Uncial script

TheBook of Kells,c. AD 800, is lettered in a script known as "insular majuscule", a variety of uncial script that originated in Ireland.

Uncialis amajusculescript(written entirely in capital letters) commonly used from the 4th to 8th centuries AD byLatinandGreekscribes.Uncial letters were used to writeGreekandLatin,as well asGothic,and are the current style forCopticandNobiin.

Development

Simplified relationship between various scripts, showing the development of uncial through time.

Early uncial script most likely developed from laterustic capitals.Early forms are characterized by broad single-strokelettersusing simple round forms taking advantage of the newparchmentandvellumsurfaces, as opposed to the angular, multiple-stroke letters, which are more suited for rougher surfaces, such aspapyrus.In the oldest examples of uncial, such as the fragment ofDe bellis macedonicisin theBritish Library,of the late 1st–early 2nd centuries,all of the letters are disconnected from one another, and word separation is typically not used. Word separation, however, is characteristic of later uncial usage.

As the script evolved over the centuries, the characters became more complex. Specifically, around AD 600, flourishes and exaggerations of the basic strokes began to appear in more manuscripts.Ascendersanddescenderswere the first major alterations, followed by twists of the tool in the basic stroke and overlapping. By the time the more compactminusculescripts arose circa AD 800, some of the evolved uncial styles formed the basis for these simplified, smaller scripts. There are over 500 surviving copies of uncial script; by far the larger number of these predate theCarolingian Renaissance.Uncial was still used, particularly for copies of theBible,until around the 10th century outside ofIreland.Theinsularvariant of uncial remained the standard script used to write theIrish languageuntil the middle of the 20th century.

Forms

A sample of the Latin text from theCodex Bezae,6th century AD

In general, there are some common features of uncial script:

• ⟨f⟩,⟨i⟩,⟨p⟩,⟨s⟩,⟨t⟩are relatively narrow.
• ⟨m⟩,⟨n⟩and⟨u⟩are relatively broad;⟨m⟩is formed with curved strokes (although a straight first stroke may indicate an early script), and⟨n⟩is written as⟨ɴ⟩to distinguish it from⟨r⟩and⟨s⟩.
• ⟨e⟩is formed with a curved stroke, and its arm (orhasta) does not connect with the top curve; the height of the arm can also indicate the age of the script (written in a high position, the script is probably early, while an arm written closer to the middle of the curve may indicate a later script).
• ⟨l⟩has a small base, not extending to the right to connect with the next letter.
• ⟨r⟩has a long, curved shoulder⟨ꞃ⟩,often connecting with the next letter.
• ⟨s⟩resembles (and is the ancestor of) the "long s"⟨ſ⟩;in uncial it⟨ꞅ⟩looks more like⟨r⟩than⟨f⟩.

In later uncial scripts, the letters are sometimes drawn haphazardly; for example,⟨ll⟩runs together at the baseline, bows (for example in⟨b⟩,⟨p⟩,⟨r⟩) do not entirely curve in to touch their stems, and the script is generally not written as cleanly as previously.

National styles

Due to its extremely widespread use, inByzantine,African,Italian,French,Spanish,and "insular" (Irish,Welsh,andEnglish) centres, there were many slightly different styles in use:

• African (i.e.Roman North African) uncial is more angular than other forms of uncial. In particular, the bow of the letter⟨a⟩is particularly sharp and pointed.
• Byzantine uncial has two variants, each with unique features: "b-d uncial" uses forms of⟨b⟩and⟨d⟩which are closer to half-uncial (see below), and was in use in the 4th and 5th centuries; "b-r" uncial, in use in the 5th and 6th centuries, has a form of⟨b⟩that is twice as large as the other letters, and an⟨r⟩with a bow resting on the baseline and the stem extending below the baseline.
• Italian uncial has flatter tops on the round letters (⟨c⟩,⟨e⟩,⟨o⟩etc.), and a sharp bow (as in African uncial), an almost horizontal rather than vertical stem in⟨d⟩,and forked finials (i.e.,serifsin some letters such as⟨f⟩,⟨l⟩,⟨t⟩and⟨s⟩).
• Insular uncial (not to be confused with the separateInsular script) generally has definite word separation, and accent marks over stressed syllables, probably because Irish scribes did not speak a language descended from Latin. They also use specifically Insularscribal abbreviationsnot found in other uncial forms, use wedge-shapedfinials,connect a slightly subscript "pendant⟨i⟩"with⟨m⟩or⟨h⟩(when at the end of a word), and decorate the script with animals and dots ( "Insular dotting", often in groups of three).
• French (that is,Merovingian) uncial uses thin descenders (in⟨g⟩,⟨p⟩etc.), an⟨x⟩with lines that cross higher than the middle, and a⟨d⟩with a curled stem (somewhat resembling an apple), and there are many decorations of fish, trees, and birds.
• Cyrillicmanuscript developed from Greek uncial in the late ninth century (mostly replacing theGlagolitic Alpha bet), and was originally used to write theOld Church Slavonicliturgical language. The earlier form was calledustav(predominant in the 11–14th centuries), and later developed intosemi-ustavscript (orpoluustav,15–16th centuries).

Etymology

Calligraphic writing of the word "Unziale" in a modern uncial hand

There is some doubt about the original meaning of the word.Uncialitself probably comes fromSt. Jerome's preface to theBook of Job,where it is found in the formuncialibus,but it is possible that this is a misreading ofinicialibus(though this makes little sense in the context), and Jerome may have been referring to the larger initial letters found at the beginning of paragraphs.

Habeant qui volunt veteres libros, vel in membranis purpureis auro argentoque descriptos, veluncialibusut vulgo aiunt litteris onera magis exarata quam codices.

"Let those who so desire have old books, or books written in gold and silver onpurple parchment,or burdens {rather than books} written in uncial letters, as they are popularly called. "

In classical Latinuncialiscould mean both "inch-high" and "weighing an ounce", and it is possible that Jerome was punning on this; he may conceivably also have been playing with the other meaning ofcodex,"block of wood".

The termuncialin the sense of describing this script was first used byJean Mabillonin the early 18th century. Thereafter his definition was refined byScipione Maffei,who used it to refer to this script as distinct fromRoman square capitals.

Other uses

A portion of theCodex Sinaiticus,in Byzantine uncial, containingEsther2:3–8.

The word,uncial,is also sometimes used to refer to manuscripts that have been scribed in uncial, especially when differentiating from those penned with minuscule. Some of the most noteworthy Greek uncials are:

• Codex Sinaiticus
• Codex Vaticanus
• Codex Alexandrinus

  – these being three of what are often called the fourgreat uncial codices

• Codex Bezae
• Codex Petropolitanus Purpureus

The Petropolitanus is considered by some to contain optimum uncial style. It is also an example of how large the characters were getting.

For further details on these manuscripts, see Guglielmo CavalloRicerche sulla Maiuscola Biblica(Florence, 1967).

Moderncalligraphyusually teaches a form of evolved Latin-based uncial hand that would probably be best compared to the later 7th to 10th century examples, though admittedly, the variations in Latin uncial are much wider and less rigid than Greek. Modern uncial has borrowed heavily from some of the conventions found in morecursivescripts, using flourishes, variable width strokes, and on occasion, even center axis tilt.

In a way comparable to the continued widespread use of theblacklettertypefacesfor writtenGermanuntil well into the 20th century,Gaelicletterforms, which are similar to uncial letterforms, were conventionally used for typography inIrishuntil the 1950s. The script is still widely used in this way for titles of documents, inscriptions on monuments, and other 'official' uses. Strictly speaking, the Gaelic script isinsular,not uncial. Uncial Greek (commonly called "Byzantine lettering" by Greeks themselves) is commonly used by theGreek Orthodox Churchand various institutions and individuals inGreeceto this day. The Modern Greek State has also used uncial script on several occasions in official capacity (such as on seals, government documents, etc.) as did many of the Greek provisional governments during theGreek War of Independence.The height of uncial usage by the Modern Greek State was during theGreek military junta of 1967–74,when evenGreek Drachmacoins had uncial lettering on them. Since theMetapolitefsi,the Greek State has stopped using uncial script.

Half-uncial

An exemplary early 6th-century semi-uncial, Codex Basilicanus S. Petri D 182

A 3rd-century script that can either be considered a rustic predecessor of semi-uncial or the earliest semi-uncial,Papyrus Oxyrhynchus668

The termhalf-uncialorsemi-uncialwas first deployed byScipione Maffei,Istoria diplomatica(Mantua, 1727);he used it to distinguish what seemed like a cut-down version of uncial in the famousCodex BasilicanusofHilary,which contains sections in each of the two types of script. The terminology was continued in the mid-18th century byRené Prosper TassinandCharles François Toustain.

Despite the common and well-fixed usage, half-uncial is a poor name to the extent that it suggests some organic debt to regular uncial, though both types share features inherited from their ancient source,capitalis rustica.

It was first used around the 3rd century (if we don't consider its earliest example a transitional variant of the rustic script, asLeonard Boyledid) and remained in use until the end of the 8th century. The early forms of half-uncial were used for pagan authors and Roman legal writing, while in the 6th century the script came to be used in Africa and Europe (but not as often in insular centres) to transcribe Christian texts.

Half-uncial forms

Some general forms of half-uncial letters are:

• ⟨a⟩is usually round⟨ɑ⟩,sometimes with a slightly open top
• ⟨b⟩and⟨d⟩have vertical stems, identical to the modern letters
• ⟨g⟩has a flat top, no bow, and a curved descender⟨ᵹ⟩(somewhat resembling the digit 5)
• ⟨t⟩has a curved shaft⟨ꞇ⟩
• ⟨n⟩,⟨r⟩,and⟨s⟩are similar to their uncial counterparts (with the same differences compared to modern letters)

Half-uncial was brought to Ireland in the 5th century, and from there toEngland in the 7th century.In England, it was used to create theOld English Latin Alpha betin the 8th century.

Letters

a uncial Alpha bet.

See also

• Carolingian minuscule
• Gaelic script
• Insular script
• Irish orthography
• Rustic capitals
• Tengwar
• List of New Testament uncials

External links

• More information at Earlier Latin Manuscripts
• 'Fonts for Latin Paleography: User's Manual. 6th edition'A manual of Latin paleography; a comprehensive PDF file containing 82 pages profusely illustrated, 4 January 2024).