Square Capitals

o   When people were writing on paper, meant to be more permanent

o   Liked to imitate the inscriptional style

§  Don’t have many examples because papyrus doesn’t last too long outside of Egypt

o   Didn’t write with any breaks between words

o   Had left justifications, right edge was a little jagged

Rustic Capitals

o   Pretty similar to square capitals

o   Made holding brush so horizontal strokes are thicker, vertical are thinner

o   Slightly more curved than square capital

Uncials

o   Start to see a distinction between capital and lower case letters

o   Some letters evolving into shapes we would recognize as lower case

o   If at all possible use one stroke per letter

o   Starting to get a different letter heights

o   Word “Uncials” originally was a decisive term

§  Inch high, doesn’t make sense, but was attached  to it

o   Evolving to something we are starting recognize

Carolingian Minuscule

  Called (Half-uncial) or Miniscule

  Alcuin used Carolingian Miniscule

Half much greater variety in shape and size F tall, a small, p goes underneath

Alcuin standardized it and came up with basic principles of writing

Imagine four equally sized Horizontal Zones

An a takes up one zone, b is twice the height of smaller zone, p is same thing in reverse, leaving top zone always free

Result  was that space in between letters was equal (and actually there)

Come to script as we know it today         Standardization of space of letters, equalization in size of letters, distinct usage of miniscule letters

Black Letter

o   Horribly difficult to read (loosely called Gothic)