In [[Unicode]], Fraktur is considered a font of the Latin script, and is not encoded separately. However, Fraktur symbols for mathematics are encoded in the '''[[Supplementary Multilingual Plane]]''' (SMP). Bold Fraktur letters (with the exception of the German character ß, which is not used in mathematics) are encoded from <code>1D56C</code>–<code>1D59F</code> in the [[Mathematical Alphanumeric Symbols]] area. Regular Fraktur letters are encoded from <code>1D504</code>–<code>1D537<code> with the following exceptions: Capital C is encoded <code>0212D</code>, H <code>0210C</code>, I <code>02111</code>, R <code>0211C</code>, Z <code>02128</code> and long s with <code>017F</code>. Fraktur numerals are not encoded as of Unicode 5.0. Fraktur symbols are supported in the [[freeware]] Unicode font [[Code2001]].
In [[Unicode]], Fraktur is considered a font of the Latin script, and is not encoded separately. However, Fraktur symbols for mathematics are encoded in the '''[[Supplementary Multilingual Plane]]''' (SMP). Bold Fraktur letters (with the exception of the German character ß, which is not used in mathematics) are encoded from <code>1D56C</code>–<code>1D59F</code> in the [[Mathematical alphanumeric symbols|Mathematical Alphanumeric Symbols]] area. Regular Fraktur letters are encoded from <code>1D504</code>–<code>1D537<code> with the following exceptions: Capital C is encoded <code>0212D</code>, H <code>0210C</code>, I <code>02111</code>, R <code>0211C</code>, Z <code>02128</code> and long s with <code>017F</code>. Fraktur numerals are not encoded as of Unicode 5.0. Fraktur symbols are supported in the [[freeware]] Unicode font [[Code2001]].
The spreading of main scripts in Europe (around 1900)
The German word Fraktur ([frakˈtuːr]ⓘ ) refers to a specific sub-group of blacklettertypefaces. The word derives from the past participle fractus (“broken”) of Latin frangere (“to break”). As opposed to Antiqua (common) typefaces, which were modelled after antique Roman square capitals and Carolingian minuscule, the blackletter lines are broken up.
The term fraktur is sometimes applied to all of the blackletter typefaces.
Characteristics
One difference between the Fraktur and other blackletter scripts is that in the small-letter o, the left part of the bow is broken, but the right part is not.
Besides the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, and the ß (ess-zet) and vowels with umlauts as well, Fraktur typefaces include the ſ (long s), sometimes a variant form of the letter r, and a variety of ligatures once intended to aid the typesetter and which have specialized rules for their use.
Most older Fraktur typefaces make no distinction between the majuscules "I" and "J" (where the common shape is more suggestive of a "J"), even though the minuscules "i" and "j" are differentiated.
Origin
The first Fraktur typeface was designed when Holy Roman EmperorMaximilian I (c. 1493–1519) established a series of books and had a new typeface created specifically for this purpose, designed by Hieronymus Andreae. Fraktur quickly overtook the earlier Schwabacher and Textualis typefaces in popularity, and a wide variety of Fraktur fonts were carved.
Use
Overview of some blackletter typefaces
Typesetting in Fraktur was still very common in the early 20th century in all German-speaking countries and areas, as well as in Denmark, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, and (to a very small extent by that time) Sweden and Finland, (see map to the right), as opposed to other countries that typeset in Antiqua in the early 20th century. Some books from the time used related blackletter fonts such as Schwabacher; however, the predominant typeface was the Normalfraktur (Fig. 1), which came in various slight variations.
Since the late 18th century, Fraktur began to be replaced by Antiqua as a symbol of the classicist age and emerging cosmopolitanism. The debate surrounding this move is known as the Antiqua-Fraktur dispute. However, the shift mostly affected scientific writing, while most belletristic literature and newspapers continued to be printed in broken fonts. This radically changed when on January 3, 1941Martin Bormann issued a circular letter to all public offices which declared Fraktur (and its corollary, the Sütterlin-based handwriting) to be Judenlettern (Jewish letters) and prohibited further use. It has been speculated that the régime had realized that Fraktur would inhibit communication in the territories occupied during World War II. Fraktur saw a short resurgence after the War, but quickly disappeared in a Germany keen on modernising its appearance.
Fraktur is today used mostly for decorative typesetting; for example, a number of traditional German newspapers such as the Frankfurter Allgemeine, as well as the Norwegian Aftenposten, still print their name in Fraktur on the first page, and it is also popular for pub signs and the like. In this modern decorative use the Fraktur rules about long s and short s or about ligatures are often disregarded.
Individual Fraktur letters are also widely used in mathematics, e.g., to denote Lie algebras, σ-algebras or ideals.
Fraktur in Unicode
In Unicode, Fraktur is considered a font of the Latin script, and is not encoded separately. However, Fraktur symbols for mathematics are encoded in the Supplementary Multilingual Plane (SMP). Bold Fraktur letters (with the exception of the German character ß, which is not used in mathematics) are encoded from 1D56C–1D59F in the Mathematical Alphanumeric Symbols area. Regular Fraktur letters are encoded from 1D504–1D537 with the following exceptions: Capital C is encoded 0212D, H 0210C, I 02111, R 0211C, Z 02128 and long s with 017F. Fraktur numerals are not encoded as of Unicode 5.0. Fraktur symbols are supported in the freeware Unicode font Code2001.
Samples
The German sentence in the figures after the names of the fonts below (Walbaum-Fraktur in Fig. 1 and Humboldfraktur in Fig. 2) reads Victor jagt zwölf Boxkämpfer quer über den Sylter Deich. It means "Victor chases twelve boxers across the dike of Sylt" and contains all 26 letters of the alphabet plus the umlauted glyphs used in German, making it an example of a pangram.)
Bain, Peter and Paul Shaw. Blackletter: Type and National Identity. Princeton Architectural Press: 1998. ISBN 1-56898-125-2.
Silvia Hartmann: Fraktur oder Antiqua. Der Schriftstreit von 1881 bis 1941, Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main u. a. 1998 (2. üb. A. 1999), ISBN 978-3-631-35090-4
Fiedl, Frederich, Nicholas Ott and Bernard Stein. Typography: An Encyclopedic Survey of Type Design and Techniques Through History. Black Dog & Leventhal: 1998. ISBN 1-57912-023-7.
Macmillan, Neil. An A–Z of Type Designers. Yale University Press: 2006. ISBN 0-300-11151-7.
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