Editing Calligraphy (section)

==Europe==
{{main|Western calligraphy}}

{{gallery
|title=Calligraphy samples from Europe and near East
|File:LindisfarneFol27rIncipitMatt.jpg
  |Folio 27r from the [[Lindisfarne Gospels]] ({{Circa|700}}) contains the [[incipit]] from the [[Gospel of Matthew]].|File:Calligraphy.malmesbury.bible.arp.jpg
  |Calligraphy in a [[Latin (language)|Latin]] [[Bible]] of 1407 on display in [[Malmesbury Abbey]], England. This Bible was hand-written in Belgium, by Gerard Brils, for reading aloud in a [[monastery]].
|File:მარიამისეული ქართლის ცხოვრება.JPG
  |[[Georgian calligraphy]] is a centuries-old tradition of an artistic writing of the [[Georgian language]] with its [[Georgian scripts|three scripts]].|File:Westerncalligraphy.jpg
  |Modern Western calligraphy
}}

Calligraphy in Europe is recognizable in the use of the [[Latin script]] in [[Western Europe]], and in the use of the [[Greek alphabet|Greek]], [[Armenian alphabet|Armenian]], and [[Georgian scripts|Georgian]], and [[Cyrillic script]]s in [[Eastern Europe]].

=== Ancient Rome  ===
The [[Latin alphabet]] appeared about 600 BCE in [[ancient Rome]], and by the first century CE it had developed into [[Roman imperial capitals]] carved on stones, [[rustic capitals]] painted on walls, and [[Roman cursive]] for daily use. In the second and third centuries the [[uncial]] lettering style developed. As writing withdrew to monasteries, uncial script was found more suitable for copying the [[Bible]] and other religious texts. It was the monasteries which preserved calligraphic traditions during the fourth and fifth centuries, when the Roman Empire fell and Europe entered the [[early Middle Ages]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Sabard |first1=V. |title=Calligraphie latine: Initiation |publisher=Fleurus |last2=Geneslay |first2= V. |last3=Rébéna |first3=L. |year=2004 |isbn=978-2-215-02130-8 |edition=7th |location=Paris |pages=8–11 |language=fr |trans-title=Latin calligraphy: Introduction}}</ref>

At the height of the [[Roman Empire]], its power reached as far as Great Britain; when the empire fell, its literary influence remained. The [[Semi-uncial]] generated the Irish Semi-uncial, the small Anglo-Saxon.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Insular Manuscripts: Paleography, Section 6: Language on the Page in Insular Manuscripts, Layout and Legibility |website=Virtual Hill Museum & Manuscript Library |url=https://www.vhmml.org/school/lesson/insular-paleography/layout |access-date=30 May 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181119121501/https://www.vhmml.org/school/lesson/insular-paleography/layout |archive-date= Nov 19, 2018 }}</ref> Each region developed its own standards following the main monastery of the region (i.e. [[Merovingian script]], [[Merovingian script#Laon|Laon script]], [[Merovingian script#Luxeuil|Luxeuil script]], [[Visigothic script]], [[Beneventan script]]), which are mostly cursive and hardly readable{{Opinion|date=October 2024}}{{Clarification needed|reason=If this text is "hardly readable" due to wear and tear, then the opinion superscript could be removed. However, if it is referring to the general style, then "hardly readable" should be removed as it is stating the author's opinion on the legibility of the script.|date=October 2024}}.

=== Western Christendom ===
Christian churches promoted the development of writing through the prolific copying of the Bible, the [[Roman Breviary|Breviary]], and other sacred texts.{{sfn|de Hamel|2001a}} Two distinct styles of writing known as uncial and half-uncial (from the Latin {{lang|la|uncia}}, or "inch") developed from a variety of Roman [[bookhand]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Knight |first=Stan |title=Historical scripts: from Classical Times to the Renaissance |publisher=Oak Knoll Press |year=1998 |isbn=9781884718564 |edition=2nd, Corrected |location=New Castle, Del |pages=9–10}}</ref> The 7th–9th centuries in northern Europe were the heyday of Celtic illuminated manuscripts, such as the Book of Durrow, [[Lindisfarne Gospels]] and the [[Book of Kells]].<ref>Trinity College Library Dublin 2006; Walther & Wolf 2005; Brown & Lovett 1999: 40; Backhouse 1981{{full citation needed|date=August 2022}}</ref>

[[Charlemagne]]'s devotion to improved scholarship resulted in the recruiting of "a crowd of scribes", according to [[Alcuin]], the Abbot of [[York]].<ref>Jackson 1981: 641{{full citation needed|date=August 2022}}</ref> Alcuin developed the style known as the Caroline or [[Carolingian minuscule]]. The first manuscript in this [[Handwriting script|hand]] was the Godescalc Evangelistary (finished 783){{snd}} a Gospel book written by the scribe Godescalc.<ref>Walther & Wolf 2005; de Hamel 1994: 46–481{{full citation needed|date=August 2022}}</ref> Carolingian remains the one progenitor hand from which modern booktype descends.<ref>de Hamel 1994: 461{{full citation needed|date=August 2022}}</ref>

In the eleventh century, the Caroline evolved into the [[blackletter]] ("Gothic") script, which was more compact and made it possible to fit more text on a page.<ref name="lovett2000">{{Cite book |last=Lovett |first=Patricia |title=Calligraphy and Illumination: A History and Practical Guide |publisher=Harry N. Abrams |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-8109-4119-9}}</ref>{{rp|72}} The Gothic calligraphy styles became dominant throughout Europe and, in 1454, when [[Johannes Gutenberg]] developed the first printing press in Mainz, Germany, the Gothic style was adopted for its use, making it the first [[typeface]].<ref name="lovett2000" />{{rp|141}} <!-- Note: in modern typography, the term "Gothic" means a sans-serif typeface such as Century Gothic. In calligraphy, it is a reference to the Goths, meaning the Germanic 'Fraktur' style. -->

In the 15th century, the rediscovery of old Carolingian texts encouraged the creation of the [[humanist minuscule]] or {{lang|la|littera antiqua}}. The 17th century saw the [[Bastarda|Batarde script]] from France, and the 18th century saw the [[English script (calligraphy)|English script]] spread across Europe and world through their books.

In the mid-1600s French officials, flooded with documents written in various hands and varied levels of skill, complained that many such documents were beyond their ability to decipher.  The Office of the Financier thereupon restricted all legal documents to three hands, namely the Coulee, the Rhonde, (known as [[Round hand]] in English) and a Speed Hand sometimes called the [[Bastarda]].<ref name="Whalley">{{Cite book |last=Joyce Irene Whalley |title=The Art of Calligraphy, Western Europe & America |date=c. 1980}}</ref>

While there were many great French masters at the time, the most influential in proposing these hands was Louis Barbedor, who published ''Les Ecritures Financière Et Italienne Bastarde Dans Leur Naturel'' {{circa|1650}}.<ref name="Whalley" />

With the destruction of the {{lang|la|[[Camera Apostolica]]}} during the [[sack of Rome (1527)]], the capitol for writing masters moved to Southern France. By 1600, the Italic Cursiva began to be replaced by a technological refinement, the Italic Chancery Circumflessa, which in turn fathered the Rhonde and later English [[Roundhand]].<ref name="Whalley" />

In England, [[Philip Ayres (poet)|Ayres]] and Banson popularized the Round Hand while Snell is noted for his reaction to them, and warnings of restraint and proportionality. Still Edward Crocker began publishing his copybooks 40 years before the aforementioned.<ref name="Whalley" />{{Clarification needed|reason=This paragraph is structured in a confusing way and does not lay out why each person depicted in it is important. For example, Edward Crocker and Snell only appear here throughout the whole article and it is not shown why they are relevant.|date=October 2024}}

===Eastern Europe===
Other European styles use the same tools and practices, but differ by character set and stylistic preferences.

For Slavonic lettering, the history of the [[Slavic peoples|Slavonic]] and consequently [[Russia]]n [[writing system]]s differs fundamentally from that of the [[Latin|Latin language]], having evolved from the 10th century to today.

====Style====
Unlike a typeface, handwritten calligraphy is characterised by irregularity in the characters which vary in size, shape, style, and color, producing a distinct aesthetic value, although it may also make the content more difficult to decode for some readers. As with [[Chinese calligraphy|Chinese]] or [[Islamic calligraphy]], Western calligraphic script employed the use of strict rules and shapes. Quality writing had a rhythm and regularity to the letters, with a "geometrical" order of the lines on the page. Each character had, and often still has, a precise [[stroke order]].

Sacred [[Western calligraphy]] has some unique features, such as the illumination of the first letter of each book or chapter in medieval times. A decorative "carpet page" may precede the literature, filled with ornate, geometrical depictions of bold-hued animals. The [[Lindisfarne Gospels]] (715–720 CE) are an early example.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=M.P. |title=Painted Labyrinth: The World of the Lindisfarne Gospel |publisher=British Library |year=2004 |edition=Revised}}</ref> Many of the themes and variations of today's contemporary Western calligraphy are found in the pages of [[The Saint John's Bible]]. A particularly modern example is [[Timothy Botts]]' illustrated edition of the Bible, with 360 calligraphic images as well as a calligraphy [[typeface]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Bible: New Living Translation |publisher=Tyndale House Publishers |year=2000}}</ref>