Gothic script was the predominant form of handwriting in Germany, England and France from the 12th century to about 1500. 

Letters are angular. Verticals, straight lines and diagonals are emphasized. The form is so compact that the individuality of each letter becomes subordinate to the total pattern of the words on the page. This woven pattern is called the textus, from which comes the word text. 

Other terms for this type of script are black letter and textura. It was used particularly for formal religious works. More cursive forms of gothic, called bastarda in Northern Europe and rotunda in Italy were used for less formal and secular writing.

The first printers used the handwriting of the local scribes as models for type design. Thus, because printing first took place in Germany, gothic was the first typeface used. It remained the standard type in Germany for many centuries.

The compactness of gothic script and frequent use of abbreviations allow the whole text of the Bible to be fitted into one medium-sized volume. Bibles such as this one are the first to have the look of the Bible as we know it today. We can recognize the size and shape, the thinness of the vellum, and the way in which the text is divided and marked. 

The dense texture of the script is enlivened by the historiated (or pictorial) initial “B” beginning Psalm 1. “Beatus vir qui non abiit in consilio impiorum”. A picture of King David and his harp was the accepted way of indicating the start of the Psalms.

Alternate blue and red pen-flourished initials mark each subsequent psalm, and red and blue single letters show pauses in the text, which were later established as numbered verses.

Bible. Latin. Northern France (possibly Paris). Late 12th-early 13th century. Med.Ms S1589.

The compactness of gothic script and frequent use of abbreviations allow the whole text of the Bible to be fitted into one medium-sized volume. Bibles such as this one are the first to have the look of the Bible as we know it today. We can recognize the size and shape, the thinness of the vellum, and the way in which the text is divided and marked. 

The dense texture of the script is enlivened by the historiated (or pictorial) initial “B” beginning Psalm 1. “Beatus vir qui non abiit in consilio impiorum”. A picture of King David and his harp was the accepted way of indicating the start of the Psalms.

Alternate blue and red pen-flourished initials mark each subsequent psalm, and red and blue single letters show pauses in the text, which were later established as numbered verses.

Bible. Latin. Northern France (possibly Paris). Late 12th-early 13th century. Med.Ms S1589.

Saint Augustine’s De civitate Dei, (The city of God) is the oldest printed book in Special Collections. It was made before 1468, but the exact date is uncertain. The printer, Johann Mentelin of Strasburg, has used a rounded gothic type for the text.

At this time, printing decorative initials and two colours (red as well as black) was difficult and expensive, so spaces were left on the printed page for a scribe to add the penwork initials and rubrication. At the bottom edge of the right hand page there is a handwritten note, an instruction to the scribe for the lettering for Book 9 chapter 1 to be written in the space next to the initial. 

The printer has isolated headings in the body of the text. The illuminator has then highlighted with red lines.

Saint Augustine. De civitate Dei (The city of God).
Strasburg: Johann Mentelin, not after 1468.

Saint Augustine’s De civitate Dei, (The city of God) is the oldest printed book in Special Collections. It was made before 1468, but the exact date is uncertain. The printer, Johann Mentelin of Strasburg, has used a rounded gothic type for the text.

At this time, printing decorative initials and two colours (red as well as black) was difficult and expensive, so spaces were left on the printed page for a scribe to add the penwork initials and rubrication. At the bottom edge of the right hand page there is a handwritten note, an instruction to the scribe for the lettering for Book 9 chapter 1 to be written in the space next to the initial. 

The printer has isolated headings in the body of the text. The illuminator has then highlighted with red lines.

Saint Augustine. De civitate Dei (The city of God).
Strasburg: Johann Mentelin, not after 1468.