Chapter 5 Flashcards
xylography
The technical term for the relief printing from a raised surface that originated in Asia
Typography
Printing with independent, movable, and reusable bits of metal or wood, each of which has a raised letterform on one face
Watermark
A translucent emblem produced by pressure form a raised design on the mold and visible when the sheet of paper is held to the light; used in Italy by 1282
Block Printing
relief printing in which image and lettering were cut from the same block of wood
Ars Moriendi
- “Art of dying”
- Advised one on the preparation for and meeting of the final hour. Death was an ever-present preoccupation die to the great cycles of bubonic plague, called Black Death, which claimed 1/4 of the European continent’s inhabitants during the 14th century and caused 1,000 villages either to vanish completely or to be critically depopulated
Block book
A woodcut picture book with a religious subject matter and brief text. Image and lettering were cut from a block of wood and each page was printed as a complete word-and-picture unit
biblia pauperum
- “bible of the poor”
- a compendium of events in the life of Christ, including testimony about how Old Testament prophecy was fulfilled
forty-two-line bible
the first typographic book.
textura
a square, compact lettering style commonly used by German scribes of Gutenberg’s day- the first to be used as movable type
ligature
the joining of two letters next to each other to create a more even spacing and greater legibility
Punch
A steel bar with a character engraved into the top, pressed into softer matrix to make a negative impression of a letterform from the punch
Matrix
soft copper or brass used to make a negative impression of a letterform from the punch
letters of indulgence
The earliest dated specimens of typographic design and printing are the 1454 letters of indulgence issued in Mainz. Letters of indulgence were issued by Pope Nicholas V, who granted these pardons of sins to all Christians who had given money to support the war against the Turks
Rubrication
The application of red-ink initials and titles to a printed book by a scribe
Psalter
A version of the Psalms for liturgical or devotional use