Antiquity Square capitals were used to write
inscriptions, and less often to supplement everyday handwriting as Latin book hand. For everyday writing, the Romans used a current cursive hand known as
Latin cursive. Notable examples of square capitals used for inscriptions are found on the
Roman Pantheon,
Trajan's Column, and the
Arch of Titus, all in
Rome. These Roman capitals are also called
majuscules, as a counterpart to minuscule letters such as
Merovingian and
Carolingian. Before the 4th century AD, square capitals were used to write
de luxe copies of the works of authors categorized as "pagan" by
Christians, especially those of
Virgil; the only three surviving
manuscripts using this letter, among them the
Vergilius Augusteus, contain works by Virgil. After the 5th century the square capitals fell out of use, except as a display lettering for titles and chapter headings in conjunction with various script hands for body text: for example,
uncials.
Edward Catich is noted for the fullest development of the thesis that the inscribed Roman square capitals owed their form, including the serifs, wholly to the use of the flat brush, rather than to the exigencies of the chisel or other stone cutting tools. Although not universally accepted, the brushed-origin thesis had been proposed in the nineteenth century. Catich made a complete study and proposed a convincing
ductus by which the forms were created, using a flat brush and then chisel.
Gallery Later influence Renaissance Square capitals were greatly respected by artisans of the
Renaissance such as
Geoffroy Tory and
Felice Feliciano.
Arts and Crafts movement In the 19th and 20th centuries, they were a major inspiration for artisans of the
Arts and Crafts movement such as
Edward Johnston and
Eric Gill, and so many signs and engravings created with an intentionally artistic design in the twentieth century are based on them.
Influence on modern typefaces During the early era of the
movable type printing press, Roman square capitals became the primary inspiration for the capital letters in early serif
typefaces;
Roman type, especially that developed by those associated with
Aldus Manutius, came to produce a number of typefaces still used to the present day. The 1989 digital typeface
Trajan from
Adobe is a direct, all-capital adaptation of the Roman square capitals on Trajan's column. == See also ==