Letter O

O has been written the same way since early Semitic times, but since there were no vowels in the written language, this form signified a guttural "C" sound, from the word cayin (eye). The Greeks assigned it the "O" sound. (Rose Folsom)

V

V had been, in early roman Times, both vowel and consonant. Its vowel value was eventually supplanted by 'U' and 'W.' As a Roman numeral it stands for 5, variously explained as half of 'X' (10) or five fingers of the hand held in a 'V' shape. (Rose Folsum)

'F'

F from early Greek times until about 200BC this sign looked something like a backward "F." and had the wound of a modern "W." The Latins gave it the form and phonetic value that we use today. (Rose Folsum)

Pounce Wheel

A small wheel with a handle and spikes, for pricking holes along the outline of a design. The pricked-through paper is then set on top of the surface to be lettered, and is dusted with fine powder (chalk, charcoal, etc.) which settles through the holes to outline the design on the final surface. A pricker, also called a runner, was a similar device run up the margins of a page against a straightedge by 19th century scriveners to prick markings for guidelines into the parchment writing surface. (Rose Folsom)

M

M from the Semitic mem (water). It has been written as various types of wavy and zig-zag lines for thousands of years. As a roman numeral it stands for 1,000. (Rose Folsum)

G

The letter G-
Derived from the Semitic gimel, it was written like an upside down, slightly lopsided 'V' in the Sinai around 1500 BC. This sign had roughly the ephonetic value of our 'G,' but because the cultures who used the letter drew little or no distinction between the sounds of the letters 'C,' 'G,' and 'K' (in the same way as we make no difference between certain C and K sounds), the gimel (gamma in Greek) eventually became the Greek letter 'C' (being the original gimel turned 90 degrees). The Romans developed the letter 'G' ('C' with a crossbar) around 300 BC. (Rose Folsum)

Engross

To copy a document in a formal, ornate way for ceremonial purposes. Today, 'engrossing' connotes the rendering of a certificate or resolution in a 19th century style of lettering, often employing Gothic, Copperplate and Lombardic capitals (sometimes all in the same piece of work). This style is typified by the meticulous work in the Zanerian Manual of Alphabets and Engrossing (1895, 1981). Until the mid-1970s, many Americaln scribes who made their living hand lettering awards called themselves engrossers. Since then, the label 'calligrapher' is much more common. (Rose Folsum)

S

The letter S is derived from a rough version of S and similar letters in early Greek and Latin inscriptions. The Phoenician W, and Hebrew '3' are relatives of "s" with the phonetic value of 'sh.' The long S can be seen in early Roman graffiti and hastily written documents on wax and papyrus. It made its way into formal writing around 6th century and was used, often along with the 'S' in many scripts and printing types, until the 19th century. It was phased out after 1795 when John Bell, a British printer and type designer, discarded it in his own work, and the change became universally accepted. (Rose Folsum)

Roman Cursive Script

Roman handwriting. Quickly written, unserifed everyday version of Roman Majuscule, executed with a stylus in wax or with a reed brush and ink on papyrus. In the first centuries BC the letters were rarely joined, but during the later centuries of the Roman Empire they were often connected, and began to show characteristics of minuscule. (Rose Folsum)

Minoan Linear 'A'

Developed from a pictographic around 1700-1450 BC, it was yet more cursive than its predecessor and included between 76 and 90 signs. Written from left to right, examples have been found inscribed in stone, metal and clay and written with ink on pottery. It has not been deciphered. (Rose Folsum)

Quill Pen

Quill Pen- Made from a primary flight feather of any large bird, usually a goose or turkey, but also a swan, crow, peacock, etc. The feather is soaked in water, cured (hardened) in hot sand, a small slit is made for the middle of the nib, and the quill is cut to form a pen. Some scribes prefer to omit curing and store the cut quills in water always.
The direct ancestor of the quill was the reed pen cut to a broad edge. Reeds wrote beautifully on papyrus, but as this began to be replaced by parchment around the 6th century A.D., the sharp, crisp quality of a quill better suited the silky smooth surface of the skin. Also, feathers were more plentiful in Europe than were the reeds used by Mediterranean scribes. As paper largely replaced parchment in Europe in the late 15th century, the quill remained. It was not until the flexible steel nib was developed in the 1830s that the quill began to die out as the Western World's writing tool. Nonetheless, many scribes today favor the quill for its incomparably crisp strokes and hairlines as well as its sensitive balance of strength and flexibility in writing, especially on parchment. (Rose Folsum)

Air Bridge

The 'synapse' between two separate sequential strokes in which the pen's, or brush's, movement above the paper can be charted without having been graphically recorded. (Rose Folsum)

Grain

Direction in which most of the fibers of machine-made paper are lying. The direction is important if paper is to be folded or rolled. It will fold more easily and smoothly along the grain. 2 methods of determining grain are firstly, to bend the paper in half, noting how much it resists bending: and secondly, to tear the paper. Handmade paper may be folded indiscriminately, as it has no grain. Its fibers are lying evenly in all directions. (Rose Folsum)

Calligram

By Hella Basu - Graphic arrangement of a poem by John Donne. This designer is well known for the originality of her compositions involving calligraphy. (Heather Child)

Calligram - Calligraphic or typographic composition in which the works themselves form the design. Existed at least as far back as early medieval times. A popular form of decoration in some Jewish MSS, where it is called micrography. (Rose Folsum)

I've posted this word in the past but wanted to share this beautiful example with you all. It 's from an old book, Calligraphy Today by Heather Child

Dingbat

Printer's term for a small visual device to fill space decoratively or to call attention to part of the text. (Rose Folsum)

Gaken Dish

A dish make of unglazed porcelain, so grinding on this white surface will not add gray to the color of watercolor ink sticks as a slate stone will. (Rose Folsum)

Etruscans

A people who migrated, apparently from Asia Minor, to the north-west Italian peninsula during the during the late Bronze Age (c. 1500-1200). They were driven out of Italy by the Latin-speaking people in 509 BC, but not before passing on to the Latins, among other things, the alphabet (c. 700) which they had acquired from the Greeks and had developed to their own use. Little is known about the Etruscans. Although their alphabet is from the Greek, their language is unrelated, and has never been deciphered by modern research. Our lack of knowledge is due in part to the political stake which the Romans had in obliterating any record of the Etruscan history and culture. (Rose Folsum)

Ordinaries

Bands or marks on a heraldic shield. (which leads to ...)

Heraldry: Armorial bearings evolved in the 11th. century. At first, the badge of one's group was painted on each shield used in battle. Around the 13th century, the painting of helmets and use of crests (carved figures attached to the helmet) were added. After the 15th century, armorial bearings were no longer used except ceremonially, but the idea lived on. Today, in the English-speaking world, a coat of arms is registered with the College of Arms in London, and may be used in perpetuity by the individual, family, town, guild, etc. who registers it. There are rules by which heraldic insignia are designed and executed that have broadened over the centuries. (Rose Folsum)

Nick

Nick: Slight notch out of what could otherwise be a continuous curved or straight line. (Rose Folsum)

Lindisfarne Gospels

Page from the Lindisfarne Gospels

One of the most richly decorated manuscripts known. It contains the 4 gospels written in large 'Anglo-Saxon Majuscule' on vellum at the end of the 7th century. It has 258 leaves, with 2 columns of 24 lines on each page. A gloss in 'Anglo-Saxon Minuscule' was inserted between the lines in the 10th century. Thought to have been written and illuminated by Bishop Eadfrith, its decoration is characterized by intricate combinations of interlacing knots, geometric patterns and pen-flourished creatures done in bright colors. It is housed in the British Library. (Rose Folsum)