Gothic calligraphy: style features

Most modern people, when they mention calligraphy, the first thing they remember is the famous Japanese school of this exquisite skill. But the Europeans also have something to brag about, and many European styles are in no way inferior to the Eastern ones in beauty and complexity. Therefore, it is worth considering the features of Gothic calligraphy and familiarizing yourself with its history.

The first language spoken in almost all of Europe was Greek. To write it, they used the Greek alphabet with even outlines and sans serifs. Created during the Roman Empire, based on the Greek, the Latin alphabet already contained dashes in capital letters in most of its styleshowever, other decorative elements were not popular.

As Christianity spread, there was a need for a large number of religious books that were copied by hand in monasteries... Each of the books was a unique work, so the monks who worked on them gradually modified the styles, striving to make the books more beautiful and solemn. At the same time, the books were supposed to be understandable to residents of other countries, therefore, unified writing systems were gradually developed. By the middle of the 10th century, the style created in France became the most widespread in Europe Carolingian writing system.

It was on its basis that the first and most common of the Gothic fonts appeared - texture.

The characteristic appearance of Gothic letters is associated with the fact that nibs cut at a certain angle were used for writing. Finally, this version of writing took shape by the 13th century, and for a long time it was the texture and its variants that were written throughout Europe. The same font was used to create the famous the Gutenberg Bible - the first European printed book.

In Italy, from the beginning of the XII century, the semi-Gothic font became widespread. rotundawhich contained serifs but was generally more rounded than texture.

For the first time, the term "Gothic writing" was applied to texture and its variants by artists Italian Renaissance in the 15th century.

Under the influence of the Renaissance, Gothic was supplanted antique - fonts familiar to most modern people with a minimum of decorative strokes. Gothic remained popular for the longest time in Germany. In the same place, in the 17th century, a modernized version of the texture appeared, known like a fracture... This typeface was even more decorative than other versions of the Gothic, as, in addition to serifs, it also contained a large number of curls and kinks. By the beginning of the 20th century, almost all of Europe en masse switched to antiqua. The widespread use of Gothic was preserved only in Germany and the Baltic countries, but after the Second World War they abandoned Gothic fonts as well.

Gothic is one of the most recognizable writing options. Its characteristic features:

• vertically elongated letters (this is most characteristic of texture);
• compactness (letters are located close to each other, sometimes literally at a stroke distance);
• a large number of serifs and other decorative elements;
• a large number of lines in letters (they often consist of several separate elements);
• "Broken" style of most letters (not used in rotunda);
• a combination of lines of different thickness in letters (often, in addition to the main massive outline, letters, especially lowercase ones, contain thin decorative lines).

In calligraphic ligatures are common in gothic fonts (continuous spelling of adjacent letters).

The text written in Gothic looks austere and serious, evokes associations with antiquity, mysticism and religion. It will be appropriate in works related to finance and banking, history, religion, esotericism.

In order to successfully master this complex type of style, you will need:

• pre-printed alphabets, the letters of which you want to write;
• a sheet of paper (at first, it is preferable to use writing or special calligraphic sheets with a lining);
• pencil and eraser;
• a wide nib pen (if you are just starting out with calligraphy, you can replace the fountain pen with a special calligraphy pen);
• ink (preferably waterproof);
• blotting paper.

The most important rule of Gothic calligraphy is the pen while writing the letters should be at an angle of 45 ° to the surface of the paper. This slant provides a "signature" Gothic style.

Most Gothic fonts have a rule of height for elements relative to the thickness of the nib. Most lowercase letters are 4.5 nib widths. For capital letters, this ratio is 6 nib thicknesses. Finally, the ascending and descending elements of the letters should be performed with a height of 2 nibs. Therefore, for Gothic calligraphy, you will need a copybook or a sheet with a ruled corresponding to your pen. The easiest way to measure the ratio of line height to pen thickness is by drawing a ladder or staggered strokes.

On the sheet, ready for writing, each line should contain:

• top and bottom lines for lowercase letters;
• two additional lines at the top and bottom for the outriggers;
• an additional top line (midway between the line for lowercase letters and the descenders) for capital letters.

Reverse directions of movement result in uneven strokes. Use the left corner of the nib to draw thin cuts. You can start your practice by mastering one of the simplest Gothic styles. The arrows in the figure indicate the direction of the pen.

In the next video, you can watch the Gothic Fracture script.