Writing & Illuminating, & Lettering

TAILS.—(a) The tails of K, Q, R [p291] (and J)—and the strokes in A, F, G, I, M, N, P, Y, &c., which may be drawn out tail-wise—play an important part in the right construction, and the occasional decoration, of plain lettering. They may end either in serifs or in curves (see SERIFS (e), above, and fig. 188).

(b) Note.—It is a characteristic of vigorous forms that branches, &c., stand out well from their stems (pp. 219, (e) 289, (N) 271), and a good tail should stand out well from the letter (K, Q, fig. 167).

(c) An excellent form of tail for ordinary use, combining strength and grace, consists of a (strong) straight stroke ending more or less abruptly in a (graceful) finishing curve.

(d) An extraordinarily long tail requires a slight double curve to take off its stiffness.

(e) A good tail may be made by the addition of a double curved stroke on the under side of a straight tail (or of a single curve above).

(f) In treating the tail of J, or the drawn-out stems of A, F, G, I, M, N, P, Y, it is important to preserve the essential straightness of the stems. Therefore, if a finishing curve be used, its size is related to the length of the straight stroke, and, unless this be extraordinarily long, the curve is usually made rather small and abrupt. A curve which is too large is apt to weaken the form and “pull it out of the straight” (g, fig. 163).

BUILT-UP FORMS

Built-up Letters are composed of compound strokes (c, d, fig. 164); Simple-written Letters of simple strokes (a, b).

The Pen being an instrument which produces [p292] definite thick and thin strokes on a smooth surface, is perfectly adapted to the construction of either simple or compound forms; other tools, such as the stylus, needle, graver, &c., produce various scratches, stitches, or cuts, generally of the nature of rather varying thin strokes, and to produce thick strokes a building-up process is required.

In making built-up forms the control exerted by the tool is less obvious, and more depends upon the craftsman, who must therefore use greater care and judgment. Not only is it possible, but, occasionally, it may be desirable to depart from the more obvious tool-forms; though generally the more simply and naturally tool-made a form is, the better it is.

The fine early inscriptions are supposed to have been first drawn or painted (in outline) and then cut into the stone. The chisel forms were doubtless affected in this way by brush (and indirectly by pen) forms, but these were of the simplest—nothing was sketched in that was unfitted for the chisel to make into a natural and true chisel-form.

The action of the brush or “pencil” to a certain extent resembles that of the pen, but their effects are really distinct. In contrasting pen-made and brush-made letters, we may observe that a pen form tends to abrupt changes from thin to thick: a brush form to gradation (fig. 164). The pen particularly affects curved strokes (comp. a & b), generally making them more quick and abrupt (or even broken, see * * c), than brush curves. The brush will give more graceful and finished but less uniform letters (see p. 376).

The character of a pen-letter depends greatly on the nib-width (p. 324), and narrow, medium, or broad nibs are used according to the type of letter required. [p293]

A narrow nib may be used for special (built-up) Initials and Capitals, which are drawn rather than written (a, fig. 165). The horizontal arms (made by the pen held horizontally) are markedly affected, and if a very fine nib were used, the necessity of strengthening and thickening them would tend further to reduce the pen character.

A broad nib gives strong, uniform pen-letters (b).

For ordinary use letters are perhaps best made with a “medium” nib (c). The width of the ordinary writing-pen, or rather narrower, gives a good proportion for initials, &c. (see pp. 118, 218).

In MS. books the early built-up Capitals were [p294] commonly of a rather severe type—approaching the Roman Capital, but having the sharp contrast between the thicks and the thins characteristic of pen-letters (fig. 166). They make very simple and effective “Versals.”

A more highly finished type of pen-made Roman Capital may be made by blending the serifs and stems (d, p. 289): it is nearer to the inscriptional form, but it exhibits a more curved and supple [p296] outline, which comes of natural pen-strokes (fig. 167).

The remarks in Chapter VII. on the treatment of the more elastic “Gothic” Versal (a free variety [p297] of the Roman) may be taken as applying generally to (Coloured) Built-up Capitals—due allowance being made for the characteristic differences of the various types.

SIMPLE-WRITTEN CAPITALS

“Rustic Capitals” (fig. 4) may be referred to here as typical, simple-written capitals. Though not a very practical form,72 they are full of suggestions for a semi-ornamental lettering in which the pronounced treatment of the heads and feet might be a feature (comp. fig. 203). They were used as ornamental letters for titles and the like (see Plates VIII., IX., &c.) for centuries after they had gone out of ordinary use.

Simple-written Roman Capitals.—(Examples: Plates III., XVIII., XIX., XXI., figs. 147, 148, 168, 175, 179. See also pp. 247, 429.)

Uncials.—(Examples: see p. 300.)

Simple-written Capitals ordinarily conform to the writing line—as set by the small text (p. 82). This applies even where several words in capitals have to be inserted in the small text, though in special cases where these might look too crowded such capitals might be written on alternate lines.

Used for Initial Words, headings, whole pages, or books, in black or colour, they are written with greater freedom and accorded more special treatment (see pp. 298, 299).

Simple-written Capitals are best composed of sharp, clean, pen-strokes: they may be quite plain [p298] or more or less decorative (fig. 168), subject to the general rule that the fewer the number of letters or the more ornamental their office, the more elaborate and fanciful may be the forms employed (see p. 294).

A freely used pen naturally produces occasional varieties for special or ornamental purposes: these tend to elegance and drawn out flourished strokes (p. 331); they vary chiefly in being extra large.73 [p299] Several of these may be used with fine effect in a page of plain Capitals, their “weight” (and generally their colour) being the same as that of the text (see Plate V., and p. 328).

Whole Books or Pages written in Capitals.—A very grand effect may be produced by these at the expense of a little more time and material than a Small-letter MS. entails. The lines of writing are commonly made one-letter-height apart: this requires ordinary simple ruling—the capitals being written between every alternate pair of lines (see p. 412).

Such writing may conveniently be treated as “Fine Writing” (p. 262). It justifies the use of wider margins. It is generally more difficult (and less necessary) to keep the right-hand edge as straight as a small text permits. The irregularities of this edge may be balanced by setting out in the left margin the first letters of sentences, verses, and the like (see p. 264). Such initials may be written larger or more ornamentally as suggested above; or, if built-up Letters are required, plain, rather slender Roman Capitals are the most suitable: these look best in burnished gold.

Perhaps the finest and most beautiful work which the penman can produce, is a book written entirely in gold74 capitals75 on purple vellum (see pp. 164, 175). This is only possible in special cases, but a book rightly so made being illuminated from within, has an incomparable simplicity and grandeur, surpassing that of the finest post-decorated and illuminated manuscripts. [p300]

UNCIALS Examples: Plates IV., V.; fig. 5, 169 (enlarged); (modified, fig. 56).

Uncials are typical pen-capitals.76 Though not of such practical use as the simple-written Roman Capitals, their great possibilities and their beauty make them worth practising. (See Round, Upright, Formal Hands, p. 304.)

Their use is limited by two considerations—

First: that while the round are essentially legible (p. 239), people generally are not accustomed to them, and may find them hard to read; and

Secondly: that have ascending and descending strokes which are apt to become too pronounced and give an unpleasant appearance of “tailiness” to a page of Uncial Writing (in English, see footnote, p. 326).

The first difficulty may be met by keeping Uncials for special MSS.—for private use—and introducing them sparingly or not at all in Service Books, Placards, &c., where ease and quickness of reading are essential.

The appearance of “tailiness” (not so obvious in Latin) may be avoided by making the tails shorter and keeping the lines of writing well apart. Or freely made Roman Capitals without tails (see D, tail-less, fig. 57) may be substituted for one or more of the chief offenders. [p302]

Uncials may be “round” (see Plate IV., fig. 5, and p. 304), or “pointed” (see fig. 169, and p. 413).

CAPITALS & SMALL-LETTERS

During the development of Small-Letters from Capitals but little distinction was made in their use, and such capital forms as N and R were freely and promiscuously used in the round minuscule writings, together with the small-letters n and r (see Plates VI., VII.). On the other hand, Small-Letter forms were frequently written larger and used as initials. In Irish and Anglo-Irish MSS. these were filled inside with green, yellow, or red, and surrounded outside with red dots, or otherwise decorated with colour (see fig. 7, and Plate VI.).

In early MSS., therefore, one does not find an alphabet of Simple-Written Capitals, which is peculiar to a given small text. But we may employ a kindred capital—such as the round Uncial for the round Half-Uncial. And a fitting alphabet may always be constructed, from the “Roman” or “Uncial” types of Capitals (footnote, p. 300), by taking the same pen with which the small-letters have been made and using it in a similar manner: “straight” for “straight-pen” writing, and “slanted” for “slanted-pen” writing (see figs. 147, 148).

When in doubt as to the type of Capital—for any purpose—use Roman Capitals.

EARLY, ROUND, UPRIGHT, FORMAL HANDS Examples: Half-Uncials—fig. 6 (Roman); Plate VI. (Irish), Plate VII. (English) fig. 170 later; see also pp. 40, 44, 413–415. Uncials (Plate IV. and p. 38). [p304]

The main types are the “round” Uncial and Half-Uncial, commonly written with an approximately “straight pen.”77 They are generally treated as fine writing (p. 262), and written between ruled lines: this has a marked effect in preserving their roundness (see p. 414).

They are very useful as copy-book hands (see p. 70), for though the smooth gradation of their curves, their thin strokes, and their general elegance unfit them for many practical purposes, yet their essential roundness, uprightness, and formality afford the finest training to the penman, and prevent him from falling into an angular, slanting, or lax hand. Their very great beauty, moreover, makes them well worth practising, and even justifies their use (in a modernised form) for special MSS., for the more romantic books—such as poetry and “fairy tales”—and generally where speed in writing or reading is not essential.

With an eye trained and a hand disciplined by the practice of an Irish or English Half-Uncial, or a modified type, such as is given in fig. 50, the penman may easily acquire some of the more practical later “slanted-pen” types.

“SLANTED-PEN” SMALL-LETTERS (Typical Examples:— Carlovingian ninth-century MS.—Fig. 8 (enlarged, fig. 171): [p305] English tenth-century MS.—Plate VIII. (enlarged, fig. 172): English eleventh-century MS.—Plate IX. (enlarged, fig. 173): Italian twelfth-century MS.—Plate X. (enlarged, fig. 174).)

The use of the “slanted pen” generally produced stronger, narrower, and stiffer letters. Its effects are detailed in pp. 43–47, and fig. 11, and may best be studied in the tenth-century example (fig. 172—the letter forms are described on p. 416).

In the Carlovingian MS.—which does not show these effects in any marked degree—we may note the wide letter forms, the wide spacing, the long stems (thickened above by additional strokes), the slight slope of the letters, and the general effect of gracefulness and freedom (see fig. 171). Carlovingian MSS. may be said to represent a sort of mediæval copy-books, and their far-reaching influence on writing makes them of great interest to the modern penman, who would, moreover, find one of these hands an excellent model for a free “formal hand.”

For practical purposes the “slanted-pen” letter is generally superior to the “straight-pen” letter. The “slanted-pen” letters have greater strength and legibility, due mainly to the presence of the thick horizontals—often equal in width to the verticals. Their use saves both space and time, as they are narrower, and more easily and freely written78 than the straight-pen forms.

The real importance to us of these early types [p310] lies, I think, in their relation to the Roman Small-Letter (pp. 418–19 & 429–83), and their great possibilities of development into modern formal hands approaching the “Roman” type.

ROMAN SMALL-LETTERS Ex.: (Italian) Plates XIX., XX. (15th century); figs. 175, 176 (16th century): figs. 147, 148 (modern MS.).

The Roman Small-Letter is the universally recognised type in which the majority of books and papers are printed. Its form has been in use for over 400 years (without essential alteration) and as far as we are concerned it may be regarded as permanent.

And it is the object of the scribe or letter-maker gradually to attain a fine, personal formal hand, assimilating to the Roman Small-Letter; a hand against the familiar and present form of which no allegations of unreadableness can be raised, and a hand having a beauty and character now absent or unfamiliar. The related Italic will be mastered for formal MS. work (p. 315), and the ordinary handwriting improved (p. 323). These three hands point the advance of the practical, modern scribe.

The Roman Small-Letter is essentially a pen form (and preferably a “slanted-pen” form; p. 305), and we would do well to follow its natural development from the Roman Capital—through Round Letters and Slanted-Pen forms—so that we may arrive at a truly developed and characteristic type, suitable for any formal manuscript work and full of suggestions for printers and letter-craftsmen generally.

A finished form, such as that in Plate XX.—or even that of fig. 175—would present many [p311] difficulties to the unpractised scribe, and one who so began would be apt to remain a mere copyist, more or less unconscious of the vitality and character of the letter. An earlier type of letter—such as that in Plate VIII.—enables the scribe to combine speed with accuracy, and fits him at length to deal with the letters that represent the latest and most formal development of penmanship.

And in this connection, beware of practising with a fine nib, which tends to inaccuracy and the substitution of prettiness for character. Stick to definite pen strokes, and preserve the definite shapes and the uniformity of the serifs (p. 324): if these be made clumsily, they become clumsy lumps. It may be impossible always to ascertain the exact forms—especially of terminals and finishing strokes—for the practised scribe has attained a great uniformity and some sleight of hand which cannot be deliberately copied. But—whatever the exact forms—we may be sure that in the best hands they are produced by uniform and proper pen strokes.

ITALICS Ex.: Plate XXI., and figs. 94, 177, 178 (enlarged).

Italics79 closely resemble the Roman Small-Letters, but are slightly narrowed, slightly sloped to the [p314] right, and very freely written (commonly with a “slanted pen”). The serifs generally consist of slight natural terminal hooks, &c.—though in p and q a finishing stroke is sometimes added. Ascending and descending strokes (in b, d, f, h, k, l, g, j, p, q, y) are commonly rather long, and often end in curves, sometimes in flourishes (fig. 177).

The lines of writing are generally widely spaced—allowing for the long stems: the bodies of the letters being narrow are generally rather closely packed, and frequently the lines of writing appear [p315] as almost continuous light but compact writing, while the ascenders and descenders and parts of the Capitals may be flourished freely in the spaces between the lines—sometimes filling them with ornamental pen work, which contrasts strongly with the extreme plainness and regularity of the bodies.

Italic Capitals are a variety of the Roman Capitals, slightly sloped (frequently less sloped than the accompanying small-letters), and sometimes much flourished (fig. 177). The types modelled on the latter were called by printers in the seventeenth century, “Swash Letters.”

Use of Italics.—In printing they served at first to mark such portions of the text as—

In MSS. when it is not desirable to alter the character, Red Writing (see p. 130) may be substituted for italics. Italics—either in black or red—go best with “Roman” characters.

Like the Roman Small-Letter, the Italic is a generally recognised and accepted form: this and other considerations, such as the peculiar elegance and charm of the letters, their formal relation to modern handwriting, their compactness and economy of space in the line, and the fact that they may be written easily and with extreme regularity—being indeed the most rapid of formal hands—are practical reasons for a careful study of the type, and justify the writing of certain MS. books entirely in Italics. [p317]

SEMI-FORMAL WRITING

Figs. 179, 180, and 181 are taken from a sixteenth-century Italian MS.80 written in a semi-formal cursive hand in dark brown and red-brown inks (probably originally nearer black and red), on 150 leaves of fine paper.

The proportions of the Book,81 together with the good writing, have a very agreeable effect, and are interesting as being used by a writer over 300 years ago. The extra width of the side margins may have been allowed for annotations—some notes were written in by the scribe himself.

• Page = 1118 inches high, 8 inches wide.
• Margins
  • Inner (78 inch + 38 inch allowed for Small Capitals)
    = 114 inch (approximate).
  • Top = 138 inch (constant).
  • Side = 234 inch (approximate).
  • Foot = 3 inch (approximate).
• Writing-Line Space nearly 516 inch high: length (varies), average 4 inches.
• Text Column nearly 634 inches high, consisting of 22 lines of MS.

Character of the Writing.—The good shapes of the letters, their great uniformity, and their easy yet formal arrangement, mark this MS. as the work of a skilful penman. But, while pen character of a sort is very evident, the writing approaches the stylographic (apparently a rather narrow blunt nib was used), and the absence of definite thicks and thins distinguishes it from all the formal hands hitherto discussed: it may conveniently be termed Semi-formal.