PALEOGRAPHIC FONTS. Fonts for Latin paleography

PALEOGRAPHIC FONTS FOR LATIN SCRIPT

Version 4.00

CAPITALIS ELEGANS, CAPITALIS RUSTICA, CAPITALIS MONUMENTALIS, UNCIALIS, SEMIUNCIALIS, ANTIQUA CURSIVA ROMANA, NOVA CURSIVA ROMANA, INSULARIS MINUSCULA, INSULARIS MAJUSCULA, LUXOVIENSIS MINUSCULA, VISIGOTHICA MINUSCULA, BENEVENTANA MINUSCULA, CAROLINGIA MINUSCULA, GOTHICA TEXTURA PRESCISSA, GOTHICA TEXTURA QUADRATA, GOTHICA ROTUNDA, GOTHICA BASTARDA, GOTHICA CURSIVA, BASTARDA ANGLICANA and HUMANISTICA ANTIQUA: a set of 20 TrueType fonts (digital typefaces) for Latin paleography.

by Juan José Marcos
Professor of classical languages.
Plasencia. Spain. January 2024

INTRODUCTION

   If you're looking for fonts which imitate the writing systems used in old Latin manuscripts, you have come to the right place.
   CAPITALIS ELEGANS, CAPITALIS RUSTICA, CAPITALIS MONUMENTALIS, ANTIQUA CURSIVA ROMANA, NOVA CURSIVA ROMANA, UNCIALIS, SEMIUNCIALIS, BENEVENTANA MINUSCULA, VISIGOTHICA MINUSCULA, LUXOVIENSIS MINUSCULA, INSULARIS MINUSCULA, INSULARIS MAJUSCULA, CAROLINGIA MINUSCULA, GOTHICA TEXTURA QUADRATA, GOTHICA TEXTURA PRESCISSA, GOTHICA ROTUNDA, GOTHICA BASTARDA, GOTHICA CURSIVA, BASTARDA ANGLICANA and HUMANISTICA ANTIQUA are the individual names of a set of eighteen fonts which I have recently designed. As their names denote, these fonts are representative of the main styles of Latin handwritings used during Middle Ages in parchments.
   These fonts belong to the category known as facsimile level and they are intended to resemble the handwriting style of Medieval Latin scripts as appear in manuscripts.
   The paleographic font package is a collection of fonts based on ancient and medieval calligraphy which include specialty characters, abbreviations, ligatures and alternate forms for some letters. These paleographic fonts can be used to represent medieval manuscripts in a "semi-diplomatic" fashion. That is, an edited version of the manuscript that preserves more features of the original document than is common in standard, normalized, modern editions. They allow the preservation of many medieval features, and can be used to help students become more familiar with medieval writing and languages without the expense of purchasing semi-diplomatic editions or facsimiles of manuscripts.
   This collection of fonts is suitable for students and scholars of historical sciences as well as desktop paleographical publishing. It may be of interest to students and professionals dealing with paleography, linguistics and classical and medieval Latin.
   Doubtless this is the most authentic and useful of font packages currently available to medievalists.

   The fonts are edit-embeddable to permit creation of Adobe Acrobat documents (PDF) and web pages with embedded fonts (the so-called "web-fonts": EOT, WOFF and SVG formats).

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

   These are standard fonts (8 bits, TTF format), so they can be used running any Windows version and any word processor.
   You can also use them running Linux. I have successfully tried them under Debian with OpenOffice.
   These fonts should be usable on Macintosh running OSX9 and OSX. This is not a problem, since Mac recognizes PC TrueType fonts without complaint. (Note that you will need to restart the computer to fully install the font).
   In any case, if you are very interested and you wish to get a Mac version of these fonts (bin and dfont formats), I can produce them in a Mac native format for you.

SAMPLE TEXTS WRITTEN WITH THE PALEOGRAPHIC FONTS:

Please pass the cursor over the thumbnails below with the name of the font to view full-size images which show sample texts created with the different palaeographic fonts I have designed:
If you wish to save the image, once your browser displays it, right-click on the image and choose Save Image As (or Save Picture As) and save to your computer/network. Note that the images have been reduced in size for use on the web and may not look as good as the printed pages.

Sample text in "Antiqua Cursiva Romana"----
Sample text in "Nova Cursiva Romana"

Sample text in "Capitalis Monumentalis"----
Sample text in "Capitalis Elegans"----
Sample text in "Capitalis Rustica"

Sample text in "Uncialis"-----
Sample text in "Semiuncialis"

Sample text in "Visigothica"--
Sample text in "Luxoviensis"--
Sample text in "Beneventana"--
Sample text in "Carolina Minuscula"

Sample text in "Insularis Majuscula"----
Sample text in "Insularis Minuscula"----
Sample text in "Gothica Cursiva"

Sample text in "Gothica Textura Quadrata"--
Sample text in "Gothica Textura Prescissa"--
Sample text in "Gothica Rotunda"

Sample text in "Gothica Bastarda"--
Sample text in "Bastarda Anglicana"--
Sample text in "Humanistica Antiqua"

For more details on handwriting Latin systems and further information about these fonts including more visual examples, please read the USERS' MANUAL (PDF format, 82 pages).

DOWNLOAD AREA: MANUAL OF LATIN PALEOGRAPHY

   You can see visual samples of these fonts if you read the short manual of Latin Paleography I have written (PDF file with 82 pages profusely illustrated) which is available from this site.
   It contains a lot of images of manuscripts and shows the close imitation of their different handwritings I have made with the paleographic set of fonts. The manual also contains detailed explanations about the history of the different handwriting styles used in Latin manuscripts from the first century AD to the invention of printing in the middle of the 15th century.
  Click on the link below to view or download the manual.

Manual of LATIN PALEOGRAPHY with font samples document in PDF format

PDF file, 82 pages and 4.25 MB)
This is a large file; therefore, please be patient!

These fonts are based on medieval and ancient lettering styles. For this reason they may not include all the characters you may expect and may include specialty characters or strange alternate forms for some letters.
If you wish to view the entire character set provided in these fonts, please click on the following link for a full character map (PDF file, 34 pages, 2.02 MB)

PRICE OF THE FONT PACKAGE

   The font package termed "Fonts for Latin Paleography" is a set of fonts which contains a total of 20 typefaces: Capitalis monumentalis, capitalis elegans, capitalis rustica, uncialis, semiuncialis, antiqua cursiva romana, nova cursiva romana, merovingia, insularis majuscula, insularis minuscula, visigothica, beneventana, carolina minuscula, gothica textura prescissa, gothica textura quadrata, gothica rotunda, gothica bastarda, gothica cursiva, bastarda anglicana and humanistica antiqua respectively.
   These fonts based on historical prototypes are the result of long hours of investigation and hard work.
   Font development is a painstaking, time-consuming task and this is a single person's work not sponsored by any institution.
   Hence these fonts are not free. Nevertheless, the font package has a reasonable price.
   Registration of the whole package costs €120 (approximately US $135 or £102)* (see advise below).
   If you wish, you can purchase only one individual font as well. Each single font costs €20 (approximately US $24 or £17).
   SPECIAL PRICING: Pay two fonts and get three. Purchase three fonts for €40 (approximately US $45). If you acquire two fonts, the third is for free. A 33% discount!
   It is also available a font package of six fonts for €60 (approximately US $67). A 50% discount!

   After making the payment you will receive the fonts as attachment to an email message sent to your email account.

*ADVISE: Due to the current fluctuation in the exchange rate among different currencies, only prices in Euro can be guaranteed. The prices in $USA or in other currencies depend on the actual exchange rate (for example at the date of this writing, January 2024, 1 euro is equivalent to 1,10 US dollars approximately).

ONLINE PAYMENT

If you own a credit or debit card (Visa®, MasterCard®, Discover®, Maestro® and American Express®), you can pay online, which means credit card processing can be made in a matter of clicks.
This payment is being backed by PayPal®, a global leader in online payment solutions. To make payments with PapyPal is easy, fast, free and secure for buyers. Naturally, your transaction will be confidential and the information you give will not be used for any reason other than the use intended. PayPal protects your security.
(Note: You are not required to have a Paypal account. By following the instructions on the Paypal page, you may make your payment by credit card or bank transfer.)

Do not worry about converting the Euro price into your currency, PayPal will do this when you make your payment.

Depending on your choice, click on the corresponding button below to purchase the paleographic fonts online. In order to avoid errors, please read carefully the information given below before clicking on the PayPal button to order. Please be careful with your choosing since depending on it you will get one item or other.

1) – One single font. Delivery: Electronic only. Each individual font costs €20 (approximately US $22 or £17). The font will be sent as attachment to your email account. If you choose this option, please email me telling the name of the font you wish to receive.

Take advantage of our special pricing options:

2a) – Three fonts. Delivery: Electronic only. SPECIAL PRICE: Pay two fonts and get three. Purchase three fonts for €40 (approximately US $44). If you acquire two fonts, the third is for free. A 33% discount! Evidently if you choose this option, you must email me telling the name of the fonts you wish to receive.

2b) – Six fonts. Delivery: Electronic only. SPECIAL OFFER: Purchase six fonts for €60 (approximately $66 or £51). Only €10 (approximately US $12) for each font. You save 50%. A real bargain! Evidently if you choose this option, you must email me indicating the name of the fonts you wish to receive.

3) – Complete font package of 20 fonts. Delivery: Electronic. The full package of 20 fonts costs €120 (approximately US $133 or £102). The package which contains the eighteen paleographic fonts will be sent as attachment to your email account in a ZIP file. The fonts have not restrictions at all. All features are enabled. Even embedding is allowed: this means that the font may be embedded in documents to produce PDF documents running Adobe Acrobat. You also are entitled to use the font in a printed book or to produce electronic documents which can be uploaded into your web page.

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IMPORTANT THINGS TO NOTE :

1.- Whatever option you choose, please send me a message after making the payment through PayPal in order to confirm that you are really who ordered the font.
2.- In most cases I will reply to your message in due time (normally within a day or so), unless I was on holydays, then it will take a little more time, since I only will able to check my emails from time to time, (usually every five days, more or less or even a little more during the summer) so be patient, however, be sure that you will receive my response. Sorry for this inconvenience.
3.- Evidently, any modification or public distribution of these fonts is not permited under any circumstance.
5.- For other alternative methods of payment (bank transfer, postal order, etc.), please email me for further details.

AUTHOR

Just in case you are wondering who is Juan-José Marcos, click here and you will find some information about the author of these fonts and this website.

SUGGESTIONS AND QUERIES

   I have taken care to see that these fonts work as well as possible, nevertheless, if you find any fault, feel free to email me.
   Although you do not purchase the fonts, please, send me comments, suggestions for improvements or anything else regarding my paleographical fonts. I would like to know your opinion about my work.
    I really would appreciate having users' feedback.
   Such reaction from users will be the deciding factor in my decision of carrying on with the development of more paleographic fonts. Any errors in the manual? Please do not hesitate to contact me. Your comments will be welcome. Thanks in advance.

   If this set of fonts is well received, it will be expanded in the near future (Early Gothic, Anglicana, Secretary and so forth).

PALEOGRAPHIC FONTS FOR ANCIENT GREEK

A similar font package for Greek Paleography (ANGULAR UNCIAL, BIBLICAL UNCIAL, COPTIC UNCIAL, PAPYRUS UNCIAL, ROUND UNCIAL, SLAVONIC UNCIAL, SLOPING UNCIAL, MINUSCULE IX, MINUSCULE XI and MINUSCULE XV ) is also available. For more detailed information press HERE or click on the image below.

ALPHABETUM UNICODE FONT

NOTICE: If you wish to use a specialized multilingual Unicode font specifically designed for classical languages (classical & medieval Latin, ancient Greek, Coptic, Linear B, Etruscan, Oscan, Umbrian, Faliscan, Messapic, Picene, Iberian, Celtiberian, Gothic, Runic, Old & Middle English, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Ogham, Ugaritic, Old Persian, Phoenician, Avestan, Aramaic, Parthian, Karosthi, Old Nordic and Linguistics ( I.P.A. ), please visit the ALPHABETUM website , there you will find further information about the Unicode system and the wide coverage and capabilities of this Unicode font.

Alphabetum samples:

juanjmarcosgmail.com
Juan-José Marcos
Plasencia (Cáceres) Spain.

This page last updated on January 2024.

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