Calligraphy

Calligraphy, art of penmanship. Combining beauty with legibility, it developed in the Far East, where it was a recognized art form as early as 250 B.C. In early medieval Europe calligraphy was practiced in monastic communities, which developed the Carolingian and Insular scripts. A high point was reached with the Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne gospels. The Italian Renaissance manuscripts provided models for the first printed books and for roman and italic types. Edward Johnston (1872–1944) and his pupil Graily Hewitt (1864–1952) began the modern revival of calligraphy in the early 1900s.