Luther's Manuscripts at the UNESCO Memory of the World at Google Arts and Culture
Martin Luther font on Kickstarter (with Film about the creation)
Each letter of the Martin Luther typeface is strictly based on original samples discovered in Martin Luther's 500 year old handwritten manuscripts. Letters that occur regularly for instance vowels have two or more different variations stored in the typeface. (➶ Figure 4) These alternative types are exchanged instantly by the font as you type, and develop a brilliant look that comes close to actual handwriting. The font style avoids that two identical letters are positioned beside each other like, for example the 2 "o" in the word "look".
➸ What Historic Sources is the Font based on?
Two historic documents were used to base the typeface on. The notes Luther took before giving his speech in Worms in 1521 and a 6 page letter he composed instantly after to Emperor Charles V., summarising his speech (➶ Figure 2). Both documents have been contributed to the UNESCO "Memory of the World" and can be seen at the Google Arts and Culture website.
➸ The Creation of a Handwriting Font
The development of a handwriting typeface is very various from the production of a regular font. Harald Geisler has specialised in recreating handwriting in preceding jobs with Albert Einstein's, Sigmund Freud's and his own handwriting. His experience working with Archives and Museums has actually gone into this project.
First Geisler analyses the movement in the composing to comprehend how each letter is drawn. This includes partially learning how to write like a person. In this process not the describes of the sample are reproduced but the original movement course of the handwriting (➶ Figure 3). In a 2nd action width and contrast is included to recreate Martin Luther's particular incentive and the writing tools utilized at the time. (Link: Youtube Playlist showcasing the creation of specific letters)
How about signs that can't be found in archives?
Some Glyphs can not be discovered in 500 years of age manuscripts, for example the @- indication. Towards completion of the production one gathers a profund amount of information about how an author proceeds paper and addresses specific jobs moving the pen. Keeping this knowledge in mind an improvisation can be based upon similar letter forms. For instance the @ indication is based on of the motion of a lowercase a and parenthesis.
➸ Features of the Martin Luther font
❶ Comprehensive Paperwork of the creation of the font style, including high quality reproduction of the used manuscripts.
❷ Extra texts from Historian Dr. Henning Jürgens and Palaeographer (and Luther handwriting professional) Prof. Ulrich Bubenheimer
❸ Alternating Letters - in handwriting every word looks a bit various. To prevent that two similar letterforms are placed next to each other (for instance in the word appearance) the typeface actively alters between different versions of letters as you type.
❹ Ligatures - particular composing types when 2 letters are combined (for example "ct") (➶ Figure 5)
❺ Terminal Letterforms - renders an unique letterform when letter is at the end of a word. (➶ Figure 8)
❻" 'Preliminary and Median Letterforms"' - some letterforms are different when put in the beginning or middle of a word, for example the lowercase s.
❼ Luther Rose - is a seal Luther utilized to authorise his correspondence. Today it is an extensively recognized sign for Luther. When you get in the numbers of Luthers year of birth and death 14831546 using the Martin Luther PRO typeface, it will render a stylised variation of the Luther Rose. (➶ Figure 7)
❽ Historic letter-forms - letter-forms that are specific to middle ages writing around 1500. For instance the long-s or h with a loop at the bottom. (➶ Figure 6)
⚑ Multi language support - see the technical information tab for a complete list of supported languages. (➶ Figure 11)
➸ The various Designs explained
❋ Martin Luther PRO - this includes all features noted above and is geared towards composing texts that are more understandable today. It includes rotating letters to create a natural handwriting look along with 2 stylistic sets available through the OpenType menu. Historical forms are offered through the glyph picker.
❋ Martin Luther Historic - this font style develops a historically appropriate recreation (i.e. with long-s) of Luther's middle ages latin handwriting. It features alternating letters to create a natural handwriting appearance in addition to two stylistic sets accessible through the OpenType menu.
❋ Martin Luther Expert-1 - Devoted access to the very first set of letters only.
❋ Martin Luther Expert-2 - Dedicated access to the second set of letters only.
❈ ❈ ❈ Household Load - recieve all typefaces at a discounted cost. ❈ ❈ ❈
➸ Kickstarter
The production and advancement of the Martin Luther font was funded by 500 advocates on ➸ Kickstarter.
Font Family:
· Martin Luther PRO
· Martin Luther Historic
· Martin Luther Expert 1
· Martin Luther Expert 2
Tags: calligraphy, church, evangelic, handwriting, luther, manuscript, martin luther, mediaeval, medieval, script