Handwriting Toward a Minuscule Alphabet, It Is Written Upright and Is Considered a Majuscule Form

There is much to say about the history of writing. To encapsulate the highlights in an essay by this short essay, it is important to note that the dialectic between formal and informal Jerri-Jo Idarius styles of writing led to periods of degeneration and periods of reform and also to the differentiation between what we refer to as caps and small letters, known technically as majuscules and minuscules. The Roman formal majuscule scripts follow: Although the ascenders and descenders of the half-uncial represent the movement Handwriting toward a minuscule alphabet, it is written upright and is considered a majuscule form. is a craft in which everyone participates, After the fall of Rome, various regional styles developed in Europe but in the 8th yet few people know much about its tradition century King Charlemagne instituted one script throughout the monasteries of Europe or evolution. From the view of a calligrapher* to help unite his empire. This style, known as Carolingian, related to the Roman who has studied and mastered tradi- half uncial and Roman cursive, is the first truly minuscule alphabet. Its beauti- tional forms of handwriting, this lack of ful letters can be written straight or at an angle. A simply drawn form of caps called education is a sign of cultural loss. Most versals appeared in manuscripts of this era. elementary school teachers feel inadequate to teach penmanship, and cannot explain the relationship between the cursive Roman Square Caps (Capitalis Quadrata) handwriting they have to teach and the printed letters they see in books. Since Rustic handwriting is so intimately connected to Uncial self-image, and since most people are (used for Bibles and sacred texts) unhappy with the results of their learning, versals it is common to hear, “I hate my writing!” Carolingian minuscule & or “I never learned to write.” They don’t Medieval scripts are popularly described as blackletter, due to the predomi- know what to do about it. Not having the nantly black appearance of the page. The demand for written books was increasing “idea” of well-designed letters, many due to the appearance of secular learning centers known as universities. Blackletter, people try to dress up poor forms with also known as textura quadrata (squared-off text) was an outgrowth of the desire to flourishes. This is especially true of conserve skins and paper and get more words on the page. Thus the ascending and adolescents looking for ways to express descending parts of the letters became shorter and lines of text were squeezed their growing sense of individuality. together. Scribes attempted to justify the right margin by using abbreviations, letter The remedy begins through a process endings and fillers. The German blackletter was called Fraktur, the English version was of education and being given proper Textus Prescissus, and the rounder form that appeared to the south in Italy and Spain models and instruction. was called Gothica Rotunda. The medieval illuminated manuscripts contained elaborate The Western European alphabet was versals (drawn and often decorated letters) based on the uncial. They were filled in invented by the Greeks and beautified by with paint or gold leaf. These and other miniature illustrations were generally the Romans. The Romans applied their added by artists other than the scribe. understanding of ideal proportions and The cursive black letter script called Bâtarde (bastard) compromised formal and the psychology of how we “see” to create informal elements. It was also known as Court Hand and English Secretary (the style an “architectural” alphabet that set the of Shakespeare). The first mass-produced books created on a printing press used standard to which we have returned for blackletter (the Gutenberg Bible in 1455). the past 2,000 years. Inscriptional caps give us the finest example of Roman letters, exemplified by the Trajan column inscribed Examples of Blackletter Type Styles in the second century AD. The letters were painted on stone with the pointed brush Commonly Used on Diplomas, (the serifs, or finishing strokes, were brush- Certificates & Christmas Cards designed), then chiseled in stone and repainted. In the early 1930s, a Roman Catholic priest named Father Catich Lombardic versals conducted a detailed study of these original letters from a scaffold. His rubbings, During the Renaissance, a renewed interest in the ideals and classical design of the photos, measurements and analysis were Romans led to a revival of Roman letter forms. Since the bibles and sacred literature in self-published in1951. This provided the monasteries had been rewritten during Charlemagne’s reign, the 16th-century artisans, scholars and educators a scholars mistook Carolingian for the writing of the Romans. Therefore, the new greater understanding of the letter Humanist bookhand and the chancery cursive (cancelleresca) of Rome were based shapes we inherited from the Romans, on 8th-century Carolingian. Both styles were used with the Roman capitals. A as well as the stroke directions and later evolution of the chancery script is known as italic (from Italy). This elegant sequences they used. and simple form can be used with the Roman caps or a sloped adaptation known as italic caps. GREEK ALPHABET The Arrighi cursive font (shown on the next page) is based on the 16 c. italic handwriting copy book by Ludovico Vicentino (the first manual of chancery). & TRAJAN Caps The Humanist bookhand which is the formal Renaissance hand, has become the basis for virtually all modern Roman serif type faces, as exemplified by * Greek kali means ”beautiful” and graphia means ”writing.” this font called Centaur and the informal corsiva for our italic fonts. So how did we get where we are today? argument for the revival of italic handwriting is obvious, it has not become This is a story of mass production and widespread due to lack of those competent to teach it. Proper teaching and well- competition. In order to sell handwriting designed instructional materials are gradually becoming available for educators manuals, the 17th- and 18th-century nationwide. “Writing Masters” tried to outdo each other by adding loops and flourishes to their FORMAL & INFORMAL HANDWRITING letters and pages. Writing manuals were reproduced from engraved copperplate. FORMAL INFORMAL (cursive) Since the engraved letters were cut with Letters straight Letters are sloped a sharp burin, pointed pens were needed Rounded forms Oval forms to copy them - quills and flexible steel Letters not joined Some letters joined pens that rendered broad strokes and Slowly and carefully written Rapid writing hairlines by the degree of pressure applied Book hand Letters, notes and business hand to the tip. Eventually, the new “round- Eye dominates Hand dominates hand” or “commercial cursive” styles were written with few pen lifts. To expedite CLEARING UP MISCONCEPTIONS joins and gain speed, eventually the hand · All cursive writing and hand lettering is referred to as “handwriting.” took over and the old letter forms were lost. The degree of slope had increased. · The term “printing” refers only to letters produced with the printing press Cursive italic is a rhythmic style that or other mechanical means. follows rules for stroke order and joins. · Upper and lower case are printers’ terms. For convenience, printers kept ma- These ensure integrity of form as speed juscules (large letters) in an upper box or case and the minuscules (small letters) in increases. Using a broad-edged pen, a case below. thick and thin parts of italic letters were AMPERSAND a function of pen angle, not pressure. The ampersand (&) is the joined symbol or ligature for the Latin “et” meaning “and.” This symbol was used so often that it took on the status of a letter in the alphabet and was placed after “Z” Today we call “&” ampersand, which is a corruption of “and-per-se-and” which means: the symbol ‘&’ by itself stands for ‘and’. In context, when repeated outloud, the alphabet would end with: “. w, x, y, z, and per se (by itself) ‘and’.” Arrighi Italic Personal Note I have practiced and taught calligraphy for over twenty-five years. My mentor, Italian Chancery Cursive professor Lloyd Reynolds, whom I met at Reed College in the 1960s, not only taught his students many historical styles of handwriting, but focused on the integration of & the Italic style in formal spirit and matter in the Eastern & Western artistic traditions. He talked about the ideal of conveying spirit breath (chi) through the art of handwriting, which occurs & Cursive forms after disciplined practice and mastery of form, culminating in letting go and Flourished & Stylized Italic becoming a participant in the creative activity of non-doing. I have kept my love of letters alive through a small business and the teaching of italic handwriting Roundhand Script to school-children and adults. The 19th- and 20th-century handwriting styles taught in America can be A poem may be typed and duplicated. Good. traced back to copperplate and roundhand ancestry. The Spencerian But it would have more life if we heard it read aloud and Palmer methods of penmanship were less elegant than their predeces- by the poet, hearing it as vibrant speech. sors; they were painstaking to learn and did not adapt well to the ballpoint pen. But can a poem when seen, be alive as it was when heard? Italic and Roman book fonts (lower case) The scribe is no beautician of the alphabet. are based on two Italian Renaissance styles of handwriting, and the Roman caps are He is no taxidermist making dead letters look almost alive. still based on the classic Roman style exemplified by the Trajan column. Studies The letters should be alive. indicate that as a handwriting style, italic Through the vital touch and movement of his pen, is easier to read and write than styles based on roundhand.

Load more