BLACKLETTER

Blackletter, also known as Gothic script, is a form of writing used in Western Europe from roughly the 12th to the 17th century for manuscripts and early printed books. It encompasses several families, notably Textualis (also called Textura), Schwabacher, and Fraktur, as well as Rotunda in Iberia. The term blackletter derives from the dark, dense appearance of the letterforms, with strong angular lines and compact spacing produced by vertical strokes and sharp, faceted corners. The script arose from the later medieval manuscript tradition, developing from Carolingian minuscule and becoming the standard form for many Western European scripts, particularly in German-speaking areas.

In printing, blackletter was used by early printers, including Gutenberg, for texts such as the Bible. Over time, regional variants diverged: Textualis remained common in central and northern Europe; Schwabacher developed in the 14th–15th centuries in Germany; Fraktur came to dominate German printing from the 16th through the early 20th century; Rotunda was favored in parts of Iberia and Italy.

The adoption of Antiqua (serif Latin scripts) during the Renaissance led to a gradual decline of blackletter outside German-speaking regions. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Antiqua-based types largely supplanted blackletter for standard prose, though blackletter retained ceremonial and stylistic uses. In the 20th century, German typographic practice preserved Fraktur for some contexts into the early 20th century; today blackletter is chiefly used for historic or ornamental purposes, particularly to evoke medieval or German heritage.

See also: Typography, Fraktur, Textualis, Rotunda, Schwabacher.