Thursday, February 1, 2024

a typeface has a soul



above, an example of Merovingian minuscule (circa 7th century), what is interesting here is that this "style" disappeared with the destruction of the Luxeuil monastery. A reputed source has hinted that our English " &" actually derives from the luxet "et."  


petrus Andronicus, the scribe, writes in his -fragmented- memoirs: "types carry their own  souls... some go to heaven, some may not"

quite cryptic. what does he mean? 

as similar in appearance, as when a Visigothic "t"

may look like an "a."

or when a soul shows as a twin-like in this early beneventan minuscule "a," which looks like a double cc, so common in Latin syntax?


so, what's the soul of "m" like? 


anonymous speculation from a scribe, at the marginalia of a Codex Calixtinus, reads: the true form of m has three elements... it strives for more than "n," as it is inverse to "w" and close to the numeral "3."

the soul of the letter is the expression manifested in its character.

later in the note Andronicus reveals that, it's left to the scribe's wonderful skill to inscribe each character with the inner harmony of the whole, since what would the whole be without each one of its parts?