History of Calligraphy

Calligraphy can be traced back to the caveman, where the form of communication consisted of paintings on the walls of caves and taverns, since their speech was limited to grunts and groans. Over a period of time and as human race began to develop; the drawing became more intricate and detailed as you can see by the style of the Egyptians. The Egyptians created the well known hieroglyphics around 3500 BC which were incised inside tombs or painted with brushes on papyrus paper.

Next were the Phoenicians who were believed to have developed the first alphabet and writing system somewhere around 1000 BC. Because the Phoenicians were sailors and widely traveled the seas, they openly shared their writing and alphabet system at the many ports that they visited. The Greeks were the most likely influenced by this new system which the later developed into their own unique form of writing, which was later used by the Romans in 850 BC who used this to develop the Latin language.

In the middle ages the churches of Europe and the monks that housed there were mainly the only members of society at that time that were literate. Therefore, since nothing was better than the word of God, the monks took it upon themselves to carefully transcribe ancient texts into decorative books for the high-ranking members of the church and the royalty. Because paper was expensive, the monks wrote narrower lines so that they could fit more words onto the paper. This later came to be known as the Gothic style that was used through the middle ages.

During the 15th century the invention of the printing press played a major affect on calligraphy. While bibles could be printed at a greater speed, the printing press still had no affect on letter writing. The Renaissance era saw another form of calligraphy, with the Italians inventing the italic script that soon became the most widely used in Europe.

The 17th found calligraphy at a low when the coming of engraved cooper plates allowed the printing of fine lines that were more keyed to italic script.

Calligraphy also suffered in 19th century when the flat-edged pen was replaced with the fountain and steel pen, due to the fact that the new round tipped pens made it hard to achieve the special curves that calligraphy required. If not for the fact that a British poet and artist name William Morris reintroduced the flat edge pen into circulation, calligraphy would almost be an art of the past.

Today in the 20th century, calligraphies biggest competition seems to be the computer. With the many different websites to choose that offer a wide variety of calligraphy selections it’s really easy to copy and print exactly what you need. But if it’s the real thing that you are looking for, the art of calligraphy can only be achieved through the use of pen and paper. Calligraphy after all is the art of letters on paper.





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Calligraphy in the News:
Crieff High pupils home from China (Perthshire Advertiser)
S6 PUPILS from Crieff High School have returned from a fascinating 10-day visit to China, where they strengthened a partnership developed with a school in the countrys Shandong province...


New Mappa Mundi for castle tower (BBC News)
A couple produce what is claimed to be the first major modern recreation of the medieval Mappa Mundi for a project at Dover Castle...


The New Post-literate: A Gallery Of Asemic Writing.: Experimental .
Experimental Calligraphy from MK JCBSN. Posted by Michael Jacobson at 2:55 PM. 0 comments: Post a Comment · Older Post Home. Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom). Contact. I am currently seeking submissions for September. ...


45+ Calligraphic fonts worth using | Techie Blogger
Calligraphy means beautiful writing. Calligraphy fonts are mostly used by web designers to create visually appealing banners. You can download calligraphic fonts free of cost...


SALAM: The Alif as calligraphys unit of proportion (The Peninsula)
Geometric principles play an essential role in Arabic calligraphy, as Khatibi and Sijelmassi write in The Splendor of Islamic Calligraphy, the legibility of a text and the beauty of its line require rules of proportion. These rules of proportion are based upon the size of the alif...


What are some classy alternatives to calligraphy for wedding .
I am getting married next May and the budget is tight. I know traditionally people have calligraphy for the addresses on their wedding invitations, but I am trying to save money and wondered if anyone had seen any nice looking wedding ...


3 success tips by Steve Jobs: follow your gut instinct, never . - Examiner.com

Los Angeles Times

3 success tips by Steve Jobs: follow your gut instinct, never .
Examiner.com
Let me give you one example: Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, .
The enigmatic genius of JobsIrish Independent

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Japanese Cultural Festival Features Stories, Traditions (Uptown Gazette)
ARTISTIC WORDS. Japanese calligraphy will be one of the things shown at the festival. EUR”Photo courtesy Japanese Cultural Center For those who would like to experience Japanese culture this weekend without the purchase of an expensive plane ticket, the Long Beach Japanese Cultural Festival will engage the senses with the sights, sounds and tastes of Japan...


Calligraphy is an accomplished art of writing in unique styles .
Calligraphy is used on invitations, certificates, envelopes, place cards, and wherever beautiful penmanship is needed. If you are skilled in calligraphy or have elegant handwriting, you may have an opportunity to start a unique business ...


New England's Largest Mosque Opens, After Years Of Controversy - WBUR

New England's Largest Mosque Opens, After Years Of Controversy
WBUR
A young girl studies calligraphy in a summer school at the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center, which officially opens Friday .

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Salsa to calligraphy at library (Athens Banner-Herald)
The Madison County Library will be closed Friday and Saturday in observance of the Fourth of July holiday...


Merging modern calligrapher, painter and poet - China.org.cn

China.org.cn

Merging modern calligrapher, painter and poet
China.org.cn
Before he was 18, Liu Qi had never painted on rice paper, although he learned calligraphy and painting at an early age. "My family wasn't rich enough to .

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FREE VECTOR DOWNLOAD LINK VECTORSTUFF: "Islamic calligraphy"
"Islamic calligraphy". Lovely. Some vectorized islamic calligraphy masterpieces. Maybe some of you could translate them in a comment. 1 AI : 1,3 MB Download. Labels: ai, asia, calligraphy, eps, islam, mediafire, typography, vector ...


Arabic Calligraphy For You: Sumayah for Sumayah
How to Request your Arabic Calligraphy Composition. If you wish to have your name, last name or anything written in beautiful Arabic Calligraphy, just send an email to my address Here. I'll get back to you with your composition very ...


Kids: Stay cool, creative at local libraries this summer (The Daily News)
School may be over for the year, but kids have plenty of incentives to keep reading over the summer for fun and prizes. Summer reading programs have already started at public libraries in Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties...


98-year-old student to receive master's degree in philosophy - eTaiwan News

98-year-old student to receive master's degree in philosophy
eTaiwan News
Chao, who has mastered the "bird-worm-style" calligraphy, used his research on the spirit of the Chinese calligraphic art as the basis for his degree from .
Man gets master's degree at age 98Taipei Times
Taiwan 96-year-old grad student: All-nighters workThe Associated Press
Taiwan Endless EducationSuomen Kuvalehti
Scotsman
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