Italic script, also known as chancery cursive and Italic hand, is a semi-cursive, slightly sloped style of handwriting and calligraphy that was developed during the Renaissance in Italy. It is one of the most popular styles used in contemporary Western calligraphy.
Example page of the "Italique Hande" from a copy of A booke containing diuers sortes of hands... first published in 1570.
One of the innovations of Niccoli's Italic script was the major change to the Humanist minuscule a.
Italic script is based largely on Humanist minuscule, which itself draws on Carolingian minuscule. The capital letters are the same as the Humanist capitals, modeled on Roman square capitals. The Italian scholar Niccolò de' Niccoli was dissatisfied with the lowercase forms of Humanist minuscule, finding it too slow to write. In response, he created the Italic script, which incorporates features and techniques characteristic of a quickly written hand: oblique forms, fewer strokes per character, and the joining of letters. Perhaps the most significant change to any single character was to the form of the a, which he simplified from the two-story form to the one-story form ⟨ɑ⟩ now common to most handwriting styles.
Under the influence of Italic movable type used with printing presses, the style of handwritten Italic script moved toward disjoined, more mannered characters. By the 1550s the Italic script had become so laborious that it fell out of use with scribes.
The style became increasingly influenced by the development of Copperplate writing styles in the eighteenth century. The style of Italic script used today is often heavily influenced by developments made as late as the early 20th century. In the past few decades, the italic script has been promoted in English-speaking countries as an easier-to-learn alternative to traditional styles of cursive handwriting.
In the UK this revival was due in part to the 19th century artist William Morris.[citation needed] In 1905 Monica Bridges book, A New Handwriting for Teachers was published.[1] She was a skilled calligrapher and this book is creditted with making italic handwriting fashionable in British schools.[2]
Edward Johnston's book Writing & Illumination & Lettering was published in 1906, Alfred Fairbank's book A Handwriting Manual in 1932 and the Dryad Writing Cards in 1935. These Dryad cards were used for teaching young school children to write an italic hand.[citation needed]
Italics script is considered one of the best examples of Latin cursive writing and had a great influence on the calligraphic styles that followed throughout Europe. It was developed at a time when the spread of printing technology had already decreed the fall into disuse of manuscript books, consequently shifting the calligraphic attention from the books to the production of single papers and documents, for which handwriting remained an irreplaceable tool. For these needs, it was necessary to write faster than how humanistic script originally allowed, yet just as elegantly, hence the birth of the Italic script with a thinner and slightly inclined style that made it adaptable to more rapid execution. This period also gave birth to the first treatises on calligraphy: among them stands out "La Operina" by Ludovico Vicentino degli Arrighi.
A modern version called Getty-Dubay was introduced in 1976.
^"A New Handwriting for Teachers. by M. M. [Mary Monica] Bridges: Good Hardcover (1905) Signed by Author(s) | Book Alley". www.abebooks.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
^Phillips, Catherine (2004-09-23). Bridges, Robert Seymour (1844–1930), poet. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/32066.
italic, script, this, article, about, calligraphic, handwriting, style, other, uses, italic, alphabet, italic, type, also, known, chancery, cursive, italic, hand, semi, cursive, slightly, sloped, style, handwriting, calligraphy, that, developed, during, renais. This article is about the calligraphic and handwriting style For other uses see Old Italic alphabet and Italic type Italic script also known as chancery cursive and Italic hand is a semi cursive slightly sloped style of handwriting and calligraphy that was developed during the Renaissance in Italy It is one of the most popular styles used in contemporary Western calligraphy Example page of the Italique Hande from a copy of A booke containing diuers sortes of hands first published in 1570 Contents 1 History 2 See also 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External linksHistory Edit nbsp One of the innovations of Niccoli s Italic script was the major change to the Humanist minuscule a Italic script is based largely on Humanist minuscule which itself draws on Carolingian minuscule The capital letters are the same as the Humanist capitals modeled on Roman square capitals The Italian scholar Niccolo de Niccoli was dissatisfied with the lowercase forms of Humanist minuscule finding it too slow to write In response he created the Italic script which incorporates features and techniques characteristic of a quickly written hand oblique forms fewer strokes per character and the joining of letters Perhaps the most significant change to any single character was to the form of the a which he simplified from the two story form to the one story form ɑ now common to most handwriting styles Under the influence of Italic movable type used with printing presses the style of handwritten Italic script moved toward disjoined more mannered characters By the 1550s the Italic script had become so laborious that it fell out of use with scribes The style became increasingly influenced by the development of Copperplate writing styles in the eighteenth century The style of Italic script used today is often heavily influenced by developments made as late as the early 20th century In the past few decades the italic script has been promoted in English speaking countries as an easier to learn alternative to traditional styles of cursive handwriting In the UK this revival was due in part to the 19th century artist William Morris citation needed In 1905 Monica Bridges book A New Handwriting for Teachers was published 1 She was a skilled calligrapher and this book is creditted with making italic handwriting fashionable in British schools 2 Edward Johnston s book Writing amp Illumination amp Lettering was published in 1906 Alfred Fairbank s book A Handwriting Manual in 1932 and the Dryad Writing Cards in 1935 These Dryad cards were used for teaching young school children to write an italic hand citation needed Italics script is considered one of the best examples of Latin cursive writing and had a great influence on the calligraphic styles that followed throughout Europe It was developed at a time when the spread of printing technology had already decreed the fall into disuse of manuscript books consequently shifting the calligraphic attention from the books to the production of single papers and documents for which handwriting remained an irreplaceable tool For these needs it was necessary to write faster than how humanistic script originally allowed yet just as elegantly hence the birth of the Italic script with a thinner and slightly inclined style that made it adaptable to more rapid execution This period also gave birth to the first treatises on calligraphy among them stands out La Operina by Ludovico Vicentino degli Arrighi A modern version called Getty Dubay was introduced in 1976 See also Edit nbsp Writing portalAsemic writing Bastarda Blackletter Book hand Calligraphy Chancery hand Court hand also known as common law hand Anglicana cursiva antiquior or charter hand Cursive Hand writing style Handwriting History of writing Law hand Palaeography Penmanship Ronde script calligraphy Rotunda script Round hand Secretary handReferences Edit A New Handwriting for Teachers by M M Mary Monica Bridges Good Hardcover 1905 Signed by Author s Book Alley www abebooks co uk Retrieved 2023 03 17 Phillips Catherine 2004 09 23 Bridges Robert Seymour 1844 1930 poet Vol 1 Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 32066 Further reading EditHarris David 1995 The Art of Calligraphy DK Publishing Inc ISBN 0 670 86270 3 Mehigan Janet Mary Noble 1999 Beginner s Guide to Calligraphy Quarto Publishing plc ISBN 0 7858 1934 7 External links EditLatin alphabet handwriting at Encyclopaedia Britannica Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Italic script amp oldid 1147477500, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
