Illumination and Its Development in the Present Day

by Sidney Farnsworth

LOMBARDIC WRITING

Fig. 4.

This was the national handwriting of Italy; it was used from the eighth to the eleventh centuries. The term “Lombardic” is given as a general term to the writing of Italy in the early middle ages. In [Fig. 4] some free renderings are given of this hand. The first (a) is an example in one of its earliest stages, written cursively in the early part of the ninth century. The next, shown in (b) is the book-hand a little later. The third example (c) is a later development of the eleventh century, known as “broken Lombardic.” It may be noted that in all these the slanted-cut pen has been used.