanist Minuscule

THE HUMANIST MINUSCULE is a direct descendent of the Caroline Minuscule (pp. 40-41), Letters are clearly defined, separate, and open - very close in form to modern letters, particularly those used as typefaces. There is no exaggeration

of ascenders and descenders in the script and interlinear spacing is clear and regular. Humanist Minuscule can be written with a square-cut "slanted" or an oblique-cut "straight" pen. The letters shown here have been written with a "straight" pen. In both cases, the letters are upright and usually small in scale, with

a minim height of about five pen widths.

"Slanted" pen

The "slanted" pell Humanist Minuscule

is based on the early hand of Poggi a and relates quite closely to the Caroline Minuscule. It is written with a pen angle of 30-400• The

a is a double-storey letre r; this distinguish es it from the Italic a, which is a single-storey

letter (pp. 96-97).

"Straight" pen

During the latter pan of the 15 th century, there was an increasing tendency to write the H urnanist Minuscule with a "srraighr" pen. The pen angle for this is shallow - 5-150- and a greater contrast between thick and thin strokes can be p rodu ced,

Wedge serif drmllli ",1,,1(1 suokes

Serif types

Th e sc ri p t features two typ es 0 [ se rifs: wedge-shaped and flat. The wedge serif is created either in a single stroke or in two separate strokes (above). The flat serif is created with

a single horizontal stroke. When using a "straight" pen, the flat serif can also be used to terminate upright minims and descenders (see letters

f, Jr, k,. JII, II,. p, q, P', opposite).

92

FOOl drawn will,

Foot draw" willi

Minim feet

When using a "slanted" pen, the tendency is to create a turned foot, produced by terminating the minim stroke with a flick to the right.

When using a "straight" pen, this flicking movement is more difficult. Instead, use the flat serif, or finish the stroke with a slight movement 10 the right along [he baseline and then add a separate serif to the left

a

Tht: ",edge serif of the

Db can be replaced by

serif

. -

~2d_

if !Ising a "lloNlfd"}Iffl, the bowl of tn e b will h" ve " diagonal ox's

~3

-- 2

2

c ----cc.

~- .. - ..

no wedge serif oj Ih .. d Call be replaced b r

a ftat serif

-(C'--

if I'sillg a "'slaP1fed" peu, Ihe bowl of the d will have a diagonal axis

-e --~

Like rM Ron,"d~ f, lire Hlm,ap,ur Mimllwle f do"! '101 Ira", • rail

The wedge serif of the h wn be repla,ed by "Jlal serif

III

t

if <"iPlg. "sian ttd " pell, tile 00,"1 ojrhe g will have a dingo,ml <lX~

ti« h ,.~ temunau: ",ir!. a nmledfool

HUMANIST MINUSCULE

The wedge sen j of rile k ,OM he replaced by "flat sen!

l TI.e wedge 5e·if of

lire I ,all be replaced by a flal sen]

m t

1

~ - -

IT

P"lIlile tali of lire I alo.)g !lre baseiine, or lert",'nale .l,.e S lroke wi!l.l a flat lerif

t

u

v

If "sillg a "slanted" pe", tile 0 will' have

lj:i","" ~~----_x-

If using a "slmlled" ---- pen, the vowl of

2 the p willl,ave a diagoMa I axis

If !lso'Iog 0 "slanted" pe", Ihe bowl oj tl,e q will have a diogorJaI axis

-c~ ---

-----~-

2

Thefirsl siroke oj/he r can terminate wilh trlurned [oot

z

"Slanted" letters

TIle top oj lile t silOllld rise ollly slig/illy ~b<we Ihe I!eGdN'1e

3 5

--

J

--

3 -

e bas« jorm/yllre y s the same aSllie u, ilil rloeJarlrfl1 stroke extended into a toil

-

2

Humanist Mi'1ujwle leuers drawn witll a "slanted" FeH call Iean joruiard sligl,II)'; II! this [on» the a, f, ana g difJer jrom the Italic (pp_ 94--95) in Ihal tlrey are ,wlil1kea

The ta /I ~r the g d ifJerelllia Ie'! til e leue« jrom its 11alic countetpart (pp 96-97)

-

93

ITt1LlAN &...HUMA! 1ST SCRJPTS

Italic

IN IT BASIC FORM, Italic script (Chancery Cursive, Cancellaresca Corsiva, Litteia di Brevi) is a cursive offspring of the Humanist Minuscule (pp. 90-91). Over time, it became a distinctive

hand in its own right, spawning, in turn, the Copperplate

(pp. 102-103). The script was invented in 1420 by iccolo Niccoli, an Italian scholar who found the Humanist Minuscule too slow to execute. By 1440, his new, less labour-intensive script had been adopted as the official hand of the Papal Chancery.

ITAliC II

The Italic a, with its fully fanned bowl, is th e earliest ancestor of our modem lowercase letter fl,

Leu ers sen"a/9' join a! !n. mid ... ,] poi n! bell.een Ih. baseline and ,h. headline

THE FOUR BASIC characteristics of Italic that were established by

iccoli tend to occur naturally when the Humanist Minuscule is written rapidly and with the minimum

n urn her of pen lifts: there is a

t ndency for the hand to lean to

the right; circles become more oval; many letters can be written in a single stroke; and letters are joined to each other with a connecting stroke. Chanaina the a

The character altered most significantly by Niccoli was the a, which he transformed from a tall two-storey letter tp. 92) into a smglestorey letter of minim height (above risht). His q also tended to follow this new form, resembling an a with a tail.

The terminals of Italic ascenders and descenders were drawn in one of two forms: the formata (semi-formal), in which they were horizontal or wedgeshaped and left-facing, or the corsiva, in which they were rounded and right-facing (pp. 96-97).

Abll -:1.1"11 di p~rcho cald:t U~1f~ I M ic c ch i ~HO ct bC\L ~111l10 ct B unro h·d co ct ot,llo R.. oCltO bc\\i\1~n1Ll ct ncro per D-C ~ (111:1

[1"0 Pan, ct t\ncor:l Ii dIce chc

TREA TlSE ON 1-1AWKING This page from a work by the Italian scholar Francesco Moro was penned in about 1560-70 and consist mainly of alphabets and texts in different hands. At the top, in gold, are two lines of Cadels (pp, 80-81). Beneath the blue border are the Italics, fully separated and generously spaced, The minuscule hand is a fermata, identifiable by the wedge-shaped ascender serifs.

Four lines of Texrura Quadrata (pp 50-51) follow and, below the green border, there are several lines ofHumanist Minuscule (pp 90-91).

94

ITALIC

The long ascenders and descenders have presented a problem for the ;cribe where ,hey dash in the interlinear "pace

In this Italic text, the cailiorapher ba i ncl uded both form ow and cotsi va ascenders; th is lis the corsi va 'yp'

PRINTING TYPE CATALOGUE

This design from 1990 is by the Norwegian calligrapher Christopher Haanes. He ha achieved harmony between the capitals and minuscules by reducing the size of the capitals co just above minim height.

The relot: ve crudity d MorriS', capitol letters is probably olVinO to his use d a pOimed pen nib rather than the more suitable

broad-edqed nib --U~~~~~1t(-.:lIT' A,,,,, 1"11'" ,~j"'''' .. ''''mj,,~ {""" .... ,

x n ' ... 1 \ .... '"".

EM VII',n!HhcrJ'1.:n,Uf fJ"t11 ~([

AltholJOh clearly an Italic script, Morris's leuets are nOliceably upright compared With a classic ltalic such as Francesco Moro's (opposite) -....:.,,7':::;~{;:oi(;iijjfit.;Mf'="'

WILLIAM MORRlS Although Edward Johnston is generally regarded as the father of modern calligraphy (pp. 42-43), William Morris had been exploring the methods of medieval scribes two decades before him. This illuminated work of 1874 is an attempt to realize the vision of the Arts and Crafts movement by achieving communion between craftsman and tool (pp. 42-43). But

since a pointed nib rather than a broad-edged pen has been used to draw the capitals, the attempt is only partially successful.

&"'~jil9i1..U:W'" ',,, ~'If a{clm. re )Clic ? rm" C'j'.s ,,.rjrr~1 ),,'''1"11 nonrer. I rrr ~~~"

in lf1t'l'bf"OSIS J J;r"ou;, Ol'il,

I I '~j;'F" Rnd" errio"',,, HIlt'Ttlo? U "J, \fJCti,(,.W ~.nC"'1t ifUcrU-h,t'

\ Orr~M sir"".,

tlH,'fl"rn-rl "'f;(.fc" tt" .. t~HIJf""1J

.. .17,,,";,,,,,,, t'pmJ .J .. rr!1H(, ''''''N,

LI •• "j.,,,, .r<tu,.ilM ((Ib", ( • .r,",wif

, A"""", ,[<'<fA . u . .

~,~,J, re"" ~(;C(km I~.fon" r~,.mt':"

ItIU.tf,Lwl, 'rw!"l':l ~cm"'''trl (Ie [)"""'ffll 1''': fIlM"<' rf tnnlf Wfrli"1"" T1l<'''.('_

j

SATURl\MLlA This fine Italic script was written by Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius in 1465. Each letter is dearly defined. reminiscent both of the Humanist MinuscuJe (pp. 90-91) and the earlier Caroline Minuscule (pp, 38-39). The capitals are small and restrained compared with those by Moro (opposite).

The influence of type

The changing. demands brought about by the developing printing industry of the 15th century had an important influence on the Italic script. In 1501 , the Venetian printer Aldus Manutius commissioned goldsmith Francesco Griffo to design a small Italic type

(pp. 90-91), in which most of the charact rs were clearly separated. From that point, calligraphers began to follow the example of type by separating their penned letters. This led to a loss of some of the Italic's cursive quality and the script quickly reached its full maturity as a carefully crafted text hand. But by the 15505, the complaint from scribes was that it had become too slow to write. From then, its decline was rapid, eventually being used only for text in parenth sis and for annotation.

Johnston's 0

For the modern calligrapher, Italic script remains a constant source

of inspiration. However, much new Italic can be traced back not to the 15th century but to the influence of the early 20th-century calligrapher Edward Johnston. The script was subtly modified by his introduction of two pulled strokes for the 0 and related letters, in place of the original single stroke (pp. 42-43).

95

J7A1IAN &..HUMANIST 5CJUPTS

Italic

THE ITAUC HAND is written with a square-cut "slanted" pen, held at an angle of between 35 and 450• Letters should be written with the minimum number of pen lifts - most can be written with a single stroke. The two traditional examples shown here are formata and corsi va. Formata letters are distinguished by the wedge serif to the left of the stem, corsiva by the swashes to the right of the stem. Ideally, the two different types should not be mixed. The o is the key letter of the script: it establishes the basic ductus of the hand, the curve of other letters, and the letter width (below).

Joining strokes Where strokes spring from the stern of a letter. such as on h, m, and II, the stroke should begin about two pen widths below the headline. The bottom curve of the bowl of the d, g, and q meets the stem stroke about two widths above the baseline. All connecting

strokes follow these basic rules.

_lMUrJAUp.:t<'.J."ttlfW II forward lean of abouI

100r 15° _

TII;s wedge sen!, drawn

i" two strokes, is common j,J modem work

Ascenders and descenders con be the same he(ghl as the minims or slightly shorter

coni va serif creates bold ascenders

Step-by-step 0

Serifs

Serifs can be wedge-shaped and left-facing (fermata) OJ; right-facing (corsiva), On leiters b, d, 1" It, and I in the alphabet (right), both fermata and corsi va types are shown.

1. To create the a in

a single stroke, use an angle of 40°. Begin just below the headline and push the pen upwards to the headline, before curving down to the left.

2. Maintaining the

40° pen angle, curve the stroke downwards towards the baseline, before moving along the baseline and beginning to curve upwards.

J. Push the pen towards the headline in an arc, meeting the top curve just below the headline. Alternatively, draw the letter in two strokes (opposite).

96

Formata form of b

Corsiva form of b

Alternatively, the top CutVe of tile c can be draw« as a separate strokt

Formata form ofd

Corsiva forrn ofd

2

- The top loop of/he e Wr1 be drawn as a ___ separate stroke _~;...&.. __ __''''''

A tong~e Call be added when tile e is at the end of a word

WitlM"t the crossbar, the f becomes lire long form of s

Altematively. the desceuder oftlw gC""

terminate willi a swash (above left)

Corsiva form ofh

Allema/ively.lIle 'second foot of the h Call term irwte willI a flick

_--""--,,,!~_,.,.<- =(above left)

.~

Formata form off

Corsiva form ofl

2

The legs of the m cm) be d ralllll as ,epa ra te s trokes

2

Alternatively, the 0 am be drawlI it! a single stroke (opposite)

ITALIC

nefirststrake~ 1 ,))

i--------_..,-- the v Call begin~QJ )L--W--

'ike IIII' U, will1 ----

a "",dge serif

I----~r-_,_- ~,t:::.1i' ~ ~.~---

like the u, with J

a wedge serif

The first and third strokes oj the z can be replaced by a siugle stroke from ngh I 10 left

Conjoined leiters do not appear in Ita lie script and ligatures

are limited to the letters sand t

S-t ligature

97

ITALlilN &_HUJl1ANIST SCRIPTS

Humanist & Italic Capitals

HUMANI T CAPITALS ARE closely modelled on Roman Imperial Capitals (pp. 1 10-119) and can be used with the Caroline Minuscule (pp. 40-41) and Foundational Hand (pp. 44-45), as well as with Humanist Minuscules (pp. 92-93). A pen angle of 30° is most likely to produce letters with a similar stroke weight to the stone-cut Roman originals. ltalic Capitals are based on the Humanist letterforrns but have a distinctive forward lean. There are various possible serif formations (below), and any

of these can be used on either type of capital.

Humanist mid Italic Caprtals sllould rrever exceed the equivalent

of Iwo minims ir'l height

, lrafi( Capilals lean (0 lire riglrr at lire sawe angle <IS tire 1I111l11Swies (pp. 9&-97)

Pen nibs

The same pen nib should be used for capitals as is used for {he minuscule that they accompany. The serifs can be drawn with the pen at a slightly shallower angle than {hat used for the main stem strokes.

Arm serifs

Draw the arms of E and F and the top curves of C. C, and 5 in a single stroke and, if desired, build up the tWO serifs with the corner of the nib.

Alternative serifs

Alternatively, the top left serif can simply be the beginning of the stem stroke and the right serif can be created with a slight flick to the left.

/

Basic foot serif

Create the basic foot serif by extending the stem

to [he left and finishing with a baseline stroke.

Inner fillet

A third option is to draw the basic foot serif (left) and add the inner fillet with a short curve.

Bracketed serif Alternatively, finish the stem stroke with a sweep to the right and add the left serif separately.

A

c

-G

H

11_

2

2

Twistrhe pell rQ tlu: vertical to draw the serif of the C (see left for allemorif!e melhea5)

Tunst tire pen 10

II,e Ilerricai to draw the top wi! of the G (see leli -- for altemativt metltods)

2

3

2 5

-- --

3

r

3

-- --

71 re lener J tall drop be/ow tire baselim

98

HUMANIST &_11i1LiC CAPITALS

If z.. ~ I' i'._3rm fil

L

N~

TIre top amr of th« K cal! be drawl! wr'lh a stra ig'r r sfrake

- 2

-- 2

7 -

l Tire secarrd

stroke of the M 'aJI be mmght

The third stroee of tire N Can be SlrmglH

- 2

s

2

1- -~ Twist the peM 10 the

vertical ro draw the r serif oj the S (see

_~ __ aJter!2~~Z;;~:~:L

3

T

2 --

5 -

v

TIre firsl diagonal of!llcVmnbea ,(rmgln make

W[

4

TI!efirsl alid rl.rira strokes of

Ihe W can _ be sl,. ighl

2 --

4 ------.

-----

x

The first diagoHal stroke of Ihe Y mn be llr. igil I

l

balic Capitals should be slightly shoner than the ascender Ileig/II of the minuscule

I tali c Ca pi tals 2

The fi r5t altemative E ,I! ow' bracketed srnfi or the top and bouom of the letter, aud the second shows a straight stem and siraighl anns

Two alternative

forms of E

99

ITALIAN &_HUMANIST SCRIPTS

Italic Swash Capitals

As WASH CAPITAL IS A flamboyant letter that traditionally served a simi lar function in Italic text to that of the coloured Versal in Gothic text (pp. 5S-59). It should never be used to write

a complete word, but can be combined with standard Italic Capitals (pp. 98-99). The Swash Capital's characteristic showiness is created by the extension of stem strokes above or below the capital line and the extension of bowls and horizontal strokes to the left of the stem. These extended strokes terminate with a swash or, alternatively, can be looped like Copperplate Capitals (pp. 106-107).

TIre stem has beell extended ab1Hlr tire bourl qf the letter to je>rm a stuasl:

The lwash to lite I~fi ,if IIII' stem is a nauua! routiuuotion ~f

the rounded stroke of lire bm,,1

To draw Italic Swash Capunls, IISC the same pen

as for ilalic minuscules (pp. 96-97)

Left swashes

When creating a swash from the bowl of J letter, such as that of the B or R, it is important that the swash is J natural extension of the bowl stroke. with the pen pulled in a sweeping movement. The letters in the alphabet (,iglll) show the swashes added as eparare strokes.

1M,"" a swaslr is added bOIl! 10 lire lop and tire lIft oj/Ire stem, lire letter gains a partiwlarly flamboyam appearance

Top swashes

The stem can be extended

upwards and pulled to the right in the manner of a corsi va a cender on the Italic minuscule (pp. 96-97).

Draw tire loop il! a lil!gle mOVfweW wilJWHl airm'lIg lire pell angle

",we downwards slightly, and lift

Looped terminals

This clubbed, looped terminal can be used as an al ternative to the swash in ., finishing the stem stroke. It works particularly well on a single srern

letter such as an J or P. Create the

loop by crossing back over the stem

and pulling the stroke out to the right.

Formal arm serifs

This formal type of serif provides an elegant contrast to the flourishes. In construction, it closely imitates the brush-drawn Imperial Capital serif (1'1'. 110-119). On reaching the end of the arm, begin to twist the pen from 300 to the vertical.

c

']5--

I---..!--

_'E

Thee is drallnl in ("''' sepamte WIVed wokes

7j Balance tire

3 rap swash oJ lire D (Hie< lire sweep ,if

~ (Ire arc

5

2

3 ________.

J_ 4 ;;- 5 Ilre~t~~~:;~~r~YF

~~ call ferminare ",

a /ronzomal jool 2 (>Of H, below)

----

2

--

100