Calligraphy fonts have undergone a colorful evolution throughout the centuries. Their development has been shaped by history itself.

Early writing was done on wood or stone, thus the fonts were angular. As man became more sophisticated and developed cities, the fonts also changed to have softer edges to adjust to the papyrus being used. When Rome fell, academic centers were concentrated in Western Europe. Afterwards, the Dark Ages settled in; art and creativity seemed to have died, so did developments of calligraphy fonts. After the Dark Ages, with the rise of the Roman Catholic Church to power, the formal and elaborate font styles emerged. This font features the architectural designs of the Middle Ages. These fonts are known as “Gothic.” Until printing mechanism disrupted handcrafting of prints, Gothic was the popular choice for fonts. When literacy was brought down to the level of common townsfolk, the demand for less complex fonts increased. This plea for practicality gave birth to informal Gothic variants used in manually printed publications and documents.

As printing became more readily available, hand-lettering was designated to artists. The rest of the population wrote in cursives for their regular correspondences. Elaborate calligraphy, however, was still used for its decorative purpose in several formal documents—maps and invitations, for example. The complex calligraphy carried with it a sense of elegance and formality suited for high-level affairs and audiences.

Samples of the different calligraphy fonts are now housed in museums. But software programmers have found a way to copy those font styles. So if you are feeling a little fancy, or when you are looking for an element that would bring a touch of elegance into your formal invitation or correspondence, you may want to check out the suppliers of these software programs. You are bound to find just the right one for your needs.