Calligraphy is an art. An art based on making beautiful curves and lines. It's not just about writing to get an opinion clear, but to make it please the eye and also look divine.

The word Calligraphy is greek for "good" or "beautiful". Some think it's the best name it could ever have.

History

About two thousand years ago, when the letterforms reached a peak of perfection, the Romans cut their alphabet into stone. Their letters looked rather decorative, because of their special way of cutting, with some thick, and some thin lines.

These letters were majuscules¹. It was some time before what we now call the minuscules² which we would recognize today, and were used in manuscripts.

Then, when the paper and animal skins were used, the early scribes wrote with hardened feathers, cut into a pen-shape. The split broad-edge nib gave the letters their characteristic thiks and thins.

It's an adaption of those early pens we use today and call Calligraphy-pens

Beginning

You need one or more Calligraphy pen(s), preferably with changeable nibs in different sizes, ans also a layout paper, a sharpened pencil with a hard lead, a long ruler and an eraser for removing the guidelines.

You may start with an extra broad nib; this will show your letters clearly. Gradually progress to the smaller size nibs when you are getting the hang of it.

• Write on a board set on a angle of about 45 degrees. This is a comfortable position writing, and you should not then get aches and pains in your back and neck. The angle of the board also controls the flow of ink from your pen. You can use a piece of wood for your board and rest it in your lap, or support it with books or something else; you do not have to buy an expensive board.

• Pad your sloping board with wite blotting paper or a couple of sheets of cartridge paper so that the writing surface is sympathetic and not too hard.

• Fold a long piece of of paper in half and use this as a guard sheet. Right-handers should tape the paper horizontally so that it is secure at both ends. Position the paper so that that it is 1 inch below the most comfortable level for writing. Left-handers should set their boards up with the guard sheet again 1 inch below the most comfortable level of writing. Positioning the guard sheet at angle for left-handers means that the wrist is not strained so much. The guard sheet protects your lettering from ink spills and also from any grease on your hand. If you do not use guard sheet it often becomes difficult to write on the lower part of a sheet of paper.

• The paper you are writing on slides underneath the guard sheet and moves up and down and to the left and right so that your hand stays at the same comfortable position all the time.

• Right-handers should have a good light source from the left-hand side. Left-handers should have a good light source from the right.

• Use the sharpened pencil and the ruler to draw guidelines. It is woth taking the time to do this so that your eye becomes used to the relative heights of letters.

Pen patterns

Making individual strokes and patterns is a good way to become familiar with your new Calligraphy-pen(s).

Always hold your pen nib at the same angle through a sentence. If you change it, the type of writing will change also, so the result will look messy.

Nib angle and height

• Measure out the correct height for the guidelines of each alphabet style by turning your pen so that it is horizontal and making series of little steps downwards, which looks like to lines of a chessboard. They are called nib widths. These little steps should just touch one another and not overleap.

• The mainbody of the letters fits between the guidelines for x-height. Ascenders³ extend beyond the guidelines for x-height, so too descenders on letters such as p, q and y.

• Hold your pen at the correct angle for each alphabet styles. As mentioned before: The lettershapes change when your pen nib is at an different angle.

• Holding your pen at an angle makes the thick and thins on the letters in Calligraphy. Do not use your pen to exaggerate the strokes. This often makes the letters look silly.

Some kinds of Calligraphy styles

• Foundational or Round Hand
  
  The x-height for this hand is 4 nib widths. Ascenders are 7 nib widths in all. The majuscules are based on the letters cut in stone in Roman Times.

• Italic
  
  These letters slope at an angle of 5 - 7 degrees.

• Black letter
  
  This is an attractive style of lettering, but ususally very difficult to read as there are few curves to the letters. It was used in Mediæval times in highly decorated manuscripts. The majuscules have lots of diamonds fine lines and ticks on the sides of the letters. The fine lines are made by turning the nib so that it is vertical and drawing a line with the very edge of the nib.

• Uncials
  
  The height of these letters is 4 nib widths.

It is always quite messy and hard to learn Calligraphy - but with patience and enough sheets you soon get the hang of it - Good luck!