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The Rotunda is a specific medieval
One of the key differences between Rotunda and other blackletter scripts is that broken bows appear only in a few letters such as ''d''.
The
The Rotunda is a specific medieval blackletter
Blackletter (sometimes black letter or black-letter), also known as Gothic script, Gothic minuscule or Gothic type, was a script used throughout Western Europe from approximately 1150 until the 17th century. It continued to be commonly used for ...
script. It originates in 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 ...
. Sometimes, it is not considered a blackletter script, but a script on its own. It was used mainly in southern Europe.
Characteristics
One of the key differences between Rotunda and other blackletter scripts is that broken bows appear only in a few letters such as ''d''.
''R rotunda'' and ''long S''
The r rotunda
The r rotunda ⟨ ꝛ ⟩, "rounded r", is a historical calligraphic variant of the minuscule (lowercase) letter Latin ''r'' used in full script-like typefaces, especially blackletters.
Unlike other letter variants such as "long s" which o ...
(ꝛ), "rounded r", is an old letter variant commonly used in rotunda scripts and other blackletter typefaces. It is thought that this variant form of that letter was originally devised either to save space while writing on expensive parchment or for aesthetic reasons.
Italian rotunda
There is a form ofItalian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
blackletter known as rotunda, as it was less angular than in northern centres. The most usual form of Italian rotunda was ''littera bononiensis'', used at the University of Bologna
The University of Bologna (, abbreviated Unibo) is a Public university, public research university in Bologna, Italy. Teaching began around 1088, with the university becoming organised as guilds of students () by the late 12th century. It is the ...
in the 13th century. Biting is a common feature in ''rotunda'', but breaking is not.
Italian ''rotunda'' also is characterized by unique abbreviations, such as q with a line beneath the bow signifying "qui", and unusual spellings, such as x for s ("milex" rather than "miles").
See also
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rotunda (Script) Blackletter Handwriting script Western calligraphy