Editing Calligraphy (section)

=== 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}}