A sample page, in the half-uncial hand, from the Book of Kells.
"Although the existing roman letter was officially sanctioned as the
standard medium for the printing of Irish language documents in the early 1960s,
the four preceding centuries had witnessed a rich tradition of printing in the
Irish character.
The origins of Irish character typography regress to the high standard
of calligraphy achieved by the monastic scribes of the fifth century, and to the
two discrete styles – the half-uncial and the minuscule- that emerged from the
scriptorium to subsequently exert a defining influence on the design of Irish
printing types.
The full, rotund form of the half-uncial was typically used in the
transcription of Latin tracts notably, in the earliest known Irish manuscript,
the Cathach, and, magisterially, in the Book of Kells."
transcription of Latin tracts notably, in the earliest known Irish manuscript,
the Cathach, and, magisterially, in the Book of Kells."
Four centuries of printing in the Irish character
Brendan Leen
Cregan Library
The book of kells was actually made on the Island of Iona off Scotland. It isn’t strictly speaking Irish at all…