textualis

Textualis, also known as textura, is a major Gothic script used for Latin manuscripts in medieval Western Europe. It flourished roughly from the 12th to the 15th centuries as part of the Gothic book hand family and served as a formal, standard style for copyists in monastic scriptoria and early universities. The script is defined by a formal, highly regular texture on the page: tall, narrow letterforms with strong vertical strokes, angular lines, and compact spacing.

A distinctive feature of Textualis is the dense, rectilinear appearance created by short, closely set minims for letters such as i, m, and n. Capitals tend to be elaborate, and punctuation is relatively sparse, reflecting its use for long, continuous texts. The hand lent itself to large-scale copies and ecclesiastical or legal documents where legibility and a dignified appearance were important. Over time, regional scribal traditions produced several variants within the Textualis family.

Primary subtypes include Textualis Quadrata, a highly formal, square-handed variety used for important sections and titles, and various semi-cursive or cursive forms adapted for faster copying. In some regions, related forms such as Rotunda emerged as alternatives with different legibility or speed characteristics. By the late medieval period, Textualis declined in favor of faster hands and, later, humanistic scripts, as well as the rise of movable-type printing. Today, it is studied by paleographers to understand medieval manuscript production and the practices of scriptoria.