LETTERFORM CHARACTERISTICS AND CONSTRUCTION
Overview:
Italian renaissance derived Chancery (Italic) handwriting is characterized by letterforms that are narrow & sloping.
There are two different "Italic writing hands": Corsiva (cursive) wherein the minuscule letterform ascenders and descenders are quite generous and kerned, with the majuscule letterforms usually being flourished or swashed & Formata (formatted) which features minuscule letter forms with shorter, serifed, ascenders and descenders and usually more austere Roman capital majuscules. I describe Chancery cursive writing as being flowing and exuberant and Chancery formata as being more formal and plain.
Chancery cursive minuscule letter bodies should be formed within an imaginary right sloping oblong -- the body width being about half of the body height -- with ascenders & descenders about the same length as the letter body height as depicted in the following handwritten diagram with accompanying text:
Letterform structural parameters depiction
"n" values:
I use the minuscule n as the basis for determining letter & word spacing and "weight" of the writing (some teachers use the minuscule "x" instead).
These are the n values that I generally use -- they will produce widely accepted Italic style letterforms. However, there are not any codified n values and there is no penalty for adjusting them to personalize your writing.
Classic Italic letterform bodies are typically 5 nib widths high and are sloped to the right a few degrees.
Slope should not be too severe -- it can be varied on occasion to suit the whim of the writer. Different practitioners use different pescriptions with a recommendation of 5-10° or so being often specified (Cataneo uses a slope of 8°). Of course the slope must be constant.
In general, spacing between letters should be equal to about half half the width of n and spacing between words should equal the full width of n.
Again, these letterform values are not precisely measured or codified -- the idea is to develop a sense of the proportions and relationships -- your eyes, and experience, will do the rest.
Although ascender/descender clashing is normally to be avoided, occasional infingement is unavoidable (especially when swashing is employed) and, if handled with discretion, is generally acceptable. I sometimes use swash descenders for the minuscule k and q. Most calligraphers make Chancery cursive lead-off Majuscule letters (Versals) twice the height of n -- or taller -- but make intra-text majuscules 1.5 x n height which is the prescription of most Renaissance Writing Masters.
T he following exemplar illustrates how I start my letter form renditions:
Starting strokes for minuscule letterforms
Note in particular that the letter "t" is not much taller than the "n" body height (as prescribed by Arrighi) and that the "cross bar" is at the same height as the "n" body.
The following exemplar illustrates the letters that start with a push stroke ..........
Starting push stroke depiction
.......... I have always constructed these letter forms this way whether using pencils, quills, canes, reeds, reservoired "dip" pens or fountain pens.
Descenders should be finished off slowly -- that is, you should slow down as you approach the bottom of the stroke -- just as you do when applying the brakes on your car -- and make sure there is a smooth curvature where appropriate. They should not be rushed. Most calligraphers make the ends square and flat (ala Cataneo). The following exemplar depicts the rendering of finishing descender strokes
Swash minuscule exemplar
Swashed or flourished descender variants are depicted for k and q. When forming them, never forget Edward Johnston's admonition that all flourishes should "crack like a whip" -- they should never be tentative or noodle-like. You have to have courage and purpose when flourishing.
Although most Renaissance Writing Masters prescribe the n body height for all minuscule letterform ascenders and descenders, an examination of renaissance copy books and exemplars shows many different lengths being used with variability in different documents by the same scribe. In general, they should not be too much longer than the letter body height. Of course, majuscule letters are swashed and flourished to the writer's fancy.
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