The Golden Thread

Just like studying a new language is a portal to a different culture, so is studying calligraphic hands. This week we’re studying a few of Western ones in chronological succession, to discover how (and guess why) hands morphed from rounded Romans to compressed blackletters to slanted and graceful Italics.

This is a study of the letter “o” and its shifts through time, what Sheila Waters calls a golden thread. It’s difficult and long hours and learning how to build up a discipline. I’ve decided to go home and study them all again for a much longer period, using original manuscripts rather than what contemporary calligraphers, even if they’re masters, have interpreted them as being.

Back to my rotunda, but before I go—there’s a sheep breeder up the road. She has, oh no, covered fleeces…