Uppercase

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Example for initial "R" and Lombards
Example of the capitalization
function. Manuscript 1470
Capital letters in a certificate
Capitalization in a book title

Uppercase (mask.) Is the technical term in typography for the capital letter ( majuscule ) as a means of special emphasis, as the font , for example at the beginning of a text, at the beginning of verse or to emphasize entire words, lines or longer texts. In common parlance, the plural is predominantly used: the capital letters . The counterpart to the capital letters are the common ones , the lower case letters ( minuscules ).

history

The term uppercase ( Latin versus = turning the plow, the furrow, the line) is derived from the role of capital letters as a means of highlighting, the font marking at the beginning of verses or at the beginning of the text since the 5th century.

Even after that, the function of the capital letters is limited to marking. The capital letters as initials take a separate development.

From the 13th to the 16th century, in addition to their richly decorated forms, Lombard capital letters were also used for emphasis in the texts of the Gothic minuscule. These so-called Lombards are relatively small, unadorned or only slightly decorated uncial letters in red or blue.

Since in the 15th century the alphabet of capital letters ( capitalis ) was combined with the alphabet of lower case letters ( humanistic minuscule ) in the context of typeface design to form the roman , simple capital letters have been used more frequently within texts. However, their application was not yet regulated in terms of spelling . The prerequisites for this were only created in the 17th century.

Functions

Today capital letters are used in the sentence-internal capitalization in order to structure the text graphically. Their distinctive function as an initial has been retained. Entire words and lines can be designed with Antiqua capital letters. That is not appropriate with capitals of the broken fonts . These are not suitable for this because of their multiple structure in the mold. Antiqua uppercase is also not useful for longer texts or sets . Their uniform size leads to uniformly outlined bands of rows when they are lined up. This is why capitals are difficult to read.

In addition to visual emphasis, capital letters are primarily used to achieve a certain aesthetic effect. With the use of capital letters, different effects, such as representation, dignity, solemnity, grandeur etc. can be expressed and the communicative effect of the design can be increased. The capitalization is used in typography as a creative means, especially in book design and commercial jobs , such as certificates , invitations, posters and advertisements . After all, it plays a major role in advertising, especially when designing headlines in order to attract attention.

Whether the space between the capital letters needs to be compensated depends on the effect that is to be achieved. The small caps form a special variant of the capital letters .

See also

literature

Web links

Wiktionary: Versal  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Wiktionary: Versalie  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Picture gallery: Decorative initials [1]
  2. ↑ Frantisek Muzika: The beautiful writing in the development of the Latin alphabet. Artia, Prague 1965. Vol. I, p. 339.
  3. ^ Friedrich Forssman & Ralf de Jong: Detailed typography . Schmidt, Mainz 2002, ISBN 3-87439-568-5 , pp. 260-263.
  4. ↑ Historical examples of decorative capitals as initials. In: Artistic writing: all sorts of uppercase [n] or initial letter [n] of the Teütschen, Latin and Italian scripts from different masters of the noble art of writing compiled (1655) . [2]
  5. ↑ Hans Peter Willberg : read typography. Schmidt, Mainz 2006, p. 139 ff.