Blackletter

Blackletter is a style of thick, dark writing.

These letters look very bold and heavy. Some letters look like they are woven together.

This style is also called Gothic script. People used it to make books a long time ago. A man named Johannes Gutenberg used it for his famous Bible.

Today, some newspapers still use these old letters. It is a very special way to show words.

Blackletter is a style of thick and dark writing.

It has many heavy lines. This style is also called Gothic script. In the past, people used it to make books. Some styles look like they are woven together. We call this Textura. The name comes from a word meaning to weave.

Many different types of blackletter exist. One type is called Schwabacher. It has more rounded letters. Another common type is Fraktur. In Fraktur, one side of a letter is straight. The other side is curved.

Johannes Gutenberg used this style for his famous Bible in 1455.

Today, people still use blackletter for special things. Some big newspapers use it in their logos. This helps the papers look serious and old. Even pop stars use it. Taylor Swift used blackletter on her album cover. It can make words feel very strong and important.

Blackletter is a style of writing that looks very heavy and dark.

People often call it Gothic script or Gothic type. This style was first used as a way to write books by hand. It was very popular in Western Europe from the late 12th century until the 17th century. Some people think the name comes from how the letters look bold and black. Others think the name refers to sad or unlucky days. Today, many people use blackletter for special art and printing. It helps make words look very important and strong.

There are many ways to make these letters. One famous style is called Textura, which means "to weave" in Latin. This is because the letters look like they are woven together in a pattern.

Some versions of this script are called Prescissa, which means "cut off." In this style, the letters do not have small feet at the bottom. Other versions include Quadrata, which means "square," and Rotunda, which means "round." These different shapes helped people choose the right style for different kinds of books. Some were for fancy religious books, while others were for school textbooks.

History shows us how blackletter changed over many years. Johannes Gutenberg used a style called Textualis for his famous Bible in 1455.

Around 1480, a style called Schwabacher became very common in Germany. Schwabacher has more rounded letters than other types. By the early 1600s, a style called Fraktur became the most popular in Germany. Fraktur is a type of blackletter where one side of a letter is straight and the other is curved.

Many people in Germany used this script for a very long time.

Blackletter stayed in use in many places for hundreds of years. It was used in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden until the 1870s. In Finland, people used it until the year 1900. It was also used in Estonia and Latvia until the 1930s. In Germany, the script was used until 1941. At that time, Adolf Hitler officially banned it. He wanted people to use a different style called Antiqua instead. This was a big change for how German books and signs looked.

Even though it is very old, you can see blackletter today. Many famous newspapers use it in their logos. The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times use it to look serious. This style reminds people of the very first printing presses. You can even see it in modern pop music. Taylor Swift used blackletter on her 2017 album, Reputation. It was a way to show that the words on her cover were strong.

Using this old style can make something feel very powerful.

Blackletter refers to a family of heavy, dark typefaces and scripts.

It originated as a medieval book hand known as Textualis or Textura. This style is part of the Gothic script family. People often call it Gothic type or Gothic minuscule. Blackletter served as one of the major typefaces in Western typography history. It stands in contrast to thinner "white letter" or humanistic scripts. The name likely describes its thick, dark appearance. Some suggest the term refers to "black-letter days" associated with mourning.

Today, the term usually describes modern typefaces rather than handwriting.

The mechanism of blackletter involves a specific way of forming letters. These scripts are characterized by lateral compression. This means the letters are narrow and tall. They often have square aspects and elaborate minims. A minim is a short vertical stroke used in many letters. The term Textura comes from the Latin verb *texo*, meaning "to weave." This describes how the letters appear to be woven together. They fit together in an intricate, regular pattern. This creates a very dense and rhythmic visual texture.

Palaeographers identify four distinct grades of the Textualis script. The first is Prescissa, also called *Sine Pedibus*. This means "cut off," because the minims lack feet or serifs. The second is Quadrata, which means "square." The third is Semi-Quadrata, a more intermediate form. The final type is Rotunda, which means "round." These variations allowed for a hierarchy of books. A scribe could choose a style for a deluxe liturgical volume. They could also use simpler versions for university textbooks.

History shows how blackletter evolved alongside the printing press. Johannes Gutenberg used a Textualis typeface for his 42-line Bible in 1455.

He also used a metal design called the Donatus-Kalender. This design was named after two specific works. One was a Latin grammar by Aelius Donatus. The other was a calendar. By 1480, a style called Schwabacher began to dominate in Germany. Schwabacher features more rounded letters with specific angles. It remained in use occasionally until the 20th century. By the early 17th century, Fraktur replaced it as the primary German style.

Fraktur is a notable and highly recognizable blackletter script.

In this style, the left side of a small letter is angular. The right side of the letter is rounded. Both strokes join at an angle at the top and bottom. Capital letters in Fraktur are compounds of rounded strokes. Because of its popularity, many people simply call all blackletter "Fraktur." This script was used for many centuries across different nations. It remained common in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden until the 1870s. In Finland, it lasted until the turn of the 20th century.

The use of blackletter saw significant changes during political shifts. In Estonia and Latvia, it was used until the 1930s. In Germany, it was common until 1941. That year, Adolf Hitler officially banned the script. The Nazi party claimed it was not a German script. They falsely claimed it consisted of "Jew letters." They ordered a conversion to the Antiqua script instead. This new "normal script" was used for street signs and textbooks. This change forced a transition away from centuries of typographic tradition.

Modern uses of blackletter connect it to concepts of authority and history. Many famous newspapers use blackletter in their logos. The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times use it. This choice lends *gravitas*, or weight, to their publications. It evokes the era of the original printing press. Even pop culture uses these visual cues. Taylor Swift used Textura blackletter for her 2017 album, *Reputation*. This choice helped convey the media scrutiny she faced.

Finally, blackletter exists in digital systems through Unicode. Mathematical blackletter characters are used to set specific mathematical texts.