A history of alphabets from around the world

The Alphabet and Elements of Lettering by Frederic W. Goudy Chapter 6: The National Hands, page 2 FIG. 27 LOMBARDIC WRITING OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY The "Lombardic" capitals shown in figure 29 present a useful and interesting style that is less formal in character than the Roman. Those shown on page 58 have been selected with a view to their occasional use for reproduction by process. * FIG.28 LOMBARDIC CAPITALS OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY Wherever Latin was in use, the Roman form of writing was employed as a matter of course, whether written by an Italian, a Gaul, a Spaniard, or a Briton, and remained a Roman script. With the advance of independent paths of civilization, the hands assumed gradually diStinCtive characteristics and took on in each country the complexion of its surroundings and varying conditions, developing the national hands. The hand we call "Lombardic" was a development by the Italians of the old Roman cursive-more especially its development in the South, although the title is applied generally to all the writing of Italy in the Middle Ages, where it prevailed from the eighth to the eleventh century, and is a further transition of the square capitals and rounder pen forms. FIG. 31 SPANISH CAPITALS, FROM ARISTOTLE'S ETHICS. [CIRCA 1458] Types based on the Lombardic capitals, which at their best preserve much of the feeling of the uncials of the sixth and seventh centuries, seldom retain the freedom of the painted letter and are usually too stiff and formal in appearance to grace the page on which they are displayed. Lombardic forms are capable of beautiful treatment; that they may be treated freely is an obvious convenience, but may prove, also, not a real advantage. Taste & judgment are imperative for their best use. The earlier forms were simple and beautiful pen shapes, but after the fourteenth century they were often fattened vulgarly and overburdened with ornament, losing many of their essential characteristics. As painted, they take on an appearance somewhat different from that of the pen-drawn forms. [See page 58] 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