The Roman
Alphabet
& its
Derivatives
workmanship, but that is the natural and gradual—
sometimes scarcely visible—departure from a model,
that comes of practice and time.
Forms of Letters: component pen-strokes.—In a good
hand the chief component strokes—stems, bows, and
serifs—are repeated again and again (see pp. 208,
218)—this is essential to the uniform character
and the quickness of the writing. When substi¬
tuting a new for an old letter a naturally used pen
will produce such common pen-strokes, giving the
desired “family likeness” to the new letter1 (b, fig.
183).
Proportion2 of Thick Strokes.—The broader the
thick stroke is in proportion to the height of a
letter, the more the form of the letter is controlled
and affected by the pen (c, fig. 183). For training
and practice, therefore, the wide nib is the most
useful. A narrower nib (d or e) allows of more
freedom and variety, and there is a great charm in
slender lettering—this the trained scribe may essay
(see Plate XX., and p. 4X^)-
Proportion* of Stem Height.—The character of a
writing depends very much on whether the stems
are shorty medium, or long. The stems of b and p
may be as short as half the height of the bodies
(/, fig. 183); a medium stem for ordinary use might
be two-thirds of, or equal to, the height of the
body (g). Stems may be drawn out to almost any
1 The propriety of the actual form of the new letter will
largely depend on the scribe’s knowledge of the development 01
that particular letter and its component parts: conf. the in¬
teresting development of g, sketched m figs. 3 & I°3 (but
note correction of example 173 in Addenda, p. хиѵ).
* The proportions of the thick strokes, stem heights,
recognised that any alteration in these will inevitably alter the
forms and the character of the letters (fig. 183, and pp. 50 & xxiv).
288
'Development of g from G.seef§3.
See W (Л)І
í69- l7°■ Ül 172 173. 174-. 175:
X . Caituiy. fM. ödem.
TOU) StUAv
ine X.Century It is retained. (b.)
ДО üOf
narrow nib Utters — •varied. j I
f— и dbcut
\%nk. I ефхаі.
“MediunfStem
The Roman
Alphabet
& its
Derivatives