Hieronymus Andreae
Origin. The first Fraktur typeface arose in the early 16th century, when Emperor Maximilian I commissioned the design of the Triumphal Arch woodcut by Albrecht Dürer and had a new typeface created specifically for this purpose, designed by Hieronymus Andreae.
What were the five main styles of blackletter script?
Blackletter is comprised of four styles; Textura, Rotunda, Bastarda, and Fraktur. Other styles were hybridized developments from one or more of these core styles. These styles developed between the 11th and 18th centuries.
When did Germans stop using Fraktur?
During the course of the war, the German type had proved to be a communications barrier with the peoples of occupied Europe, and so in January of 1941, Fraktur was officially abolished by declaring it to be “Un-German” and “of Jewish origin””.
What are Fraktur fonts?
Blackletter typeface
The name Fraktur comes from the Latin fractus, meaning “broken.” Like Textura and Schwabacher before it, Fraktur is a Blackletter typeface — or a gebrochene Schrift in German, which means “broken font.” This is a typeface where the bends of the letters are angular or “broken,” as abrupt changes in stroke direction make …
Is Fraktur still used in Germany?
“Fraktur is often associated with being the official Nazi font and is still being used by Neo-Nazi groups in Germany today. It reigned as the dominant typeface in the English-speaking world for several generations, and remains popular in parts of the Spanish-speaking world today.
What is the old German script called?
Kurrent (German: [kʊˈʁɛnt]) is an old form of German-language handwriting based on late medieval cursive writing, also known as Kurrentschrift (“cursive script”), deutsche Schrift (“German script”) and German cursive.
Why is it called Blackletter?
The term “blackletter” originally refers to the text printed in old law books set in a Gothic type font, which are bold and black. This was due to the practice of medieval scribes and early modern publishers of printing the text of a law book in bold glossy print.
What does a Blackletter mean?
: a heavy angular condensed typeface used especially by the earliest European printers and based on handwriting used chiefly in the 13th to 15th centuries also : this style of handwriting.
When was blackletter created?
Blackletter (sometimes black letter), also known as Gothic script, Gothic minuscule, or Textura, was a script used throughout Western Europe from approximately 1150 until the 17th century.
When did German font change?
In most European countries, blackletter typefaces like the German Fraktur were displaced with the creation of the Antiqua typefaces in the 15th and 16th centuries. However, in Germany, both fonts coexisted until the first half of the 20th century.
What does Fraktur mean?
Definition of Fraktur 1 : a German style of black letter. 2 often not capitalized : a Pennsylvania German document (such as a birth or wedding certificate) that is written in calligraphy and illuminated with decorative motifs (such as tulips, birds, and scrolls)
What is Antiqua typeface?
Antiqua typefaces are typefaces designed between 1470 and 1600 AD, specifically those by Nicolas Jenson and the Aldine roman commissioned by Aldus Manutius and cut by Francesco Griffo. The letterforms were based on a synthesis of Roman inscriptional capitals and Carolingian writing.
