Gothic script alphabet

These Gothic alphabet tutorial pages are my online effort to give you a one-to-one lesson in how to write a particular form of Gothic lettering.

Blackletter sometimes black letter , also known as Gothic script , Gothic minuscule , or Textura , was a script used throughout Western Europe from approximately until the 17th century. Blackletter is sometimes referred to as Old English , but it is not to be confused with the Old English language, which predates blackletter by many centuries and was written in the insular script or in Futhorc. Along with Italic type and Roman type , blackletter served as one of the major typefaces in the history of Western typography. Carolingian minuscule was the direct ancestor of blackletter. Blackletter developed from Carolingian as an increasingly literate 12th-century Europe required new books in many different subjects. New universities were founded, each producing books for business , law , grammar , history and other pursuits, not solely religious works, for which earlier scripts typically had been used. These books needed to be produced quickly to keep up with demand.

Gothic script alphabet

Egyptian hieroglyphs 32nd c. Adlam slight influence from Arabic CE. The Gothic alphabet is an alphabet used for writing the Gothic language. It was developed in the 4th century AD by Ulfilas or Wulfila , a Gothic preacher of Cappadocian Greek descent, for the purpose of translating the Bible. The alphabet essentially uses uncial forms of the Greek alphabet , with a few additional letters to express Gothic phonology:. Ulfilas is thought to have consciously chosen to avoid the use of the older Runic alphabet for this purpose, as it was heavily connected with pagan beliefs and customs. Below is a table of the Gothic alphabet. As with the Greek alphabet, Gothic letters were also assigned numerical values. The letter names are recorded in a 9th-century manuscript of Alcuin Codex Vindobonensis Most of them seem to be Gothic forms of names also appearing in the rune poems. The names are given in their attested forms followed by the reconstructed Gothic forms and their meanings. Most of the letters have been taken over directly from the Greek alphabet , though a few have been created or modified from Latin and possibly more controversially [8] Runic letters to express unique phonological features of Gothic. These are:.

Then, when you draw the thick verticals, angle the second one in so that it looks as though it's joining up with the end of the first crescent. I've laid out the letters stroke by stroke, with the newest stroke shown in red each time, gothic script alphabet.

The Gothic alphabet was the official script in Denmark and its dependencies and colonies until Gothic script is also called Old German Script because it was originally developed and used in German-speaking countries. The Gothic alphabet can be found both in printed and handwritten records. It can be a challenge to read, even for people who can read Danish, but you can learn to read it with a little patience. If you want to read handwritten records in Danish that are older than , you will need to learn how to read Gothic script.

To jump straight into doing Gothic lettering, go to the Gothic alphabet tutorial pages. Or read on for more information and links about the different varieties, uses and history of Gothic script. Usefulness of Gothic lettering Gothic is one of the most popular forms of calligraphy. But use it sparingly. Because it's hard on the eyes, it's difficult to read in large quantities. Gothic is therefore best suited to short and weighty texts such as:.

Gothic script alphabet

Last Updated: October 21, References. This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Amy Bobinger. Amy Bobinger has been a writer and editor at wikiHow since

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Writing was also a tool for work and sometimes the text was written in a hurry, just like today. I blame my exemplar. Rome , , p. Important initials can have little gold boxes painted round them, as well as much other ornament. Johann Gutenberg used a textualis typeface for his famous Gutenberg Bible in It was in fact invented in the reign of Charlemagne , although only used significantly after that era, and actually formed the basis for the later development of blackletter. Aha, here's an interesting tidbit. But, for the moment, this version resembles 'F' in consisting for the most part of two parallel, slightly curving lines. Categories : Gothic writing Alphabets Obsolete writing systems Western calligraphy. And there is a little trick to these two letters: at the top left of each, you will join up the pointed ends of your lines to form a straight diagonal edge, two nib-widths wide. For other uses, see Gothic script. You should write your Gothic alphabet at a size which is in proportion to the thickness of your nib so that it shows a pleasing balance of black and white space.

Blackletter sometimes black letter , also known as Gothic script , Gothic minuscule , or Textura , was a script used throughout Western Europe from approximately until the 17th century. Blackletter is sometimes referred to as Old English , but it is not to be confused with the Old English language, which predates blackletter by many centuries and was written in the insular script or in Futhorc.

The term Gothic was first used to describe this script in 15th-century Italy , in the midst of the Renaissance , because Renaissance humanists believed this style was barbaric, and Gothic was a synonym for barbaric. All right. The most common form of Italian rotunda was littera bononiensis , used at the University of Bologna in the 13th century. All rights reserved. Most of the letters have been taken over directly from the Greek alphabet , though a few have been created or modified from Latin and possibly more controversially [8] Runic letters to express unique phonological features of Gothic. You see? Aha, here's an interesting tidbit. You will notice I hope! Arabic Cyrillic East Asian Thai. You can now write 'Happy Birthday' in gothic writing. Read Edit View history. If you want to read handwritten records in Danish that are older than , you will need to learn how to read Gothic script. This is the second-highest grade of Gothic alphabet from the period. Carolingian minuscule was the direct ancestor of blackletter.