Download No Slide Title

Rome and the Middle Ages
The Roman Empire and Middle Ages Lettering
Phoenician
Greeks
Romanesque
Gothic lettering
Etruscans
Renaissance lettering
Romans
Celtic lettering
Carolingian
English
The Roman Alphabet, 400BC
This alphabet spread from England to Spain to Egypt
to the Persian Gulf by 100AD
Inscription on Trajan’s Column - 113AD
Roman conquest of foreign lands was memorialized in commemorative
inscriptions of capital letters emblazoned on columns and large arches.
Notice the change in size of the letters!
Deliberate Distortion of Letterforms
Deliberate Distortion of Letterforms
Deliberate Distortion of Letterforms
Deliberate Distortion of Letterforms
Trajan’s Column - 113AD
1896
Inscription on Trajan’s Column - 113AD
The Senate and people of Rome [give or dedicate this] to the emperor
Caesar, son of the divine Nerva, Nerva Traianus Augustus Germanicus
Dacicus, pontifex maximus, in his 17th year in the office of tribune, having
been acclaimed 6 times as imperator, 6 times consul, pater patriae, to
demonstrate of what great height the hill [was] and place [that] was removed
for such great works.
Septimius Arch
Square capitals
The Square capitals were engraved in stone and then painted with redochre paint to help them stand out.
Capitalis Quadrata
Capitalis quadrata is the written counterpart of the classic capitals.
Rustica
Rustica capitals was a condensed version of the Capitalis Quadrata.
Constantine and the divided Roman Empire
325 AD, Christianity was the recognized religion of the land. The Roman
Empire adopted Christianity.
330 AD, Constantine unified the East and West portions of the Roman
empire and expanded it into current-day Russia. He also moved the
capitol of the empire from Rome to Constantinople.
395 AD, the Empire was segmented into the East and West dominions,
ending the religious cohesiveness of the Empire.
• the Roman Empire was overrun by outsiders called the
Visigoths and Barbarians from the north.
• gradually the invaders overthrew the city of Rome itself.
476 AD, The Eastern empire was overrun by Germanic barbarians who
ransacked and looted cities, leading to their eventual breakdown.
What lay ahead?
The Middle Ages!
Scroll vs. Codex
Most early written documents were on scrolls made from papyrus.
Papyrus was not a suitable material to write on both sides, nor could it be
folded without breaking.
Scrolls
The most famous, recently
discovered scrolls are The Dead
Sea Scrolls. Discovered in caves
at Qumran, they were stored in
earthen jars.
In the spring of 1947 Bedouin goat-herds,
searching the cliffs along the Dead Sea for
a lost goat (or for treasure, depending on
who is telling the story), came upon a cave
containing jars filled with manuscripts.
Codex or book
The earliest codex or left/right paged book was two wax-coated boards
tied together and written on with the pointed end of a Stylus.
This wax-coated board was used for temporary communication for notes
and correspondence. The wax booklet was also used by students and
scribes in training and used for writing and studying.
In a parchment (animal skin) codex;
• both sides of the parchment could be used for writing;
• this in turn meant that codices required less writing material; •
could be produced for less expense;
• they took up less room in storage;
• could be stored more easily;
• and were less cumbersome when searching for a specific
area of text than the lengthy scrolls.
Codex or book
Tools & letters
Ancient Roman writing, formed with flat-tipped reed pens, effects many
of our current typefaces in their thick-thin weight variations.
Hand writing
Capitals, Uncials and miniscules or half-uncial.
Uncials: named for the one inch guidelines they were drawn on.
Half-uncials became our lowercase letters.
Uncials
Roman Half-uncials
Celtic Lettering
430 AD the missionary, St. Patrick set out with Bible manuscripts to convert Ireland.
• Celtic manuscripts and lettering design flourished without many outside influences.
• The work shows extraordinary variations of letterforms and geometric ornamentation.
• Celtic decoration & letter innovation mark new directions in lettering and illumination styles.
• Pages introducing each of the Gospels are completely utilized to illustrate one word or phrase
magnificently.
• Complex inter-lacings of precise Celtic scroll work interspersed with animals and supernatural
creatures are carefully executed with geometric accuracy paid to the minute details.
• Bright, intense colors are set side by side to intensify the thick texture of twisted ornamentation
highlighted in gold leafing.
• The rounded uncials appear with upper and lowercase clearly defined,
• The Celts introduced word spacing, which improved readability.
Celtic Lettering
Pages from the
Book of Kells
Irish Half-uncials
Variations in the
lettering styles
became more
pronounced as
the years passed, so
that scholars are
able to tell where
Medieval
manuscripts were
produced by
examining the
lettering and
illumination style.
Lettering as a Declaration of Faith
With the increase of Bibles in codex format, the importance placed on the beauty of the
sacred word became competitive and imaginative. The monks creating these sacred
texts were committed to penning a beautiful Bible to exalt their God. Also, the reference
to God as the Light led to the use of gold leafing to "illuminate" the words.
Initial caps of each section became highly stylized over time and included images of
characters in the story (histrionic capitals); Bible covers were often imbedded with
jewels.
Ornamental lettering &
illumination
Development of Books 100AD
The form of a book, or codex, with a left, verso and right, recto
page began to be developed at this time.
Oddly enough, the terms recto and verso come from the description
of the sides of the sheet of parchment; recto is the right or good
side, the inside of the skin; verso is the back side, not as smooth,
the fur side.
Although scrolls and codices were used interchangeably until
around 400 AD, the codex form gained popularity from 100 AD.
Monasteries
• Secluded monasteries were established for religious orders in the
countryside.
• Copying of the ancient Roman and Greek manuscripts was carried out
• Manuscripts could be sold by the monastery for funds or used in trade for
goods.
• Cultural achievements from this era were hampered because there was
no forum for the interaction of ideas, philosophies or influences, and only
limited travel.
In the monasteries, many of the ancient texts were copied, and the
Medieval copies are the only remaining versions today because the
originals, likely on papyrus, could not withstand the dampness of
Mediterranean weather.
Monasteries
• To become a Scribe required skills in reading, writing and comprehension.
• Scribes not only wrote volumes of works on the Medieval Ages but were
also often asked to research laws and other matters for kings and nobles.
• The Scribe was often a historian, poet and philosopher. His acquired
knowledge was advantageous at the workings of social interaction and his
skills provided a written overview of the time period.
• Scribes usually were of nobility in that the education needed to attain the
post was not affordable or available to peasant and common classes. Most
Scribes came from religious abbeys where the skills were learned within the
vast libraries of the church.
• Their wages were usually standard and average, however the Scribe was
entitled to all the benefits and luxuries of castle life.
Xerox Monk ad