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Calligraphy is the art of written forms. The word "calligraphy" comes from the Greek word, "kalli," meaning "beautiful," and the word "graphos," meaning "writing." This definition excludes type or fonts produced by machine or computer.
The first written forms were actually drawings describing events, or PICTOGRAMS. A stick man is a pictogram for a human. A circle with lines radiating from it is a pictogram for the sun. The Chinese alphabet, based on pictograms, has grown from 2500 graphic symbols to about 50,000!
Rather than use visual symbols (pictograms), the Egyptians and Sumerians used sound symbols to communicate. This reduces the number and makes abstract ideas easily understandable. How would you communicate anxiety in a pictogram?
Our present PHONETIC ALPHABET of 26 characters is a descendant of the Roman alphabet, which owes its heritage to the Greeks. The Roman alphabet originally was composed of only upper case (capital letters). The Lincoln Memorial is a fine example of incised (cut into stone) Roman lettering.
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Various cultures throughout the centuries created their own styles of the alphabet, which is a fascinating study. All these letters were done by hand with some sort of "pen" dipped into handmade inks. The style was dictated by the type of pen or tool. Go to HANDWRITING TOOLS for more information.
By the tenth century, the Irish had developed their own version of Roman letters called UNCIAL.
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It was denser, and some letters like D had changed to
to look
like lower case. The Germans came up with elaborate capitals and a vertical,
"boxy" lower case, often known as "Old English", but more correctly, BLACK
LETTER, or GOTHIC.
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Perhaps the most powerful influence on calligraphy in the early Middle Ages was Charlemagne, who decreed that all scholarly books were to be copied by the monks. Thus we have beautifully illuminated, hand lettered Bibles still in existence.
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During the Renaissance, ITALIC calligraphy became popular in Italy, and is by far, the favorite "hand" of calligraphers today. It is the first slanted alphabet, with elongated letters (l, h, k,) and both upper and lower case.
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This is a very cursive commentary on calligraphy. If you are interested in an excellent history of calligraphy, see Donald Anderson’s, Calligraphy, The Art of Written Forms.
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