Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a
visual art related to
writing. It is the design and execution of
lettering with a
pen,
ink brush, or other writing instrument.
Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious, and skillful manner".
Modern calligraphy ranges from functional inscriptions and designs to fine-art pieces where the letters may or may not be readable.
Classical calligraphy differs from
type design and non-classical hand-lettering, though a calligrapher may practice both.
[ CD-ROM]
Calligraphy continues to flourish in the forms of
wedding invitations and event invitations,
font design and
typography, original hand-lettered
logo
A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wo ...
design,
religious art, announcements,
graphic design and commissioned calligraphic art, cut stone
inscriptions, and memorial
documents. It is also used for
props
A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...
and moving images for film and television, and also for
testimonials,
birth and
death certificates,
maps, and other written works.
Tools
Pens and brushes
The principal tools for a calligrapher are the
pen and the
brush
A brush is a common tool with bristles, wire or other filaments. It generally consists of a handle or block to which filaments are affixed in either a parallel or perpendicular orientation, depending on the way the brush is to be gripped durin ...
. Calligraphy pens write with
nibs that may be flat, round, or pointed. For some decorative purposes, multi-nibbed pens—steel brushes—can be used. However, works have also been created with
felt-tip and
ballpoint pens, although these works do not employ angled lines. There are some styles of calligraphy, such as
Gothic script, that require a stub nib pen.
Common calligraphy pens and brushes are:
*
Quill
*
Dip pen
*
Ink brush
*
Qalam
*
Fountain pen
* Chiselled marker
Inks, papers, and templates
Writing ink is usually water-based and is much less viscous than the oil-based inks used in printing. Certain specialty paper with high ink absorption and constant texture enables cleaner lines, although
parchment
Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum is a finer quality parchment made from the skins ...
or
vellum
Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. Parchment is another term for this material, from which vellum is sometimes distinguished, when it is made from calfskin, as opposed to that made from other anim ...
is often used, as a knife can be used to erase imperfections and a
light-box is not needed to allow lines to pass through it. Normally, light boxes and templates are used to achieve straight lines without pencil markings detracting from the work. Ruled paper, either for a light box or direct use, is most often ruled every quarter or half inch, although inch spaces are occasionally used. This is the case with (hence the name), and college-
ruled paper often acts as a guideline well.
World traditions
East Asia
Chinese calligraphy is locally called ' or ' ( or in traditional Chinese, literally "the method or law of writing");
Japanese calligraphy is ' (, literally "the way or principle of writing"); and
Korean calligraphy
Korean calligraphy, also known as Seoye (), is the Korean tradition of artistic writing. Calligraphy in Korean culture involves both Hanja (Chinese logograph) and Hangul (Korean native alphabet).
Early Korean calligraphy was exclusively in Han ...
is called ' ( ko, 서예/, literally "the art of writing"); The calligraphy of
East Asian characters continues to form an important and appreciated constituent of contemporary traditional East Asian culture.
History
In
ancient China, the oldest known Chinese characters are
oracle bone script
Oracle bone script () is an ancient form of Chinese characters that were engraved on oracle bonesanimal bones or turtle plastrons used in pyromantic divination. Oracle bone script was used in the late 2nd millennium BC, and is the earliest k ...
(), carved on ox
scapulae and tortoise
plastrons, because the rulers in the
Shang Dynasty
The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty a ...
carved pits on such animals' bones and then baked them to gain auspice of military affairs, agricultural harvest, or even procreating and weather. During the
divination ceremony, after the cracks were made, the characters were written with a brush on the shell or bone to be later carved. With the development of
Bronzeware script
Chinese bronze inscriptions, also commonly referred to as bronze script or bronzeware script, are writing in a variety of Chinese scripts on ritual bronzes such as ''zhōng'' bells and '' dǐng'' tripodal cauldrons from the Shang dynasty (2nd mi ...
() and
Large Seal script () "cursive" signs continued.
Mao Gong Ding is one of the most famous and typical Bronzeware scripts in Chinese calligraphic history. It has 500 characters on the bronze which is the largest number of bronze inscription we have discovered so far. Moreover, each archaic kingdom of current China had its own set of characters.
In
Imperial China, the graphs on old
steles—some dating from 200 BCE, and in
Small Seal script ( ) style—are still .
About 220 BCE, the emperor
Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of " king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Empero ...
, the first to conquer the entire Chinese basin, imposed several reforms, among them
Li Si's character unification, which created a set of 3300 standardized Small Seal characters. Despite the fact that the main writing implement of the time was already the brush, few papers survive from this period, and the main examples of this style are on steles.
The
Clerical script (/) () which is more regularized, and in some ways similar to modern text, were also authorised under Qin Shi Huang.
Between clerical script and traditional regular script, there is another transitional type of calligraphic work called
Wei Bei. It started during the
North and South dynasties (420 to 589 CE) and ended before the
Tang Dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
(618–907).
Traditional
regular script
Regular script (; Hepburn: ''kaisho''), also called (), (''zhēnshū''), (''kǎitǐ'') and (''zhèngshū''), is the newest of the Chinese script styles (popularized from the Cao Wei dynasty c. 200 AD and maturing stylistically around th ...
(), still in use today, and attributed to
Wang Xizhi (, 303–361) and his followers, is even more regularized.
Its spread was encouraged by
Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang (926–933), who ordered the
printing of the classics using new wooden blocks in Kaishu. Printing technologies here allowed a shape stabilization. The Kaishu shape of characters 1000 years ago was mostly similar to that at the end of Imperial China.
But small changes have been made, for example in the shape of
which is not absolutely the same in the
Kangxi Dictionary
The ''Kangxi Dictionary'' ( (Compendium of standard characters from the Kangxi period), published in 1716, was the most authoritative dictionary of Chinese characters from the 18th century through the early 20th. The Kangxi Emperor of the Qing ...
of 1716 as in modern books. The Kangxi and current shapes have tiny differences, while stroke order is still the same, according to the old style.
Styles which did not survive include , a mix of 80% Small Seal script and 20% Clerical script.
Some
variant Chinese characters were unorthodox or locally used for centuries. They were generally understood but always rejected in official texts. Some of these unorthodox variants, in addition to some newly created characters, compose the
simplified Chinese
Simplification, Simplify, or Simplified may refer to:
Mathematics
Simplification is the process of replacing a mathematical expression by an equivalent one, that is simpler (usually shorter), for example
* Simplification of algebraic expressions ...
character set.
=Technique
=
Traditional East Asian writing uses the
Four Treasures of the Study (/):
ink brushes known as (/),
Chinese ink, paper, and
inkstones to write
Chinese character
Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...
s. These instruments of writing are also known as the ''Four Friends of the Study'' ( ko, 문방사우/文房四友, Munbang sau) in Korea. Besides the traditional four tools,
desk pads and paperweights are also used.
Many different parameters influence the final result of a calligrapher's work. Physical parameters include the shape, size, stretch, and
hair type of the ink brush; the color, color density and water density of the ink; as well as the paper's water absorption speed and surface texture. The calligrapher's technique also influences the result, as the look of finished characters are influenced by the quantity of ink and water the calligrapher lets the brush take and by the pressure, inclination, and direction of the brush. Changing these variables produces thinner or bolder strokes, and smooth or toothed borders. Eventually, the speed, accelerations and decelerations of a skilled calligrapher's movements aim to give "spirit" to the characters, greatly influencing their final shapes.
=Styles
=
Cursive styles such as ''
'' (/)(semi-cursive or running script) and ''
'' (/)(cursive, rough script, or grass script) are less constrained and faster, where more movements made by the writing implement are visible. These styles' stroke orders vary more, sometimes creating radically different forms. They are descended from Clerical script, in the same time as Regular script (
Han Dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...
), but ' and ' were used for personal notes only, and never used as a standard. The ' style was highly appreciated in
Emperor Wu of Han reign (140–187 CE).
Examples of modern printed styles are
Song
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...
from the
Song Dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...
's
printing press, and
sans-serif. These are not considered traditional styles, and are normally not written.
=Influences
=
Japanese and Korean calligraphy were each greatly influenced by Chinese calligraphy. Calligraphy has also influenced
ink and wash painting, which is accomplished using similar tools and techniques. Calligraphy has influenced most major art styles in East Asia, including
ink and wash painting, a style of
Chinese,
Japanese, and
Korean painting based entirely on calligraphy.
The Japanese and Koreans have also developed their own specific sensibilities and styles of calligraphy while incorporating Chinese influences.
Japan
Japanese calligraphy goes out of the set of
CJK strokes to also include local alphabets such as
hiragana and
katakana, with specific problematics such as new curves and moves, and specific materials (
Japanese paper, , and Japanese ink).
Korea
The modern
Korean alphabet and its use of the circle required the creation of a new technique not used in traditional Chinese calligraphy.
Mongolia
Mongolian calligraphy is also influenced by Chinese calligraphy, from tools to style.
Tibet
Tibetan calligraphy is central to
Tibetan culture. The script is derived from
Indic scripts. The nobles of Tibet, such as the High
Lamas and inhabitants of the
Potala Palace
The Potala Palace is a ''dzong'' fortress in Lhasa, Tibet. It was the winter palace of the Dalai Lamas from 1649 to 1959, has been a museum since then, and a World Heritage Site since 1994.
The palace is named after Mount Potalaka, the mythi ...
, were usually capable calligraphers.
Tibet has been a center of
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
for several centuries, and that religion places a great deal of significance on written word. This does not provide for a large body of
secular pieces, although they do exist (but are usually related in some way to Tibetan Buddhism). Almost all high religious writing involved calligraphy, including letters sent by the
Dalai Lama and other religious and secular authority. Calligraphy is particularly evident on their
prayer wheels, although this calligraphy was forged rather than scribed, much like Arab and Roman calligraphy is often found on buildings. Although originally done with a reed, Tibetan calligraphers now use chisel tipped pens and markers as well.
"Temporary calligraphy"
Temporary calligraphy, also called
water calligraphy
Chinese calligraphy is the writing of Chinese characters as an art form, combining purely visual art and interpretation of the literary meaning. This type of expression has been widely practiced in China and has been generally held in high este ...
, is a practice of water-only calligraphy on the floor, which dries out within minutes. This practice is especially appreciated by the new generation of retired Chinese in public parks of China. These will often open studio-shops in tourist towns offering traditional Chinese calligraphy to tourists. Other than writing the clients name, they also sell fine brushes as souvenirs and limestone carved stamps.
Since late 1980s, a few Chinese artists have branched out traditional Chinese calligraphy to a new territory by mingling
Chinese characters with English letters; notable new forms of calligraphy are
Xu Bing's square calligraphy and DanNie's coolligraphy or cooligraphy.
Southeast Asia
Philippines
The Philippines has numerous ancient and indigenous scripts collectively called as
Suyat scripts. Various ethno-linguistic groups in the Philippines prior to Spanish colonization in the 16th century up to the independence era in the 21st century have used the scripts with various mediums. By the end of colonialism, only four of the suyat scripts survived and continue to be used by certain communities in everyday life. These four scripts are
Hanunó'o/Hanunoo of the Hanuno'o
Mangyan
Mangyan is the generic name for the eight indigenous groups found on the island of Mindoro, southwest of the island of Luzon, the Philippines, each with its own tribal name, language, and customs. The total population may be around 280,001, ...
people,
Buhid/Build of the Buhid
Mangyan
Mangyan is the generic name for the eight indigenous groups found on the island of Mindoro, southwest of the island of Luzon, the Philippines, each with its own tribal name, language, and customs. The total population may be around 280,001, ...
people,
Tagbanwa script of the
Tagbanwa people, and
Palaw'an/Pala'wan of the
Palaw'an people. All four scripts were inscribed in the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
Memory of the World Programme, under the name ''Philippine Paleographs (Hanunoo, Build, Tagbanua and Pala’wan)'', in 1999.
Due to dissent from colonialism, many artists and cultural experts have revived the usage of
suyat scripts that went extinct due to Spanish persecution. These scripts being revived include the
Kulitan script of the
Kapampangan people
The Kapampangan people ( pam, Taung Kapampangan), Pampangueños or Pampangos, are the sixth largest ethnolinguistic group in the Philippines, numbering about 2,784,526 in 2010. They live mainly in the provinces of Pampanga, Bataan and Tarlac ...
, the
badlit script of various
Visayan ethnic groups, the
Iniskaya script of the
Eskaya people, the
Baybayin script of the
Tagalog people, and the
Kur-itan script of the
Ilocano people, among many others. Due to the diversity of
suyat scripts, all calligraphy written in
suyat scripts are collectively called as Filipino suyat calligraphy, although each are distinct from each other.
Calligraphy using the Western alphabet and the Arabic alphabet are also prevalent in the Philippines due to its colonial past, but the Western alphabet and the Arabic alphabet are not considered as suyat, and therefore Western-alphabet and Arabic calligraphy are not considered as suyat calligraphy.
Vietnam
Vietnamese calligraphy is called (, literally "the way of letters or words") and is based on
Chữ Nôm and
Chữ Hán, an old Vietnamese writing system based on Chinese characters and replaced it with the Latin alphabet. However, the calligraphic traditions continue to be preserved.
South Asia
India
Religious text
Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...
s are the most frequent purpose for Indian calligraphy.
Monastic Buddhist communities had members trained in calligraphy and shared responsibility for duplicating sacred scriptures.
Jaina traders incorporated illustrated manuscripts celebrating Jaina saints. These manuscripts were produced using inexpensive material, like palm leave and birch, with fine calligraphy.
Nepal
Nepalese calligraphy is primarily created using the
Ranjana script. The script itself, along with its derivatives (like
Lantsa,
Phagpa,
Kutila
The Kutila inscription of Bareilly is an inscription in the Kutila script (कुटिल लिपि) dating to 992 CE that provides crucial evidence in tracing the shared descent of the Devanagari and Bengali-Assamese scripts of Northern a ...
) are used in
Nepal,
Tibet,
Bhutan,
Leh
Leh () ( lbj, ) is the joint capital and largest city of Ladakh, a union territory of India. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh, the seat of which was in the Leh Palace, the former ...
,
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million ...
, coastal Japan, and Korea to write "
Om mani padme hum" and other sacred
Buddhist texts, mainly those derived from
Sanskrit and
Pali.
Africa
Egypt
Egyptian hieroglyphs were the formal
writing system used in
Ancient Egypt. Hieroglyphs combined
logograph
In a written language, a logogram, logograph, or lexigraph is a written character that represents a word or morpheme. Chinese characters (pronounced ''hanzi'' in Mandarin, '' kanji'' in Japanese, '' hanja'' in Korean) are generally logograms, ...
ic,
syllabic and
alphabet
An alphabet is a standardized set of basic written graphemes (called letters) that represent the phonemes of certain spoken languages. Not all writing systems represent language in this way; in a syllabary, each character represents a syllab ...
ic elements, with a total of some 1,000 distinct characters.
Ethiopia/Abyssinia
Ethiopian
Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...
(Abyssinian) calligraphy began with the
Ge'ez script, which replaced
Epigraphic South Arabian
Old South Arabian (or Ṣayhadic or Yemenite) is a group of four closely related extinct languages spoken in the far southern portion of the Arabian Peninsula. They were written in the Ancient South Arabian script.
There were a number of othe ...
in the
Kingdom of Aksum, that was developed specifically for
Ethiopian Semitic languages. In those languages that use it, such as
Amharic and
Tigrinya, the script is called ', which means script or alphabet. The Epigraphic South Arabian letters were used for a few inscriptions into the 8th century, though not any South Arabian language since
Dʿmt
D mt ( Ge'ez: ደዐመተ, ''DʿMT'' theoretically vocalized as ዳዓማት, ''Daʿamat'' or ዳዕማት, Daʿəmat) was a kingdom located in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia that existed between the 10th and 5th centuries BC. Few inscription ...
.
Early inscriptions in Ge'ez and Ge'ez script have been dated to as early as the 5th century BCE, and in a sort of proto-Ge'ez written in ESA since the 9th century BCE. Ge'ez literature begins with the Christianization of Ethiopia (and the civilization of Axum) in the 4th century, during the reign of
Ezana of Axum.
The Ge'ez script is read from left to right and has been adapted to write other languages, usually ones that are also Semitic. The most widespread use is for
Amharic in
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
and
Tigrinya in
Eritrea and Ethiopia.
Americas
Maya civilization
Maya calligraphy was expressed via
Maya glyphs; modern Maya calligraphy is mainly used on
seals
Seals may refer to:
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...
and monuments in the
Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. Maya glyphs are rarely used in government offices; however in
Campeche,
Yucatán and
Quintana Roo, calligraphy in
Maya languages is written in Latin script rather than Maya glyphs. Some commercial companies in southern Mexico use Maya glyphs as symbols of their business. Some community associations and modern Maya brotherhoods use Maya glyphs as symbols of their groups.
Most of the archaeological sites in Mexico such as
Chichen Itza, Labna,
Uxmal
Uxmal (Yucatec Maya: ''Óoxmáal'' ) is an ancient Maya city of the classical period located in present-day Mexico. It is considered one of the most important archaeological sites of Maya culture, along with Palenque, Chichen Itza and Calakmul ...
,
Edzna
Edzná is a Maya archaeological site in the north of the Mexican state of Campeche. The site is open to visitors since the 1970s.
The most remarkable building at the site is the main temple located at the plaza. Built on a platform 40 m high, ...
,
Calakmul, etc. have glyphs in their structures. Carved stone monuments known as
stele are common sources of ancient Maya calligraphy.
Europe
Calligraphy in Europe recognizable in the use of the
Latin script
The Latin script, also known as Roman script, is an alphabetic writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae, in southern ...
in
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
, and in the use of the
Greek,
Armenian, and
Georgian, and
Cyrillic script
The Cyrillic script ( ), Slavonic script or the Slavic script, is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking c ...
s in
Eastern Europe.
Western Europe
= Roman Antiquity
=
The
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and the ...
appeared about 600 BCE in
ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...
, and by the first century CE it had developed into
Roman imperial capitals carved on stones,
rustic capitals painted on walls, and
Roman cursive for daily use. In the second and third centuries the
uncial lettering style developed. As writing withdrew to monasteries, uncial script was found more suitable for copying the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...
and other religious texts. It was the monasteries which preserved calligraphic traditions during the fourth and fifth centuries, when the Roman Empire fell and Europe entered the
early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
.
At the height of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
, its power reached as far as Great Britain; when the empire fell, its literary influence remained. The
Semi-uncial
Uncial is a majuscule Glaister, Geoffrey Ashall. (1996) ''Encyclopedia of the Book''. 2nd edn. New Castle, DE, and London: Oak Knoll Press & The British Library, p. 494. script (written entirely in capital letters) commonly used from the 4th to ...
generated the Irish Semi-uncial, the small Anglo-Saxon. Each region developed its own standards following the main monastery of the region (i.e.
Merovingian script,
Laon script,
Luxeuil script,
Visigothic script,
Beneventan script), which are mostly cursive and hardly readable.
= Middle Ages
=
Christian churches promoted the development of writing through the prolific copying of the Bible, the
Breviary, and other sacred texts. Two distinct styles of writing known as uncial and half-uncial (from the Latin , or "inch") developed from a variety of Roman
bookhands. The 7th–9th centuries in northern Europe were the heyday of Celtic illuminated manuscripts, such as the Book of Durrow,
Lindisfarne Gospels
The Lindisfarne Gospels (London, British Library Cotton MS Nero D.IV) is an illuminated manuscript gospel book probably produced around the years 715–720 in the monastery at Lindisfarne, off the coast of Northumberland, which is now in the ...
and the
Book of Kells.
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...
's devotion to improved scholarship resulted in the recruiting of "a crowd of scribes", according to
Alcuin, the Abbot of
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
. Alcuin developed the style known as the Caroline or
Carolingian minuscule
Carolingian minuscule or Caroline minuscule is a script which developed as a calligraphic standard in the medieval European period so that the Latin alphabet of Jerome's Vulgate Bible could be easily recognized by the literate class from one reg ...
. The first manuscript in this hand was the Godescalc Evangelistary (finished 783)—a Gospel book written by the scribe Godescalc. Carolingian remains the one progenitor hand from which modern booktype descends.
In the eleventh century, the Caroline evolved into the
blackletter ("Gothic") script, which was more compact and made it possible to fit more text on a page.
The Gothic calligraphy styles became dominant throughout Europe; and in 1454, when
Johannes Gutenberg developed the first printing press in Mainz, Germany, he adopted the Gothic style, making it the first
typeface
A typeface (or font family) is the design of lettering that can include variations in size, weight (e.g. bold), slope (e.g. italic), width (e.g. condensed), and so on. Each of these variations of the typeface is a font.
There are thousands o ...
.
= Renaissance
=
In the 15th century, the rediscovery of old Carolingian texts encouraged the creation of the
humanist minuscule
Humanist minuscule is a handwriting or style of script that was invented in secular circles in Italy, at the beginning of the fifteenth century. "Few periods in Western history have produced writing of such great beauty", observes the art histo ...
or . The 17th century saw the
Batarde script from France, and the 18th century saw the
English script spread across Europe and world through their books.
In the mid-1600s French officials, flooded with documents written in various hands and varied levels of skill, complained that many such documents were beyond their ability to decipher. The Office of the Financier thereupon restricted all legal documents to three hands, namely the Coulee, the Rhonde, (known as
Round hand in English) and a Speed Hand sometimes called the
Bastarda.
While there were many great French masters at the time, the most influential in proposing these hands was Louis Barbedor, who published ''Les Ecritures Financière Et Italienne Bastarde Dans Leur Naturel'' circa 1650.
With the destruction of the
Camera Apostolica during the
sack of Rome (1527), the capitol for writing masters moved to Southern France. By 1600, the Italic Cursiva began to be replaced by a technological refinement, the Italic Chancery Circumflessa, which in turn fathered the Rhonde and later English
Roundhand.
In England,
Ayres and Banson popularized the Round Hand while Snell is noted for his reaction to them, and warnings of restraint and proportionality. Still Edward Crocker began publishing his copybooks 40 years before the aforementioned.
Eastern Europe
Other European styles use the same tools and practices, but differ by character set and stylistic preferences.
For Slavonic lettering, the history of the
Slavonic and consequently
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
n
writing systems differs fundamentally from the one of the
Latin language
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of ...
. It evolved from the 10th century to today.
Style
Unlike a typeface, handwritten calligraphy is characterised by irregularity in the characters which vary in size, shape, style, and color, producing a distinct aesthetic value, although it may also make the content illegible to readers. As with
Chinese or
Islamic calligraphy, Western calligraphic script employed the use of strict rules and shapes. Quality writing had a rhythm and regularity to the letters, with a "geometrical" order of the lines on the page. Each character had, and often still has, a precise
stroke order.
Sacred
Western calligraphy
Western calligraphy is the art of writing and penmanship
as practiced in the Western world, especially using the Latin alphabet (but also including calligraphic use of the Cyrillic and Greek alphabets, as opposed to "Eastern" traditions such ...
has some unique features, such as the illumination of the first letter of each book or chapter in medieval times. A decorative "carpet page" may precede the literature, filled with ornate, geometrical depictions of bold-hued animals. The
Lindisfarne Gospels
The Lindisfarne Gospels (London, British Library Cotton MS Nero D.IV) is an illuminated manuscript gospel book probably produced around the years 715–720 in the monastery at Lindisfarne, off the coast of Northumberland, which is now in the ...
(715–720 CE) are an early example. Many of the themes and variations of today's contemporary Western calligraphy are found in the pages of
The Saint John's Bible. A particularly modern example is
Timothy Botts
Timothy Botts is an artist who has a focus of calligraphy. He was born in Pennsylvania and currently resides in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. He is well known for his transformation of Bible verses into pieces art.
Early life
Botts is married and has t ...
' illustrated edition of the Bible, with 360 calligraphic images as well as a calligraphy
typeface
A typeface (or font family) is the design of lettering that can include variations in size, weight (e.g. bold), slope (e.g. italic), width (e.g. condensed), and so on. Each of these variations of the typeface is a font.
There are thousands o ...
.
Islamic world
Islamic calligraphy has evolved alongside
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
and the
Arabic language
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
. As it is based on Arabic letters, some call it "Arabic calligraphy". However the term "Islamic calligraphy" is a more appropriate term as it comprises all works of calligraphy by Muslim calligraphers of different national cultures, like
Persian or
Ottoman calligraphy, from
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the M ...
in medieval
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
to China.
Islamic calligraphy is associated with geometric Islamic art (
arabesque) on the walls and ceilings of
mosques as well as on the page or other materials. Contemporary artists in the
Islamic world may draw on the heritage of calligraphy to create modern calligraphic inscriptions, like
corporate logos, or abstractions.
Instead of recalling something related to the spoken word, calligraphy for
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
s is a visible expression of the highest art of all, the art of the
spiritual world. Calligraphy has arguably become the most venerated form of Islamic art because it provides a link between the languages of the Muslims with the religion of Islam. The
Qur'an has played an important role in the development and evolution of the Arabic language, and by extension, calligraphy in the Arabic alphabet. Proverbs and passages from the Qur'an are still sources for Islamic calligraphy.
During the
Ottoman civilization, Islamic calligraphy attained special prominence. The city of Istanbul is an open exhibition hall for all kinds and varieties of calligraphy, from inscriptions in mosques to fountains, schools, houses, etc.
Persia
Persian calligraphy has been present in the
Persian region before
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
isation. In
Zoroastrianism, beautiful and clear writings were always praised.
Antiquity
It is believed that
ancient Persian script was invented by about 600–500 BCE to provide monument inscriptions for the
Achaemenid kings. These scripts consisted of horizontal, vertical, and diagonal nail-shape letters, which is why it is called
cuneiform script (lit. "script of nails") (') in
Persian. Centuries later, other scripts such as "
Pahlavi" and "
Avestan" scripts were used in ancient Persia. Pahlavi was a middle Persian script developed from the Aramaic script and became the official script of the Sassanian empire (224–651 CE).
Contemporary scripts
The
Nasta'liq style is the most popular contemporary style among classical Persian calligraphy scripts; Persian calligraphers call it the "bride of calligraphy scripts". This calligraphy style has been based on such a strong structure that it has changed very little since
Mir Ali Tabrizi
Mir Ali Tabrizi ( fa, ) was a distinguished Iranian calligrapher of the 14th century, to whom the invention of Nas-Taliq calligraphy style is attributed.
Early life
He lived in the 14th century. Historians have not been able to unveil details ...
had found the optimum composition of the letters and graphical rules. It has just been fine-tuned during the past seven centuries. It has very strict rules for graphical shape of the letters and for combination of the letters, words, and composition of the whole calligraphy piece.
Modern calligraphy
Revival
After
printing became ubiquitous from the 15th century onward, the production of illuminated manuscripts began to decline. However, the rise of printing did not mean the end of calligraphy. A clear distinction between handwriting and more elaborate forms of lettering and script began to make its way into manuscripts and books at the beginning of the 16th century.
The modern revival of calligraphy began at the end of the 19th century, influenced by the aesthetics and philosophy of
William Morris and the
Arts and Crafts movement.
Edward Johnston is regarded as being the father of modern calligraphy.
After studying published copies of manuscripts by architect
William Harrison Cowlishaw, he was introduced to
William Lethaby in 1898, principal of the
Central School of Arts and Crafts, who advised him to study manuscripts at the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
.
This triggered Johnston's interest in the art of calligraphy with the use of a broad-edged pen. He began a teaching course in calligraphy at the Central School in
Southampton Row, London from September 1899, where he influenced the typeface designer and sculptor
Eric Gill. He was commissioned by
Frank Pick to design a
new typeface for
London Underground, still used today (with minor modifications).
He has been credited for reviving the art of modern
penmanship and lettering single-handedly through his books and teachings – his handbook on the subject, ''Writing & Illuminating, & Lettering'' (1906) was particularly influential on a generation of British typographers and calligraphers, including
Graily Hewitt,
Stanley Morison,
Eric Gill,
Alfred Fairbank
Alfred John Fairbank CBE (12 July 1895 – 14 March 1982) was a British calligrapher, palaeographer and author on handwriting.
Fairbank was a founding member of the Society of Scribes and Illuminators in 1921, and later became its honourable se ...
and Anna Simons. Johnston also devised the crafted round calligraphic handwriting style, written with a broad pen, known today as the ''Foundational hand''. Johnston initially taught his students an uncial hand using a flat pen angle, but later taught his hand using a slanted pen angle. He first referred to this hand as "Foundational Hand" in his 1909 publication, ''Manuscript & Inscription Letters for Schools and Classes and for the Use of Craftsmen''.
Subsequent developments
Graily Hewitt taught at the
Central School of Arts and Crafts and published together with Johnston throughout the early part of the century. Hewitt was central to the revival of
gilding in calligraphy, and his prolific output on type design also appeared between 1915 and 1943. He is attributed with the revival of gilding with
gesso and gold leaf on
vellum
Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. Parchment is another term for this material, from which vellum is sometimes distinguished, when it is made from calfskin, as opposed to that made from other anim ...
. Hewitt helped to found the
Society of Scribes & Illuminators (SSI) in 1921, probably the world's foremost calligraphy society.
Hewitt is not without both critics and supporters in his rendering of
Cennino Cennini's medieval gesso recipes.
Donald Jackson, a British calligrapher, has sourced his gesso recipes from earlier centuries a number of which are not presently in English translation. Graily Hewitt created the patent announcing the award to
Prince Philip of the title of Duke of Edinburgh on November 19, 1947, the day before his marriage to Queen Elizabeth.
Johnston's pupil, Anna Simons, was instrumental in sparking off interest in calligraphy in Germany with her German translation of ''Writing and Illuminating, and Lettering'' in 1910.
Austrian Rudolf Larisch, a teacher of lettering at the Vienna School of Art, published six lettering books that greatly influenced German-speaking calligraphers. Because German-speaking countries had not abandoned the Gothic hand in printing, Gothic also had a powerful effect on their styles.
Rudolf Koch was a friend and younger contemporary of Larisch. Koch's books, type designs, and teaching made him one of the most influential calligraphers of the 20th century in northern Europe and later in the U.S. Larisch and Koch taught and inspired many European calligraphers, notably
Karlgeorg Hoefer, and
Hermann Zapf.
Contemporary typefaces used by computers, from word processors like
Microsoft Word or
Apple Pages to professional design software packages like
Adobe InDesign, owe a considerable debt to the past and to a small number of professional typeface designers today.
See also
Notes
References
Works cited
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External links
Calligraphy alphabets a list of major historical scripts (simplified version) a
Lettering Daily*
French Renaissance PaleographyThis is a scholarly maintained site that presents over 100 carefully selected French manuscripts from 1300 to 1700, with tools to decipher and transcribe them.
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Book arts
Penmanship
Typesetting
Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity