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Alphabets  example lettering styles

There are four main alphabet styles covered in this section. Uncial (used from the 5th to the 8th centuries), Roundhand - otherwise known as Foundational (based on lettering from 10th century manuscripts), Blackletter or Gothic (designed by German printers), and Italic (developed during the Renaissance in Italy in the 15th & 16th centuries).

Clicking one of the links to the left will take you to information about the alphabet and a picture you can click to see it full-size. These are my own versions of these alphabets and are not strictly accurate. For example, the Roundhand alphabet is usually written upright with no slope to the letters.

Ancient manuscripts are a good place to look for different styles down the ages and there are some good books on the subject (see below to start you off). Once you have gained the confidence to write the letters of an alphabet with relative ease try altering the shape of some of the strokes and see what happens to the letter. Bear in mind that on the whole your calligraphy needs to be readable.

The eye tends to read the top 1/3 of letters in a line of writing and this is emphasised in Italic. Try it for yourself - cover the bottom 2/3 of a line of writing, whether printed text in a book or your own handwriting, and try reading it. You may not make out all of the letters but you will be able to guess at what is missing, enough to make the text legible. Now cover the top part of the line and try reading it again. Almost illegible isn't it?