Western calligraphy is the calligraphy of the Latin writing system, and to a lesser degree the Greek and Cyrillic writing systems.

Early alphabets had evolved by about 3000 BC. From the Greek alphabet evolved the Latin alphabet. Capital letters were developed first and lower case letters were invented considerably later.

Long, heavy rolls of papyrus were replaced by the Romans with the first books, initially simply folded pages of parchment made from animal skins. Reed pens were replaced by quill pens.

Christianity gave a boost to the development of writing through the prolific copying of the Bible and other sacred texts.

Uncial letters were used by monks in Ireland, Scotland, and other places, hence the name "Insular style" for this type of writing. This was also the heyday of the illuminated manuscript.

Charlemagne made a big difference to the spread of beautiful writing by bringing Alcuin, the Abbot of York, to his capital of Aachen. Alcuin undertook a major revision of all styles of script and all texts. He then developed a new "hand" named after his patron Charlemagne: "Carolingian minuscule style".

The Gothic script followed in the 11th century, and Italy contributed Chancery and Italic scripts.

What followed was the heyday of the illuminated manuscript.

Hand-written and hand-decorated books went out of fashion for a while after the invention of printing by Johann Gutenberg in the 15th century.

However, at the end of the 19th century, William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement rediscovered and popularized calligraphy. Many famous calligraphers were influenced by Morris, especially Edward Johnston, Eric Gill and others.

Some important contemporary calligraphers are Author Baker and Hermann Zapf. As handwritten forms of communication have become more rare, calligraphy is often reserved for special occasions and events, most notably the addressing of wedding invitations and announcements.

External links

• Scribal resource links (http://www.cornwellscribeworks.com/resource.htm)
• Samples (http://www.cornwellscribeworks.com/calligraphy.htm)
• Marc Drogin, Medieval Calligraphy: Its History and Technique ISBN 0486261425