A history of alphabets from around the world

The Alphabet and Elements of Lettering by Frederic W. Goudy Chapter 3: Letters in General, page 2 In both Greek and Latin paleography large letters are called "majuscules" and are of two kinds. First are capitals, originally cut in stone and made chiefly by strokes meeting at angles, curves being avoided except where the shapes of the letters absolutely required curves, as angular characters are more easily cut in stone or metal; and second, uncials, which are a modification of capitals, curves being freely introduced since they are readily inscribed with a pen. * The gift of Mr. Harry Peach, Leicester, England, a courtesy the writer begs to acknowledge. ** "Now 0 you shall make this way in its square. Set in the square the diameter c. b. and bisect it in the point e., so that e. may form a middle point between the two points f. and g. which are to be your two centres; and from each let a circle be described touching two sides of the square; and where the circles cut one another, there with your hand you must shape the slender outline of the letter to a juster proportion." [DURER; see fig. 10] A comprehensive study of the history and development of the characters that finally evolved into the familiar lower-case forms of today would seem to require a knowledge of the Greek and Latin tongues. We may, however, with only a slender knowledge of those languages, study for themselves the forms employed to write them, Figure 10. PROPORTIONS OF ROMAN CAPITALS. FROM DRAWINGS BY DÜRER. and trace with little difficulty the transition of the square capitals first used into uncials, later into a mixed hand made up of uncials and occasional minuscules - which, without doubt, were mere interpolations of letters from the cursive hand of the time - and developing finally into the half uncials which are the direct forerunner of the minuscule book hand from which our lower-case letters come. Early Latin writing [in majuscules], as we have just noted, is divided into two kinds: capitals, & uncial writing. The first employed capitals which are themselves again of two kinds, namely, square and rustic. The written square capitals in general are more formal and approximate closely the forms cut in stone, the angles by preference being right angles, the tops, bases, and extremities finished with finer strokes or serifs. The rustic capitals are more negligent in pattern, less finished as completed letters, and, although accurately shaped, can be written more rapidly than capitals. By the end of the fourth century, capitals, through the corrupting influence of the cursive writing then in use, had changed their shapes sufficiently to indicate the beginnings of a new variety of letter, the uncial; capitals, however, persisted over a long period before entirely giving way to the new style. Even as late as the sixth and seventh centuries capitals were used for the manuscripts of literary texts. The second form of majuscule writing, to which the name "uncial" has been given, developed out of the written square capitals by a process of modification due to a change in the tool used for their production. Just as it was easier to cut square capitals in stone or metal, so was it easier to avoid right angles by employing curves when forming letters with a reed or pen on a material more or less soft. Uncial writing, then, is essentially a round hand, presenting curved forms in its characteristic letters, and leading naturally into a modified form in which mixed uncial and minuscule letters are employed; the beginnings of our lower-case forms, a, d, e, h, m, are characteristic letters. Continue to page 3

Sign up for our weekly newsletter Email: The Alphabet and Elements of Lettering by Frederic W. Goudy Introduction What Letters Are Letters in General The Development of the Roman Capital Letters Before Printing The National Hands The Development of Gothic The Beginnings of Types The Qualities of Lettering Some Practical Considerations Notes on the Plates Greek alphabet Hebrew alphabet Sign language alphabet Cherokee alphabet Russian alphabet Phonetic alphabet Braille alphabet Egyptian alphabet Cyrillic alphabet Aramaic alphabet Morse code alphabet Runic alphabet