Before you write anything on the prepared surface, check that the pen is
working correctly. Use a piece of scrap paper and keep at it until you get
a good, even line. A dip nib that has become dirty with old residue ink
should be cleaned. There are special pen cleaning fluids for this, but warm
water and washing-up liquid works, too.
Do not leave dip nibs in water overnight; they will rust! Dry them with
tissue immediately after cleaning. Fountain pen nibs are usually gold plated
or otherwise treated so they won't rust. On the other hand, they often dry
up when they have been lying unused for a few days. The most efficient way
to "start" a pen with ink pump is simply to refill ink. The pen
is automatically rinsed every time you suck up ink through the nib with
the "pump". Knocking the nib gently against the scrap paper, to
shake down the ink, may also help. If this doesn't work, try wetting your
finger (or use a moist cloth) and slide it down the upper side of the nib
a few times. If this still doesn't help, it is probably necessary to disassemble
the pen and clean it.
How to clean a fountain pen: First rinse the nib in water to remove the
worst of the smudge. Then fill your mouth with lukewarm water, insert the
nib between your lips and blow water through it. Keep on until the water
is clear. Then blow air through it to remove water, dry with tissue, and
reassemble. If you can't get any water to go through the pen, it is really
clogged up. Then it's time for the bigger cleaning: All fountain pens should
be disassembled now and then, and the nibs left in pen cleaning fluid overnight,
to dissolve old residue ink. If, after this, you still can't blow water
through the nib, it is likely that the nib is dead. Bury it in a trashcan
and buy a new one.
Pattern alphabets
To learn an alphabet you need a pattern to look at and imitate. If you have
a fountain pen, it is likely that you also have a small booklet or leaflet
that came with the pen, and which contains different alphabets. There are
also several alphabets in most other books on calligraphy.
Begin by practising the style called "Carolingian minuscules".
It's very good as a starting alphabet because the characters contain all
the different elements you need to learn. DO NOT begin with half-uncials
or uncials! Those are the most difficult styles. And don't begin with the
Gothic (blackletter) style. I know that you may be tempted, because blackletter
is impressive to look at. But it's no good as a practicing style because
the characters are almost totally made up of straight, vertical lines, and
you won't learn how to make nice curves. Curves are important - without
them women would be flat and civilization would end. I assure you that "Gothic
blackletter" is much easier than it looks, once you have mastered "Carolingian
minuscules".
Real medieval scripts
Many authentic medieval styles (also called "scripts") are difficult
(or impossible) for non-experts to read. Some characters have been changed
rather drastically since the middle ages. Sure, we would love to write 100%
medieval, but we also want the recipient of a scroll to be able to decipher
the text. So the accepted practice is to modernize the letters just enough
to make them legible.
The "Carolingian minuscules" are mostly legible even in authentic
manuscripts. When you achieve greater skill it will be easier to give your
letters a more "historic" look while at the same time keeping
the legibility. If you want to see what real medieval alphabets look like,
look under "Paleography" at your local library. You will probably
find books with samples of several different styles. If you study them in
detail (and try to imitate them) you will soon acquire a true respect for
the workmanship of the medieval calligraphers.
Style in documents
When choosing the style of a document, you should consider that the different
scripts belong in different eras. Here are the approximate periods for most
of the well known scripts:
SCRIPT
TIME
Uncials
400-600
Insular minuscules (half-uncials)
500-1000
Anglo-Saxon
600-1100
Carolingian minuscule
800-1200
Early Gothic
from 1150
Later Gothic (narrow)
from 1400
One may find examples of the various scripts outside these frames, but those
are the periods they chiefly belong in. Thus, a document written with 14th
century blackletter characters should not have 9th century Celtic illuminations.
Well back to work!
The first problem for us modern sinners who are used to writing with ball
point pens is to get rid of the habit to draw a whole character in one sweep.
Calligraphy pens work best when you draw down and from left to right, and
will usually not produce a good line if you draw up to the left. This means
you must divide each character into several strokes, so that the pen always
moves in the right direction.
The Carolingian minuscule alphabet which is usually depicted in the little
booklets that come with fountain pens has little arrows and numbers at various
parts of the letters. This is self-explaining: you make the strokes in that
direction and order.
Start with a simple letter like "c". It contains a very useful
"left curve" which also appears in many other letters, (d, e,
g, o, q and some types of a and u). Thus, "c" is good to practice.
You draw it in two strokes. Use the guiding line! Place the pen just below
the guiding line and draw the down-bending stroke. Then lift the pen and
place it where you started, and do the upwards right stroke. Finished!
In fact, this is one of the real difficulties in calligraphy: if the text
is to look good, it must stand exactly on the writing line. It's also absolutely
vital that all letters are of equal size. The beauty of a text depends largely
on the repetitious motifs of similar characters. The least deviation will
make a bad impression. Thus, the foremost virtue of a good calligrapher
isn't artistic talent but a meticulous exactitude, bordering on lunacy.
(In fact, there are instances when you can purposely put letters above or
below the writing line, but that belongs in advanced technique.)
If you find it very difficult to make your characters look like the originals,
you can start by putting a transparent paper on top of the originals and
trace the letters. I know this sounds ridiculous, but it can actually help
beginners to "get the feel" of the letters. When you have discovered
how to trace it, you can probably write it.
I have found that letters are works of art in themselves. When I started
writing, I thought I knew what they looked like, but I didn't. It takes
a lot of training to really get the feel of their nature. You must try to
make each character become part of your being. You must absorb the essence
of the "n" in order to not just imitate some lines on a paper
but create the "n". It should flow from your mind onto the paper.
Writing can even be like a sort of meditation. When the form of the letters
have become part of your subconscious, you will be able to vary their form,
add flourishes and fancy details while maintaining the essence of the letter.
Achieving this is a rare and most satisfying experience.
Diminuendo
It was common, particularly in Anglo-Saxon lands, to write large letters
at the beginning of a document and then make them successively smaller.
First there would be an illuminated capital. The first line of text could
also be illuminated or at least much bigger than the rest. Then there came
one or two lines of intermediate-size text until they reached the normal
size used in the rest of the document. This is known as "diminuendo".