Calligraphy

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 * Calligraphy **


 * Introduction**

The word "calligraphy" comes from the Ancient Greek. The word //kallos// means beauty and //graphe// means writing. Therefore, calligraphy means beautiful writing. Calligraphy can be considered as part of the arts. Monks used to copy the Bible and religious texts in a Scriptorium. A monastery can be described as a large complex of buildings, and the scriptorium can be located inside the monastery. ("medieval_monastery") Calligraphy had not only been used for religious texts, it also had been used to make illuminated manuscripts. If they wanted a piece of writing to be decorated, they would give it to a monk or a scribe. They would add several decorations including: borders, letter decorations, and miniature images. ("calligraphy")


 * Purpose and Characteristics**

People made calligraphy for a certain reason: to please the eye. When people looked at it, they wanted the beauty of the penmanship to come across them. When they made calligraphy, people who did it had to have superior skills. Scribes and monks that wrote in calligraphy had to meet a couple of qualifications. First, they had to use their imagination to write. They needed that because if they had to make an illuminated manuscript, they would need to have creative ideas to add all of the decorations. Another qualification made them maintain the style of calligraphy. In the middle of the text, they would not be able to start writing in a different style of calligraphy by accident. ("calligraphy") .


 * Making the Materials**

When scribes and monks needed to make Illuminated Manuscripts, they had to go and ask their precentor to run all of their errands to find all of the materials needed. First they would have to go and get parchment. For that, they would have to go to a farmhouse. Precentors had to go to a farmhouse because parchment could only be made by using animal hide.

The farmhouse workers would get the animal skin and dry it out. In order to make sure they get the best piece of parchment, they need to make sure that they ask the farmhouse workers if they have any holes of blemishes. After they take the hide off of the drying stand, the workers will cut it into a symmetrical rectangle and give it to them. (Bruce 7) After they get the parchment they need to start making the ink. All paint or ink needed egg white because it helped them make the paint much thicker and richer. To make the color red, the precentors would get red roots in boiling water. Immediately, the roots inside the boiling water would turn into red. After they got it into the bowl, they would add a little bit of egg white, so it would flow better and had a thicker touch to the paint. (Bruce 15) To create green ink or paint, they would chop fresh parsley until a very deep green juice flowed out. For this color also, they would add egg white so that all of the paints would have an even texture. (Bruce 16) To make yellow used a slightly different process. To start making the yellow paint, they would use dried saffron flowers. The precentors would crush the dried saffron flowers and place them into a small bag. Then, they would pour a little amount of egg white into a small dish, and place the cloth bag in the dish. In a moment or two, the yellow color would seep out creating a thin yellow paint. (Bruce 17) To make the color blue they would first they would get a ball made of wax into what she mixed lapis lazuli, a precious stone that has the shade of blue. After that, the precentors would place the ball into a bowl with warm water. When they finished that, tiny blue particles from the lapis lazuli would fall to the bottom of the bowl. Then, they would have to put in clear water and then the water turned into a blue. (Bruce 18)

Gothic Calligraphy has different names including black letter and old English script. This style of penmanship became a very popular writing in German-speaking countries during 12th century through the 20th century. Black letter calligraphy can be described as a uniform set of letters that have vertical strokes. It also has more of an angular shape and not a smooth touch to it. Kalenzi, a cursive type of black letter had also been created, but had mostly been used in Medieval Germany. Similar cursive scripts became popular in England, France, and the Netherlands. However, in those countries it their script had not been called Kalenzi; it had been called secretary hand. ("black-letter")
 * Gothic Calligraphy**


 * Italic Calligraphy**

The Italians abandoned the Gothic calligraphy because they thought that it looked a little bit messy and wanted another script that showed more neatness to the piece. This type of calligraphy lasted for about 150 years from 1450 to 1500. Unlike Gothic, Italic calligraphy had smoother angles to the letters. They looked rounder; therefore the Italians thought that the style had been neater. The Italic calligraphy started to inspire Renaissance scholars and artists. ("italic-script")


 * Chinese Calligraphy**

Just like they display paintings in a museum, Chinese people also display pieces of calligraphy in museums. Painting and calligraphy had worked at the same time and they both used some of the same tools like the brush and ink. They think that as much as it shows expression, it also shows the art of control for the Chinese. Oracle Inscriptions, one kind of Chinese calligraphy, had been used mostly during the Shang Dynasty from 13 BC. For this kind of calligraphy they would heat up oracle bones and keep them on top of the fire. When the bones cracked, they would look inside and write the symbols directly onto the shell or the bone. Therefore, the calligraphy style had sharper and angular corners. The clerical style, another Chinese calligraphy, had mostly been used for quicker and smoother documents.("china 1000 bce")


 * Japanese Calligraphy**

Japanese calligraphy comes mostly from the Chinese. Japanese calligraphy has never been called calligraphy; it has always been called shodu, which means “a way of writing” In Japan everyone will know shodu because that had been taught during their elementary school years. The three main types of shodu include: Kaisho, Gyousho, and Sousho. The name Kaisho means “correct writing”. They could mostly find the script Kaisho in a newspaper or in an official document. Kids learn this style first because out of all them, Kaisho looks more like their normal alphabet. The name Gyousho means “traveling writing”. This Japanese script has more cursive and it also flows just a little bit. The kinds of script for notes and such things can be referred to as Gyousho. The name Sousho means “grass writing”. It also has a cursive style. Artists who use Sousho have to use graceful strokes; they do that by rarely ever letting the brush off of their paper.("japanese_calgraphy")


 * Arabic/Islamic Calligraphy**

The Arabic calligraphy can be called Islamic also because it one of its’ first uses had been to write the Quran. In Islam, the penmanship of calligraphy has been considered to be one of the highest forms in their kind of visual arts. Several different types of calligraphy have been made over the years, for different purposes. For them to write the book Quran, they used a more legible style. In contrast, poetry needed to use a graceful and fluent touch to the writing. If they had to write a letter to an individual person, they would have to use a script that could be fairly easy to write in. If they had to write a letter to one of the roylas, they would use an illegible script. ("calligraphy.qualam")


 * Indian Calligraphy**

When some people think of India they think of their different scripts and languages. Kharosti, a type of Indian calligraphy, had mostly been used in the Southwestern region.This style had mostly been used during the 3rd through 4th century B.C. They preferred copper, a favored metal, for their calligraphy.("ancient-scripts") Even though the Indians used paper, they used palm leaves for their manuscripts. Palm leaves, an excellent surface to write on, had been used to write calligraphy. Over the years, the Devanagari script has evolved to a more cursive script. //Deva// means deity and //nagari// means city. Hindi and Sanskrit had been some of the languages that used this script more often. This style of calligraphy had been mostly used for religious texts such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. ("indian calligraphy")


 * Modern Calligraphy Uses**

Nowadays, calligraphy has not been used as much as it had been used during the middle Ages. So, finding somebody who can professionally write in calligraphy has become very rare. Therefore, this style of penmanship can be found on wedding invitations, fabric printings, cake inscriptions, postcards, and even monogramming backpacks. (dancing-pen-calligraphy") Calligraphy can be used in many different ways nowadays, even though it comes from the past.


 * Works Cited**

"Calligraphy." //Calligraphy//. 3. Chicago: 2001

"Caligraphy." //Calligraphy. 5.// Danbury: 1985

Robertson, Bruce. //Marguerite makes a Book//. Getty Museum Third Printing, 1999. Print.

//afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/china-1000bce-calligraphy.htm//. N.p.. Web. 09 Jan 2014.

//calligraphy.qalam.com/styles/index.html//. N.p.. Web. 10 Jan 2014.

// [|www.ancientscripts.com/devangari.html] //. N.p.. Web. 10 Jan 2014.

//www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/67993/black-letter//. N.p.. Web. 08 Jan 2014.

// [|www.britannica.com/EBchecked297447/italic-script/] //. N.p.. Web. 11 Jan 2014

//www.dancingpencalligraphy.com/projects/uses.html//. N.p.. Web. 11 Jan 2014.

//www.historylearningsite.co;ok/medieval_monasteries.htm//. N.p.. Web. 09 Jan 2014.\

//www.japanese-name-translation.com/site/about_japanese_calligraphy.htm//. N.p.. Web. 12 Jan 2014.

//www.thelivingsprings.org/index.php?p=1_37IndianCalligraphy//. N.p.. Web. 10 Jan 2014.

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