The basic black letter scripts are textura and rotunda, the former primarily associated with northern Europe and the latter with southern Europe. Blackletter is an all encompassing term used to describe the scripts of the Middle Ages in which the darkness of the characters overpowers the whiteness of the page. “ Blackletter type is often misleadingly referred to as either Old English or gothic, two terms that are only partially accurate. Gothic writing forms reflected this aesthetic. The Gothic spirit took hold in France, Germany and England where it was manifested through unhindered upward striving: the vertical supplanted horizontals as the dominant line in architecture the pointed arch replaced the round arch of the Romans the almond shape, or mandorla, was preferred. The term Gothic originated with the Italians who used it to refer to rude or barbaric cultures north of the Italian Alps.Īccording to Christopher Wren's Saracenic Theory, Gothic style had nothing to do with the Goths, rather it was a style influenced by a number of factors including Saracenic art -an Islamic influence from the Crusades.

Gothic was the culminating artistic expression of the middle ages, occurring roughly from 1200-1500.

Shown left, blackletter spacing from The Art and Craft of Hand Lettering by Annie Cicale. Evenly spaced verticals dominated the letterform.Ĭondensing line spacing and letter spacing reduced the amount of costly materials in book production. Blackletter is characterized by tight spacing and condensed lettering.

American gothic typeface in book