ATELIER YINPRESSION
Fine Art latin Calligraphy by Ying
A complete dictionary of calligraphy terms
Behind every beautiful manuscript lies a rich vocabulary of tools, strokes, and materials. This glossary is a friendly reference guide built for beginners, self-taught artists, and curious researchers alike.
As an alternative, you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+F (⌘＋F on Mac) to directly search for the term you wish to look up.
agate burnisher
A brunisher is a polishing tool for gold leaf. To achieve a mirror-like sheen, polishing is essential. Agate is a commonly used material, but it must be handled with care due to its fragility.
automatic pen
A pen that can write very thick lines or multiple lines at once.
baseline
The line that serves as a reference for aligning the height when writing letters.
ascender
It refers to the part of a minuscule letter that protrudes above x-height, such as "b," "h," or "k." It influences line spacing.
banderole
A scroll that refers to the words of the people in a miniature painting.
book hand
A general term for a style of writing typically used in manuscripts. It is carefully written and regarded as more formal.
boustrophedon
Text has been written alternately from left to right and from right to left. It is mostly seen in ancient Greece.
Chrysography
Letters that were written with gold, especially during the Carolingian era.
cola pen
A pen made from aluminum, typically crafted from a cola can.
bowl
It refers to the round part of letters that are entirely enclosed.
codex
A book-like document with multiple pages bound together. In modern, it especially refers to a manuscript made of materials such as parchment or papyrus.
counter
The space within a letter, such as the bowl of an 'o' or 'p', is referred to as a counter.
cypher
A symbol that employs one or more letters from the alphabet to signify an individual or organisation. Unlike a monogram, a cypher does not require the letters to intertwine or share any elements of the alphabet.
diaper
A pattern commonly found in medieval manuscripts, characterised by a checkerboard design with diamonds and flowers. This pattern is frequently utilised as a background for paintings.
ductus
It can be defined as number, the order of execution and the directionof the stroke required to form a letter.
descender
Refers to the part that protrudes downward, such as "g," "p," or "q."
documentary hand
A general term for writing used mainly for making documents such as contracts and certificates. It has a rhyme feature for writing quickly.
eszett
The 'eszett' is a ligature representing 'ss'. The left part resembles a long 's', while the right part is a 'z'. Commonly used in Germany, the eszett typically appears only in lowercase.
filigree
Some extremely thin, decorative lace-like lines that arranged around illuminated letters.
folio(fol.)
A page in a manuscript. It means a leaf in Latin. The front(recto) and back(verso) of a piece of paper make up one leaf (1 folio).
gilding
A general term for methods in which gold leaf is applied.
flourish
Decorative lines that extend from or float above a stroke and are often not considered part of the letterform. Also known as flourishing.
gesso
An adhesive base for applying gold leaf. A raised, three-dimensional finish is produced by applying gold leaf with gesso.
glair
This refers to egg white, which is used as a glaze to give a glossy finish.
gouache
A kind of watercolour. Compared to regular watercolours, the gouache is opaque. In the field of calligraphy, it is commonly mixed with water to create an ink.
gum arabic
A medium used in watercolor paints, mixed to adjust viscosity.
hairline
An extremely thin line element within a letter, as thin as a hair.
gum ammoniac
A type of adhesive used to apply gold leaf. Unlike gesso, it creates a flat finish.
gum sandarac
It is a resin powder that is crushed into tiny bits and sprinkled on paper or parchment to prevent ink from bleeding.
half r
A variation of r used when a rounded letter such as "b", "o", or "p" precedes the r.
illumination
A general term that includes miniature paintings and decorative lettering on manuscripts.
ligature
Combine two or more letters to form one letter. The ampersand that joins the letters "e" and "t" is a common ligature.
long s
A variant of the 's' that was commonly used in the old days. It has the shape of an 'f' without a horizontal line. In the past, the usual 's' that we called short 's' was used only at the end of words, and long 's' was the normal for everything else.
iron gall ink
An ink widely used during the medieval period. It is a brown-black ink made from tannic acid and offers excellent colouring properties and darkens over time; however, it tends to corrode metals and other materials. It is suitable for use on materials such as parchment.
line filler
A decoration drawn at the end of a line to maintain alignment. These line fillers are shown with great care and detail in elaborately illuminated manuscripts, and the motifs range from spiral patterns to various animals.
majuscule
Another term for capital letters.
miniature
Small format painted scene used to decorate manuscripts.
monogram
A design that layers multiple alphabets together to create a harmonious visual representation. This technique is typically employed to signify an individual or organisation. Most of the time, it involves the intertwining of alphabets and the sharing of elements between different letters.
pen angle
This describes the angle at which the pen rests on the paper. For broad pens, there are typically two angles: 30 degrees and 45 degrees.
minuscule
Another term for lowercase letters.
nib
This refers to the nib used for calligraphy. There are two types: pointed nibs and broad nibs.
open counter
The spaces that are not completely closed, such as 'c', are called open counters.
opisthography
Term used to describe a manuscript have been written on both side(recto and verso). Most manuscripts have been written on one side. The word comes from ancient Greek roots meaning "writing on the back".
papyrus
Papyrus is a paper made by slicing and pasting together the stems of the Cyperus papyrus. It is the origin of the English word "paper." Unlike woven fabric, which has fibres interlacing in different directions, papyrus is created by pasting pieces together with the fibres aligned in the same direction on one side. Additionally, because it is made from aquatic plants, papyrus is water-resistant.
parchment
Parchment is created by scraping the hides of animals, including sheep, goats, and cows.
palaeography
Science of ancient writing systems and their deciphering.
paragraphy mark
Used in medieval manuscripts to indicate a transition from one paragraph to another at the beginning. Sign in the form of a capital C with a vertical in-line.
pointed pen
This refers to a pen (nib) with a pointed tip that split when pressed, allowing for thicker lines.
quill
A writing tool made from bird feathers. The most common are goose or swan feathers, but they can also be made from feathers of other birds. The fluff and barbs on the feathers can interfere with writing, so they are usually removed, leaving only the shaft of the feather.
reed pen
A pen crafted from a cut reed straw is often used in Arabic calligraphy, but it is also utilized in Latin calligraphy. Bamboo can serve as an alternative material.
rulling pen
A tool designed for drawing straight lines is known as a "crow's beak" in Japan, due to its unique shape. It was referred to as "duck's beak" in China. Historically, it was primarily used for drafting. In the art of calligraphy, it serves not only for creating lines but also for writing letters.
recto
The front page of one folio(leaf) of a manuscript, that is, the right-side page. Abbreviated as r. This side is opposite the recto and is often drop the "r" entirely.
reservoir
This is where the ink is stored in the nib. Depending on the manufacturer, it may be detached from the nib or sold separately.
serif
Serifs are the small appendages attached to main strokes. It comes in a variety of shapes. Letters with serifs are usually considered traditional and formal.
shell gold
When used as paint, gold powder is dissolved in glue and then solidified. It is also called “gold mud” in East Asia.
slant
The angle of the letters, such as in italic.
swash
A decorative stroke that is added to a letter or extends from a stroke. Unlike flourish, a swash is a simple, single stroke.
short s
The modern 's' is sometimes called a 'short S', in contrast to the 'long S', which has an old history and is no longer used.
spacing
This refers to the spacing between letters.
tempera
A technique for ancient painting that uses eggs, with various recipes utilizing either egg whites or egg yolks.
recto
tilde
The horizontal line over a word is called 'tilde', and lets the reader know that there are some letters abbreviated.
Trompe-l’œil
A representation executed in such a way as to create the illusion of the real presence of the object depicted. It was famous in 17th century.
verso
A Latin term describes the back of a folio(leaf), specifically the left-hand page that appears first when the leaf is turned. Abbreviated as v. This side is opposite the recto and is often left blank in manuscripts.
tironian notes
The Tironian notes are a shorthand system in which the abbreviation "et" was widely utilised.
vellum
Vellum parchment is a type of parchment made from calfskin. It is white, smooth, and known for being the most expensive type of parchment.
x-height
This refers to the height of a character, such as "a," "e," or "o," which does not protrude upward or downward.
