Furius Dionysius Filocalus was a Roman scribe and stone engraver, specialized in epigraphic texts, who was active in the second half of the fourth century.
Furius Dionysius Filocalus was a Roman scribe and stone engraver, specialized in epigraphic texts, who was active in the second half of the fourth century.
One of his most noteworthy works is the "Chronography of 354", also known as the "Calendar of 354", of which the original has been lost. It is the oldest known Christian calendar, with the first known reference to the celebration of the Christmas, although it also incorporates Roman festivities. The most complete copy conserved today is a manuscript of the 17th century which is kept in the Barberini collection. This is the reproduction of a "Codex Luxemburgensis" of the Carolingian dynasty, which was lost in the seventeenth century.
The "chronography" was commissioned by a wealthy Roman Christian, known as Valentinus, to whom it was dedicated. The original manuscript miniatures were also probably the work of Filocalus.
Filocalus was the official engraver of Pope Damasus (304–384), and described himself as "Damasi pappae cultor atque amator" ("admirer and personal friend of Pope Damasus"). [1] The archaeologist Giovanni Battista de Rossi suggests that his inscriptions were reserved for the cult of the martyrs. It is not known for certain whether these inscriptions were drawn and engraved by Filocalus, or only drawn by him, but the first hypothesis seems to be correct. The precision of the cut of the stone and the organic regularity between the letters suggest the work of a master who works based on a sketch, rather than a craftsman copying an elaborate drawing. [2]
For these inscriptions, called the Epigrammata Damasiana, [3] Filocalus created an original letterform that is known as filocalian letter [2] or philocalian script. [4] Its main features are its thin and wavy ornamental serifs. It also has a strong contrast, with thin horizontal strokes and with vertical strokes which are thick in the downward direction and thin in the ascendant. It also presents vertically squashed forms; especially in the letters C, D, G, H, M, N, O, Q, R and T, which are wider than they are tall. The rounded letters (D, G, O, Q) all have an oblique axis. [5]
Three fourth-century fragments of the filocalian letter engraved in stone are known, which seem to have been signed in the same way, with the inscription Furius Dionysius Filocalus scribsit. [2] These fragments were part of the transcription of a series of poems that Pope Damasus I had written in honor of the martyrs, and which were employed to decorate their tombs. [2] This typeface had a great influence on the engravers of the time, who copied its style extensively, and of which a great number of examples are known.
The first Tuscan-style metal sorts appeared around 1817. [6] They were created by British type designer Vincent Figgins, who named his typeface 4-lines Pica Ornamented no. 2. [6] His letters were inspired by the ornamental designs of Fournier, but the oldest ancestor for his ornamental serfis is the filocalian letter. [7] Tuscan style was widely popular during the Victorian Times, and it's still used nowadays.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
Pope Damasus I, known as Damasus of Rome, was the bishop of Rome from October 366 to his death. He presided over the Council of Rome of 382 that determined the canon or official list of sacred scripture. He spoke out against major heresies, thus solidifying the faith of the Catholic Church, and encouraged production of the Vulgate Bible with his support for Jerome. He helped reconcile the relations between the Church of Rome and the Church of Antioch, and encouraged the veneration of martyrs.
In typography and lettering, a sans-serif, sans serif, gothic, or simply sans letterform is one that does not have extending features called "serifs" at the end of strokes. Sans-serif typefaces tend to have less stroke width variation than serif typefaces. They are often used to convey simplicity and modernity or minimalism. For the purposes of type classification, sans-serif designs are usually divided into these major groups: § Grotesque and § Neo-grotesque, § Geometric, § Humanist and § Other or mixed.
In typography, a serif is a small line or stroke regularly attached to the end of a larger stroke in a letter or symbol within a particular font or family of fonts. A typeface or "font family" making use of serifs is called a serif typeface, and a typeface that does not include them is sans-serif. Some typography sources refer to sans-serif typefaces as "grotesque" or "Gothic", and serif typefaces as "roman".
Roman square capitals, also called capitalis monumentalis, inscriptional capitals, elegant capitals and capitalis quadrata, are an ancient Roman form of writing, and the basis for modern capital letters. Square capitals are characterized by sharp, straight lines, supple curves, thick and thin strokes, angled stressing and incised serifs. When written in documents this style is known as Latin book hand.
The Gelasian Decree is a Latin text traditionally thought to be a Decretal of the prolific Pope Gelasius I, bishop of Rome from 492–496. The work reached its final form in a five-chapter text written by an anonymous scholar between 519 and 553, the second chapter of which is a list of books of Scripture presented as having been made part of the biblical canon by a Council of Rome under Pope Damasus I, the bishop of Rome from 366–383. This list is known as the Damasine List. The fifth chapter of the work includes a list of distrusted and rejected works not encouraged for church use.
Dionysius the Great was the 14th Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria from 28 December 248 until his death on 22 March 264. Most information known about him comes from his large surviving correspondence. Only one original letter survives to this day; the remaining letters are excerpted in the works of Eusebius.
The Liberian Catalogue is a list of the bishops of Rome from Peter to Liberius. For each bishop, the list gives the lengths of his episcopate, the corresponding consular dates and the names of the reigning emperors. In many cases there are other details. The catalogue is found in copies of the Chronography of 354, a "collection of tracts .. edited in 354".
Pallas and the Centaur is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli, c. 1482. It is now in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. It has been proposed as a companion piece to his Primavera, though it is a different shape. The medium used is tempera paints on canvas and its size is 207 x 148 cm. The painting has been retouched in many places, and these retouchings have faded.
Clarendon is the name of a slab serif typeface that was released in 1845 by Thorowgood and Co. of London, a letter foundry often known as the Fann Street Foundry. The original Clarendon design is credited to Robert Besley, a partner in the foundry, and was originally engraved by punchcutter Benjamin Fox, who may also have contributed to its design. Many copies, adaptations and revivals have been released, becoming almost an entire genre of type design.
Saints Protus and Hyacinth were Christian martyrs during the persecution of Emperor Valerian. Protus' name is sometimes spelled Protatius, Proteus, Prothus, Prote, and Proto. His name was corrupted in England as Saint Pratt. Hyacinth is sometimes called by his Latin name Hyacinthus.
Ecclesiastical letters are publications or announcements of the organs of Roman Catholic ecclesiastical authority, e.g. the synods, but more particularly of pope and bishops, addressed to the faithful in the form of letters.
Modern typographers view typography as a craft with a very long history tracing its origins back to the first punches and dies used to make seals and coinage currency in ancient times. The basic elements of typography are at least as old as civilization and the earliest writing systems—a series of key developments that were eventually drawn together into one systematic craft. While woodblock printing and movable type had precedents in East Asia, typography in the Western world developed after the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-15th century. The initial spread of printing throughout Germany and Italy led to the enduring legacy and continued use of blackletter, roman, and italic types.
The Chronograph of 354, also known as the Calendar of 354, is a compilation of chronological and calendrical texts produced in 354 AD for a wealthy Roman Christian named Valentinus by the calligrapher and illustrator Furius Dionysius Filocalus. The original illustrated manuscript is lost, but several copies have survived. It is the earliest dated codex to have full page illustrations. The term Calendar of Filocalus is sometimes used to describe the whole collection, and sometimes just the sixth part, which is the Calendar itself. Other versions of the names are occasionally used. The text and illustrations are available online.
Bell is the name given to a serif typeface designed and cut in 1788 by the punchcutter Richard Austin for the British Letter Foundry, operated by publisher John Bell, and revived several times since.
Early Christian inscriptions are the epigraphical remains of early Christianity. They are a valuable source of information in addition to the writings of the Church Fathers regarding the development of Christian thought and life in the first six centuries of the religion's existence. The three main types are sepulchral inscriptions, epigraphic records, and inscriptions concerning private life.
The Catacomb(s) of Callixtus is one of the Catacombs of Rome on the Appian Way, most notable for containing the Crypt of the Popes, which once contained the tombs of several popes from the 2nd to 4th centuries.
Vincent Figgins was a British typefounder based in London, who cast and sold metal type for printing. After an apprenticeship with typefounder Joseph Jackson, he established his own type foundry in 1792. His company was extremely successful and, with its range of modern serif faces and display typefaces, had a strong influence on the styles of British printing in the nineteenth century.
The Catacomb of Saint Agnes is one of the catacombs of Rome, placed at the second mile of via Nomentana, inside the monumental complex of Sant'Agnese fuori le mura, in the Quartiere Trieste.
The Catacombs of San Valentino is one of the catacombs of Rome (Italy), placed at the 2nd mile of the via Flaminia, now in Viale Maresciallo Pilsudski, in the modern Pinciano neighborhood.
