View source for Rotunda (script)

{{Short description|Medieval blackletter script}}
{{ref improve|date=April 2013}}
[[File:Schriftzug Rotunda.svg|thumb|upright=0.9|Calligraphic writing of the word "Rotunda" in the Italian script of same name.]]
[[File:Canon d&#039;Espagne by Hendrik van den Keere.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|A 1570s rotunda typeface cut by [[Hendrik van den Keere]] for printer [[Christophe Plantin]]]]

The '''Rotunda''' is a specific medieval [[blackletter]] script. It originates in [[Carolingian minuscule]]. Sometimes, it is not considered a blackletter script, but a script on its own. It was used mainly in southern Europe.

==Characteristics==
[[File:Gebrochene Schriften.png|thumb|left|Overview on some blackletter typefaces]]
One of the key differences between Rotunda and other blackletter scripts is that broken bows appear only in a few letters such as ''d''.<ref>{{Cite web |ref=typo |title=Rotunda |website=Typohile |url=http://typophile.com/node/41878 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180103183122/https://typophile.com/node/41878 |archive-date=3 January 2018 |access-date=16 March 2020 }}</ref>

===''R rotunda'' and ''long S''===
[[File:R rotunda in different fonts.svg|thumb|upright=0.9|The [[Unicode]] letter pair {{smallcaps|latin capital/small letter r rotunda}} rendered by different [[typeface|fonts]].]]
The [[r rotunda]] (ꝛ), "rounded r", is an old letter variant commonly used in rotunda scripts and other blackletter typefaces. It is thought that this variant form of that letter was originally devised either to save space while writing on expensive parchment or for aesthetic reasons.

=== Italian rotunda ===
There is a form of [[Italian language|Italian]] blackletter known as rotunda, as it was less angular than in northern centres. The most usual form of Italian rotunda was ''littera bononiensis'', used at the [[University of Bologna]] in the 13th century. Biting is a common feature in ''rotunda'', but breaking is not.

Italian ''rotunda'' also is characterized by unique abbreviations, such as q with a line beneath the bow signifying "qui", and unusual spellings, such as x for s ("milex" rather than "miles").

==See also==
{{portal|Writing}}
{{columnslist|colwidth=15em|
*[[Asemic writing]]
*[[Bastarda]]
*[[Blackletter]]
*[[Book hand]]
*[[Calligraphy]]
*[[Chancery hand]]
*[[Court hand]] ({{aka}} {{lang|la|cursiva antiquior}})
*[[Cursive]]
*[[Hand (writing style)]]
*[[Handwriting]]
*[[History of writing]]
*[[Italic script]]
*[[Law hand]]
*[[Palaeography]]
*[[Penmanship]]
*[[Ronde script (calligraphy)]]
*[[Round hand]]
*[[Secretary hand]]
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{European calligraphy}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rotunda (Script)}}
[[Category:Blackletter]]
[[Category:Handwriting script]]
[[Category:Western calligraphy]]