After the fall of Rome and during the Dark Ages the practice of lettering, at least in so far as the Roman form was concerned, was distinctly retrograde. With the advent of the Renaissance, however, the purest classic forms were revived; and indeed the Italian Renaissance seems to have been the golden age of lettering. With the old Roman fragments of the best period constantly before their eyes the Renaissance artists of Italy seem to have grasped the true spirit of classicism; and their work somehow acquired a refinement and delicacy lacking in even the best of the Roman examples. As much of the Italian Renaissance lettering was intended for use on tombs or monuments where it might be seen at close range, and was cut in fine marble, the increased refinement may be due, at least in part, to different conditions.
