Roman square capitals

"Quadrata" redirects here. For the place in ancient Rome, seeRoma quadrata.

A drawing and photographed carving byEric Gillof the "Trajan" capitals on theColumn of Trajan

Roman square capitals,also calledcapitalis monumentalis,inscriptional capitals,elegant capitalsandcapitalis quadrata,are anancient Romanform of writing, and the basis for moderncapital letters.Square capitals are characterized by sharp, straight lines, supple curves, thick and thin strokes, angled stressing and incisedserifs.When written in documents this style is known asLatin book hand.

History

Antiquity

Square capitals were used to writeinscriptions,and less often to supplement everyday handwriting as Latin book hand. For everyday writing, the Romans used a current cursive hand known asLatin cursive.Notable examples of square capitals used for inscriptions are found on theRoman Pantheon,Trajan's Column,and theArch of Titus,all inRome.These Roman capitals are also calledmajuscules,as a counterpart to minuscule letters such asMerovingianandCarolingian.

Before the 4th centuryCE,square capitals were used to writede luxecopies of the works of authors categorized as "pagan" byChristians,especially those ofVirgil;the only three survivingmanuscriptsusing this letter, among them theVergilius 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 Catichis 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 convincingductusby which the forms were created, using a flat brush and then chisel.

Gallery

• 
  TheSPQRinscriptional capitals on theArch of Titus,c. AD 81,are an example of inscriptional lettering which would have been infilled with bronze. Note the holes for the "tangs" of the cast bronze letters.
• 
  Close-up of theLyon Tablet,a bronze tablet from after AD 48
• 
  Inscription from the turn of the 2nd and 3rd century AD
• 
  Folio of the 4th century Vergilius Augusteus with handwritten square capitals

Later influence

Renaissance

Square capitals were greatly respected by artisans of theRenaissancesuch asGeoffroy ToryandFelice Feliciano.

Arts and Crafts movement

Main article:Trajan lettering

In the 19th and 20th centuries, they were a major inspiration for artisans of theArts and Crafts movementsuch asEdward JohnstonandEric 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 themovable typeprinting press,Roman square capitals became the primary inspiration for the capital letters in early seriftypefaces;Roman type,especially that developed by those associated withAldus Manutius,came to produce a number of typefaces still used to the present day.The 1989 digital typefaceTrajanfromAdobeis a direct, all-capital adaptation of the Roman square capitals on Trajan's column.

See also

• Roman cursive
• Rustic capitals
• Palatino