Una tipografía puede encapsular fantasías nacionales producto de siglos de malentendidos, complejos y propaganda. Una breve historia de la blackletter, el uniforme visual de la primera Alemania.
Tacitus’ Germania was utter fantasy, perhaps the first known example of the “noble savage” stereotype deployed in writing. That actual Germans might read it 1400 years in the future and use it as the basis for an entire national movement probably never crossed his mind.
(…)
Thus, blackletter writing, precisely because of its barbarian connotations, became an indispensable part of German culture, as sober and dark as the people themselves, as dense and impenetrable as their ancient woodlands. In the 19th century, the Romantic movement saw myth, magic, and folklore form the basis for a new wave of arts and culture, and Germans were right at the heart of it. Their nationalism grew as works like the Grimms’ fairy tales dredged more German heritage up from the mires of history, while authors like Goethe and Heine kept Germans at the forefront of contemporary culture. Of course, all of their books were printed in distinctly German blackletter typefaces.
https://weirdmedievalguys.substack.com/p/how-did-medieval-french-handwriting
