Latin Alphabet

Time Line
600 B.C. – The Latin alphabet, based on the Greek alphabet, is developed by the Etruscans.
190 B.C. – Parchment replaces papyrus
100 B.C. – Romans conquer Greece
0 A.D. – Arrival of the Codex (Hand stitched books made from signatures of 2, 4, or  with double sided printing
100 A.D. – Roman empire stretches from British Isles in the north to Egypt in the south, and from Spain in the west to the Persian Gulf in the east.
400 A.D. – Christians expand the use of the Codex
476 A.D. – Roman falls.

The Roman Alphabet and the Important Design Innovations:
- Roman alphabet begins with: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, V, X
- After the conquest of Greece, Y and Z are added.
- During the Middle-Ages J, U, and W are added
- Created several different styles for different purposes such as Monumental Vs Quadrata (square)
- Each letter was designed to be one form and attention was paid to counters and kerning
- Serifs were developed through the carving process
Several different Styles
- Trajan’s Capitals set against square fields to demonstrate the proportions and rhythms of roman
- Square capitals are not easy to write and this limited there wide usage
- Rustic Cap anticipate the the tendency to condense
- By the 4th century there developed a style of writing that had as its chief characteristic the rounding off of certain angles and joints
This style is called ‘uncials’
- Half-uncial and semi-uncial marked a true variant on capitals, and was the begining of the lower case