BLACKLETTER
HISTORY
Blackletter is an alternative form of
Carolingian Minuscule. The influence of
Carolingian Minuscule development is
from semi-roman and Insular script.
From the 8th-12th centuries, documents
and manuscripts used Carolingian
Minuscule.
early 11th-12th centuries, literacy
throughout Europe increased. Many
universities have books such as law,
grammar, and history instead of only
Bibles and religious books. As a result, the
demand for producing books increased.
Textura or Textualis (Gothic bookhand)
was used in Western Europe from the
12th to the 17th century.
Johannes Gutenberg carved a textual
typeface with many ligatures and
abbreviations for his printed 42-line
Johannes Gutenberg Bible.
Textura was prevalent for formal and
expensive books until the 15th century.
in the 1500’s, blackletter became less
popular for printing in many countries
except Germany and the German
speaking countries because it difficult
write or write
In the 1920s it was considered to be outmoded by
German designers and publishers fell out of favor
and was replaced by the “New Typography” of sans
serif typefaces.
In 1933 Hitler declared the new typography to be
un-German and declared Fraktur to be “Volk”, i.e.
the people’s font. The Nazis continued to use
Fraktur extensively as propaganda
until 1941 when it was replaced with more
readable fonts.
USAGE TODAY
50 years after the Second World War,
many people were still against using
black-letter. The advances in
technology and advertising mean
that people can improve fonts.
People began experimenting with
type a lot more and revisited the corona bier label motorhead banner
black-letter type.
snoop dog banner Disneyland
TYPOGRAPHIC
The Blackletter typeface is recognizable
by its dense black texture and highly
decorated caps. The lowercase consists of
narrow, angular forms with dramatic thick-
to-thin strokes and serifs. They are highly
stylized, yet legible.
CHARACTERISTICS
1. Contrast Strokes: The blackletter font has stylized
strokes. We could recognize the contrast between thin
and thick strokes.
2. Styles: The typeface is highly influenced by classical
calligraphy. It has a dense black texture and decorated
uppercase. The shape of the lowercase is angular and
narrow with dramatic strokes.
3. Serif: Most of the blackletter font has serif. The serif has
extra strokes at the end of letterforms to make it flourish.
TYPE
1. Textura
Textura was commonly used in Germany, France, Italy, and other Western Europe. It is known as ‘Textualis’, and the
‘Gothic Bookhand’. As the foundational form of the blackletter, Textura evolved into many styles of the blackletter font.
This font has tall, narrow characters with sharp, straight, angular lines. The letters do not connect.
2. Rotunda
Rotunda is an Italian version of textura, although the influence was more direct to Carolingian Minuscule than Textura.
The font has a rounded shape, especially the lowercase ‘o’ is more circular. This font is more legible due to its less
angular shape. Rotunda is commonly used in Southern Europe.
3. Schwabacher
Schwabacher is similar to Rotunda. It has a more rounded and cursive shape. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the font was
primarily used in Germany, but it also could be found in Switzerland. In the next century, Schwabacher was eventually
replaced by Faktur.
4. Faktur
Faktur became the most common blackletter font in Germany by the mid-1500s. The font existed until the early twentieth
century. It has a rounded characteristic and curved shape and stylized appearance. Though the font is elaborate, it’s still
legible.
Faktur had rivalries with Antiqua font. Both of them were prominent. There was a great debate about which font was the
‘correct’ one.
SCHWABACHER ROTUNDA TEXTURA
FRAKTUR
FAMILY
Font Families of Blackletter
Calligraphy
There are some styles of blackletter
typeface. Here are font families of
blackletter font you might need to
know:
THE END
SOURCES
https://www.sitepoint.com/the-blackletter-typeface-a-long-and-colored-history/
https://stringlabscreative.com/blackletter-calligraphy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackletter
