Capitalis monumentalis
The Capitalis monumentalis is a Roman monumental script from antiquity. It is also according to their primary writing material as a lapidary (lat. Lapis called "stone") and is a pure majuscule , focusing initially in the design of inscriptions has developed.
The proportions of the letters of the Capitalis monumentalis are based on a square. The letters A, O, Q and V correspond exactly to a square; the rest are derived from it in a certain ratio. The proportions correspond to those of the Capitalis quadrata with the difference that the letter lines of the Capitalis have a different style .
In palaeography and epigraphy , the two terms are differentiated only according to their writing material: Capitalis quadrata (also Capitalis elegans ) is used in books - earlier on papyrus or parchment -, Capitalis monumentalis or Scriptura monumentalis on stone, metal, etc. Also the second variant of Capitalis has accordingly different names: canonized capitalis ( Capitalis rustica ) in books, Scriptura actuaria in inscriptions.
The Capitalis Monumentalis only knows capital letters and neither word spacing nor hyphenation. Small hyphenation points are usually used to separate words .
Probably the best-known surviving example of this typeface, which was felt to be particularly worthy of imitation during the Renaissance , is the inscription on Trajan's Column from the 2nd century. Carol Twombly was inspired by the Capitalis Monumentalis for her Adobe Trajan font .
Web links
- Trajan's Column and its inscription (Engl.)
- Capitalis Uni Bamberg
- Handwritten examples Uni Bamberg