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--> YouTube-Generated Transcript <--
· Introduction
0:10 · With the exception of a brief but torrid affair with Arial, I have been faithful to
0:16 · the Times New Roman font my entire adult life. I used it to write my college research papers,
0:22 · my PhD thesis, and all my books to date. At first, I did so from force of habit.
0:29 · But with time, I came to appreciate that the lineage of my default font could be traced,
0:35 · via the Italian Renaissance and medieval monasteries, back to Ancient Rome.
0:41 · The Latin alphabet, the modern world’s dominant writing system, evolved from the alphabet brought
· The Latin Alphabet
0:47 · by Greek colonists to southern Italy and adapted by the Etruscans. When the Romans began using it
0:54 · in the 7th century BC, it had only 21 letters. Y and Z were added later to express the sounds
1:03 · of Greek words. The scholarly emperor Claudius contributed three more letters – a replacement
1:10 · of Y, an equivalent of U, and a counterpart of the Greek letter Psi – that disappeared
1:17 · after his reign. Our U and W are medieval; J was distinguished from I in the early modern period.
1:27 · At first, the letters of the Latin alphabet closely resembled their Greek models. They
1:33 · became more distinctive over the course of the Republican era, evolving by the reign
1:37 · of Augustus into the majestic square capitals that still grace so many Roman monuments. The
1:45 · letters of late antique inscriptions tended to be taller, narrower, and less regular.
1:52 · The angular letter forms of inscriptions were imitated on paper in the script known as
· Rustic capitals
1:58 · rustic capitals. Since they were written rather than carved, rustic capitals were more fluid,
2:05 · with curves and serifs absent on stone. Though impressive on the page,
2:10 · they were time-consuming to produce, and so tended to be used only for
2:14 · luxury texts. Less formal documents were written in flowing cursive.
· Uncial
2:21 · After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, the production of secular manuscripts virtually
2:27 · ceased. Religious texts, however, continued to be copied, most often in a new rounded script called
2:35 · uncial. Versions of uncial were used widely for nearly half a millennium. The script persisted
2:42 · longest in Ireland, where Gaelic was written in a typeset version until the mid-20th century.
2:49 · Elsewhere, uncial was displaced by Carolingian miniscule. “Miniscule”
· Carolingian miniscule
2:54 · letters – simplified and compressed versions of capitals – had been around for centuries.
3:01 · But the miniscule that evolved from uncial in the late eighth century was clearer,
3:06 · more elegant, and ultimately more popular than any of its predecessors.
3:12 · It came to be closely associated with the brief but brilliant renaissance
3:16 · centered on the court of Charlemagne, during which secular texts were copied
3:21 · again in large numbers for the first time since the fall of Rome. This was the era,
3:27 · and the script, that saved Classical Latin literature from oblivion.
· Gothic
3:32 · From the 12th century onward, however, Carolingian miniscule began to be replaced by the
3:38 · compressed and angular script known as Gothic or blackletter. Though now associated with Germany,
3:45 · where the Gothic Fraktur was common until the Second World War, it was used throughout Europe.
3:52 · During the late Middle Ages, thanks to the rise of the universities and a growing literate class,
3:58 · more books were being produced than at any time since the fall of Rome.
4:02 · Gothic was adapted to different genres: a cramped variant for scholastic treatises,
4:08 · a large and rounded form for ecclesiastical books, and the intricate “bastarda” for vernacular texts.
4:16 · We’ll discuss how all of these were affected by
4:19 · [ad text redacted]
5:24 · Returning to our topic. The invention of printing
· The first fonts
5:28 · changed the appearance of books surprisingly little. The first printed books, in fact,
5:33 · were designed to resemble contemporary manuscripts.
5:37 · The font of Gutenberg’s 42-line Bible, for example, imitated a local Gothic script.
5:44 · Religious texts were typically printed in typeset versions of the familiar scholastic blackletter.
5:51 · Printed editions of the classics, however, used the script that was destined to replace
5:56 · all the others. It was known as littera antiqua – the ancient, or Roman, script.
· Littera Antiqua
6:05 · Littera antiqua was born early in the 15th century, when a group of Italian humanists
6:10 · developed a tidy, elegant hand modeled on Carolingian miniscule. They thought
6:16 · they were imitating the handwriting of the ancient Romans; and this assumption,
6:21 · combined with easy legibility, made the humanist script popular in manuscripts of
6:26 · classical texts. When printers adopted it, they maintained the convention of pairing humanist
6:33 · miniscule lowercase letters with capitals inspired by ancient inscriptions. This is
6:40 · essentially the system still used by all “Roman” fonts today.
6:45 · At the turn of the 16th century, when Venice was the center of European printing,
· Aldus Manutius and his successors
6:50 · the premier printer of classical texts was Aldus Manutius, otherwise famous for his
6:56 · role in standardizing the use of the comma and semicolon. Aldus produced both expensive folio
7:03 · editions of Greek and Latin authors for scholars and more modestly priced octavo “handbooks” for
7:10 · the educated public. All were printed in a beautifully-designed humanist typeface.
7:17 · Thanks in part to Aldus’ influence, Roman fonts steadily displaced their
7:23 · Gothic predecessors everywhere outside the Germanic countries. The Aldine designs were
7:29 · imitated and refined, most famously by Claude Garamond and Robert Granjon,
7:35 · whose fonts were the most popular in Europe for nearly two hundred years.
· Times New Roman
7:40 · Times New Roman, designed by Stanley Morison in 1931,
7:45 · was modeled on the Roman fonts of Robert Granjon. It was meant to be compact but clear,
7:52 · distinctive without being jarring. It was intended, in short, to feel familiar, and
7:59 · subtly recall the grand tradition of Renaissance Roman fonts. On both counts, it succeeded.
· How Roman?
8:07 · In a sense, Times New Roman is not quite half Roman, since none of its lowercase letters and
8:14 · only 23 of its capitals are directly modeled on ancient forms. But more broadly, it’s all
8:21 · Roman – a direct descendant, through countless generations, of the original Latin alphabet.
8:30 · You can support my work – all written, of course, in Times New Roman – on Patreon,
8:36 · linked in the description. Another link in the description leads to a page with
8:41 · all the details of my October trip to Greece, which will visit Athens, Sparta,
8:47 · and fascinating sites between. Finally, you’ll also find links to my other YouTube channels,
8:53 · Toldinstone Footnotes and Scenic Routes to the Past. Thanks for watching.

--> YouTube-Generated Transcript <--
	·	Introduction
0:10	·	With the exception of a brief but torrid affair with Arial, I have been faithful to
0:16	·	the Times New Roman font my entire adult life. I used it to write my college research papers,
0:22	·	my PhD thesis, and all my books to date. At first, I did so from force of habit.
0:29	·	But with time, I came to appreciate that the lineage of my default font could be traced,
0:35	·	via the Italian Renaissance and medieval monasteries, back to Ancient Rome.
0:41	·	The Latin alphabet, the modern world’s dominant writing system, evolved from the alphabet brought
	·	The Latin Alphabet
0:47	·	by Greek colonists to southern Italy and adapted by the Etruscans. When the Romans began using it
0:54	·	in the 7th century BC, it had only 21 letters. Y and Z were added later to express the sounds
1:03	·	of Greek words. The scholarly emperor Claudius contributed three more letters – a replacement
1:10	·	of Y, an equivalent of U, and a counterpart of the Greek letter Psi – that disappeared
1:17	·	after his reign. Our U and W are medieval; J was distinguished from I in the early modern period.
1:27	·	At first, the letters of the Latin alphabet closely resembled their Greek models. They
1:33	·	became more distinctive over the course of the Republican era, evolving by the reign
1:37	·	of Augustus into the majestic square capitals that still grace so many Roman monuments. The
1:45	·	letters of late antique inscriptions tended to be taller, narrower, and less regular.
1:52	·	The angular letter forms of inscriptions were imitated on paper in the script known as
	·	Rustic capitals
1:58	·	rustic capitals. Since they were written rather than carved, rustic capitals were more fluid,
2:05	·	with curves and serifs absent on stone. Though impressive on the page,
2:10	·	they were time-consuming to produce, and so tended to be used only for
2:14	·	luxury texts. Less formal documents were written in flowing cursive.
	·	Uncial
2:21	·	After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, the production of secular manuscripts virtually
2:27	·	ceased. Religious texts, however, continued to be copied, most often in a new rounded script called
2:35	·	uncial. Versions of uncial were used widely for nearly half a millennium. The script persisted
2:42	·	longest in Ireland, where Gaelic was written in a typeset version until the mid-20th century.
2:49	·	Elsewhere, uncial was displaced by Carolingian miniscule. “Miniscule”
	·	Carolingian miniscule
2:54	·	letters – simplified and compressed versions of capitals – had been around for centuries.
3:01	·	But the miniscule that evolved from uncial in the late eighth century was clearer,
3:06	·	more elegant, and ultimately more popular than any of its predecessors.
3:12	·	It came to be closely associated with the brief but brilliant renaissance
3:16	·	centered on the court of Charlemagne, during which secular texts were copied
3:21	·	again in large numbers for the first time since the fall of Rome. This was the era,
3:27	·	and the script, that saved Classical Latin literature from oblivion.
	·	Gothic
3:32	·	From the 12th century onward, however, Carolingian miniscule began to be replaced by the
3:38	·	compressed and angular script known as Gothic or blackletter. Though now associated with Germany,
3:45	·	where the Gothic Fraktur was common until the Second World War, it was used throughout Europe.
3:52	·	During the late Middle Ages, thanks to the rise of the universities and a growing literate class,
3:58	·	more books were being produced than at any time since the fall of Rome.
4:02	·	Gothic was adapted to different genres: a cramped variant for scholastic treatises,
4:08	·	a large and rounded form for ecclesiastical books, and the intricate “bastarda” for vernacular texts.
4:16	·	We’ll discuss how all of these were affected by
4:19	·	[ad text redacted]
5:24	·	Returning to our topic. The invention of printing
	·	The first fonts
5:28	·	changed the appearance of books surprisingly little. The first printed books, in fact,
5:33	·	were designed to resemble contemporary manuscripts.
5:37	·	The font of Gutenberg’s 42-line Bible, for example, imitated a local Gothic script.
5:44	·	Religious texts were typically printed in typeset versions of the familiar scholastic blackletter.
5:51	·	Printed editions of the classics, however, used the script that was destined to replace
5:56	·	all the others. It was known as littera antiqua – the ancient, or Roman, script.
	·	Littera Antiqua
6:05	·	Littera antiqua was born early in the 15th century, when a group of Italian humanists
6:10	·	developed a tidy, elegant hand modeled on Carolingian miniscule. They thought
6:16	·	they were imitating the handwriting of the ancient Romans; and this assumption,
6:21	·	combined with easy legibility, made the humanist script popular in manuscripts of
6:26	·	classical texts. When printers adopted it, they maintained the convention of pairing humanist
6:33	·	miniscule lowercase letters with capitals inspired by ancient inscriptions. This is
6:40	·	essentially the system still used by all “Roman” fonts today.
6:45	·	At the turn of the 16th century, when Venice was the center of European printing,
	·	Aldus Manutius and his successors
6:50	·	the premier printer of classical texts was Aldus Manutius, otherwise famous for his
6:56	·	role in standardizing the use of the comma and semicolon. Aldus produced both expensive folio
7:03	·	editions of Greek and Latin authors for scholars and more modestly priced octavo “handbooks” for
7:10	·	the educated public. All were printed in a beautifully-designed humanist typeface.
7:17	·	Thanks in part to Aldus’ influence, Roman fonts steadily displaced their
7:23	·	Gothic predecessors everywhere outside the Germanic countries. The Aldine designs were
7:29	·	imitated and refined, most famously by Claude Garamond and Robert Granjon,
7:35	·	whose fonts were the most popular in Europe for nearly two hundred years.
	·	Times New Roman
7:40	·	Times New Roman, designed by Stanley Morison in 1931,
7:45	·	was modeled on the Roman fonts of Robert Granjon. It was meant to be compact but clear,
7:52	·	distinctive without being jarring. It was intended, in short, to feel familiar, and
7:59	·	subtly recall the grand tradition of Renaissance Roman fonts. On both counts, it succeeded.
	·	How Roman?
8:07	·	In a sense, Times New Roman is not quite half Roman, since none of its lowercase letters and
8:14	·	only 23 of its capitals are directly modeled on ancient forms. But more broadly, it’s all
8:21	·	Roman – a direct descendant, through countless generations, of the original Latin alphabet.
8:30	·	You can support my work – all written, of course, in Times New Roman – on Patreon,
8:36	·	linked in the description. Another link in the description leads to a page with
8:41	·	all the details of my October trip to Greece, which will visit Athens, Sparta,
8:47	·	and fascinating sites between. Finally, you’ll also find links to my other YouTube channels,
8:53	·	Toldinstone Footnotes and Scenic Routes to the Past. Thanks for watching.