# Gothic Blackletter & Fraktur Tradition > The broken scripts of the Latin West. Textualis, a book hand from the late 12th century (Rotunda its rounder Italian form), went into type with Gutenberg's 42-line Bible (Mainz, c. 1454–55); Schwabacher followed from 1472, and Fraktur was cut for Maximilian I's Prayer Book (1513). Curves break into angles; tight justified pages read as a dark, even weave with red rubrics. Fraktur set German text until the Nazi ban of 1941. Elsewhere it had long become a display letter, and today signals age, gravity or menace on mastheads, beer labels, metal logos and cholo lettering. - Period: c. 1180–present - Where: Central Europe, Western Europe, Northern Europe, Southern Europe, North America, Global / networked - Origin: Book hands (Textualis) of western European scriptoria from the late 12th century; carried into type by Johannes Gutenberg at Mainz (c. 1454–55); Fraktur first cut at Augsburg and Nuremberg for Emperor Maximilian I (1513–17), and used for German text until the Nazi ban of 1941 - Branch: Traditions & vernacular - Also known as: Blackletter, Gothic script, Textura, Rotunda, Schwabacher, Fraktur, Gebrochene Schriften (broken scripts), Old English - Page: https://stylogeny.com/styles/blackletter-fraktur/ ## Use it with care Blackletter carries political weight in German-speaking countries: the Nazi regime pushed Fraktur as the German script in its first years before banning it in January 1941 as supposed 'Schwabacher Jewish letters', and neo-Nazis still use broken scripts. In the United States, too, certain blackletter faces are associated with hate groups, on tattoos and clothing. Check how a blackletter wordmark will read, especially for anything German, national or political. Cholo placas are territorial inscriptions of Los Angeles Latino street writing with their own codes: do not copy a real neighbourhood's placa or roll call, and commission or credit Chicano letterers (such as Chaz Bojórquez) rather than borrowing their menace as decoration. ## How it works - Build every letter from a broad pen held at a steep angle and break its curves into straight, angled strokes, so that rows of upright stems with narrow counters and pointed arches weave the page into a dark, even texture. - Set the text as a justified block, often in two columns, with tight word and line spacing, and let the black of the letters outweigh the white of the page. - In the manuscript and early printed page, mark headings, initials and divisions in red and with large coloured or flourished initials, not by changing the size or weight of the text letter. - Follow the grammar of broken type: use the long s and keep the ligatures ch, ck, tz and ſt; emphasise a word by letterspacing it (Sperrsatz) or setting it in Schwabacher rather than in italic or bold; set Latin and French words in roman (Antiqua); never set the capitals as a word in all caps. - Pair the broken lowercase with Fraktur's swelling, curling capitals, and in display work let a single blackletter nameplate or wordmark carry age, gravity or menace on its own. ## Its design choices Defining choices make the style, characteristic ones are usual, occasional ones turn up now and then. ### Layout & composition - [Classical text block](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/classical-text-block/) (defining) - [Column grid](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/column-grid/) (characteristic) - [Central symmetry](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/central-symmetry/) (characteristic) - [Framed panels](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/framed-panels/) (occasional) ### Space & hierarchy - [Horror vacui](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/horror-vacui/) (characteristic) - [Repetition & rhythm](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/repetition-and-rhythm/) (characteristic) - [Layered information](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/layered-information/) (occasional) - [Extreme scale contrast](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/extreme-scale-contrast/) (occasional) ### Typography - [Blackletter](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/blackletter/) (defining) - [Tight setting](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/tight-setting/) (defining) - [Brush & pen calligraphy](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/brush-and-pen-calligraphy/) (characteristic) - [Humanist & Garalde serif](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/humanist-and-garalde-serif/) (occasional) - [Condensed display](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/condensed-display/) (occasional) - [Wide letterspacing](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/wide-letterspacing/) (occasional) - [Hand-lettering](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/hand-lettering/) (occasional) ### Colour - [Limited spot colours](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/limited-spot-colours/) (defining) - [Light ground](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/light-ground/) (characteristic) - [Monochrome](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/monochrome/) (characteristic) - [Jewel & metallic](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/jewel-and-metallic/) (occasional) - [Dark ground](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/dark-ground/) (occasional) ### Form & shape - [Angular & zigzag](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/angular-and-zigzag/) (defining) - [Rectilinear](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rectilinear/) (characteristic) - [Stylised figuration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/stylised-figuration/) (occasional) ### Surface & texture - [Paper & letterpress bite](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/paper-and-letterpress-bite/) (characteristic) - [Carved line](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/carved-line/) (characteristic) ### Ornament - [Restrained accents](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/restrained-accents/) (characteristic) - [Borders & frames](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/borders-and-frames/) (characteristic) - [Floral & vegetal](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/floral-and-vegetal/) (occasional) - [Emblems & badges](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/emblems-and-badges/) (occasional) ### Imagery - [Typography only](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/typography-only/) (characteristic) - [Line illustration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/line-illustration/) (characteristic) ### Medium & production - [Letterpress](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/letterpress/) (defining) - [Pen, brush & ink](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/pen-brush-and-ink/) (characteristic) - [Woodblock & linocut](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/woodblock-and-linocut/) (characteristic) - [Architecture & signage](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/architecture-and-signage/) (occasional) ### Tone & intent - [Authoritative & institutional](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/authoritative-and-institutional/) (defining) - [Spiritual & sacred](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/spiritual-and-sacred/) (characteristic) - [Nostalgic & retro](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/nostalgic-and-retro/) (characteristic) - [Rebellious & subversive](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rebellious-and-subversive/) (occasional) Avoids: All caps, Flush left, ragged right, Grotesque & neo-grotesque, Geometric sans, Dynamic asymmetry, Rounded & pill, Pastel, Fluorescent & neon, Gradients, Gloss & highlights Palette: #efe6cf, #1b1714, #b0302a, #2c4a8c, #b8913a Typefaces: Gutenberg's 42-line Bible textura (Mainz, c. 1454–55), Schwabacher (earliest surviving use Augsburg, 1472), Theuerdank Fraktur (designed by Vinzenz Rockner, cut for Johann Schönsperger, 1517), Breitkopf Fraktur (J. G. I. Breitkopf, Leipzig, 18th century), developed from the Theuerdank type, Walbaum-Fraktur (1800), Wilhelm-Klingspor-Schrift (Rudolf Koch, Klingspor, 1920–26), Cloister Black (American Type Founders, 1904; usually credited to Joseph W. Phinney, sometimes to Morris Fuller Benton; adapted from Priory Text, an 1870s version of William Caslon's blackletter Caslon Text of 1734) Known for: Gutenberg 42-line Bible (Johannes Gutenberg, Mainz, c. 1454–55): textura type of about 290 sorts, with red headings and initials added by hand; Mainz Psalter (Johann Fust and Peter Schöffer, Mainz, 1457), printed in black and red; the first book with a printed date and a printer's mark; Nuremberg Chronicle (Anton Koberger, Nuremberg, 1493), set in Schwabacher; Prayer Book of Maximilian I (Johann Schönsperger, Augsburg, 1513), printed on parchment in the first Fraktur type, with marginal drawings (1514–15) by Albrecht Dürer, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Hans Baldung Grien, Albrecht Altdorfer, Hans Burgkmair and Jörg Breu the Elder; now divided between the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich, and the Bibliothèque municipale, Besançon; Theuerdank (Johann Schönsperger, Nuremberg, 1517): Fraktur designed by Vinzenz Rockner after the imperial chancery hand, with 118 woodcuts after Hans Schäufelein, Hans Burgkmair and Leonhard Beck; Rudolf Koch's blackletters for the Klingspor foundry, Offenbach: Deutsche Schrift (1908–21), Wilhelm-Klingspor-Schrift (1920–26) and Neufraktur (1933–34); Blackletter newspaper nameplates: The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Sydney Morning Herald; the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung has kept a Fraktur title since its first issue in 1949, and the Neue Zürcher Zeitung kept its Fraktur title after moving its text from Fraktur to roman in 1946; Motörhead's band identity, with blackletter lettering by Phil Smee ## Where it comes from, and what it’s close to - Alike in its design choices: [Song–Ming Woodblock Book Typography (Songti / Mincho)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/song-ming-book-typography.md) (c. 960–present), 74% alike - Alike in its design choices: [Bulaq (Amiriyya) Naskh Book Printing](https://stylogeny.com/styles/bulaq-naskh-printing.md) (1822–1956), 69% alike - Alike in its design choices: [Tibetan Woodblock Print Culture (Pecha & Prayer Flags)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/tibetan-woodblock-print.md) (c. 1410–present), 66% alike - Alike in its design choices: [Arts & Crafts Movement](https://stylogeny.com/styles/arts-and-crafts.md) (1860–1920), 64% alike - Alike in its design choices: [Urdu Katib Lithography](https://stylogeny.com/styles/urdu-katib-lithography.md) (1837–present), 64% alike - Alike in its design choices: [Vyaz (Ornamental Slavonic Lettering)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/vyaz-lettering.md) (c. 1230–present), 64% alike ## Sources - Peter Bain & Paul Shaw (eds.), Blackletter: Type and National Identity (Princeton Architectural Press, 1998) - Albert Kapr, Fraktur: Form und Geschichte der gebrochenen Schriften (Verlag Hermann Schmidt, 1993) - Silvia Hartmann, Fraktur oder Antiqua: der Schriftstreit von 1881 bis 1941 (Peter Lang, 1998) - Neue Deutsche Biographie, 'Schönsperger, Johann': https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/sfz79020.html - Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin, The Gutenberg Bible: https://www.hrc.utexas.edu/gutenberg-bible/ - Kris Sowersby, 'Heavy metal typography', Klim Type Foundry (2017; first published in Smith Journal 20, 2016): https://klim.co.nz/blog/heavy-metal-typography/ - François Chastanet, Howard Gribble & Chaz Bojórquez (foreword), Cholo Writing: Latino Gang Graffiti in Los Angeles (Dokument Press, 2024 edition) - ILAB Breslauer Prize entry, 'Das neue Gebetbuch Kaiser Maximilians I. in seiner Entstehung' (the six artists of the marginal drawings): https://ilabprize.org/breslauer-entries/das-neue-gebetbuch-kaiser-maximilians-i-in-seiner-entstehung - WFTX, 'Can a font be racist? Certain blackletter typefaces associated with hate groups' (Scripps): https://www.kivitv.com/news/national/can-a-font-be-racist-certain-blackletter-typefaces-associated-with-hate-groups - MyFonts, Sectra Chrome (Alit Design), a blackletter sold for 'Y2K chrome aesthetics and acid graphics': https://www.myfonts.com/collections/sectra-chrome-font-alit-design - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackletter - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraktur - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwabacher - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiqua%E2%80%93Fraktur_dispute - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutenberg_Bible - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mainz_Psalter - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Koch - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloister_Black - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotunda_(script) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_typefaces_designed_by_Morris_Fuller_Benton - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Boj%C3%B3rquez - https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normalschrifterlass - https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theuerdank - https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraktur_(Schrift) - https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sperrsatz - https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurter_Allgemeine_Zeitung - https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neue_Z%C3%BCrcher_Zeitung --- From Stylogeny (https://stylogeny.com/), an atlas of graphic-design styles by Van Riel Online Services. How it is made: https://stylogeny.com/about/. Cite as: Stylogeny, “Gothic Blackletter & Fraktur Tradition”, https://stylogeny.com/styles/blackletter-fraktur/