The Art Sublime

"I seek, Disciple of the Art;

That to the famed Teutonic three

Just meeds of praise may given be;

That all aright the men may know

To whom Typography we owe;

The men whose names immortal ring,

Whose gifts transcendent blessings bring,

Whose monuments in every land

By wisdom rear’d, heart-honor’d stand,

Inscribed in tongues of every clime —

“Inventors of the Art Sublime!”[1]

Skeen pontificates that “to this Art, as it was invented and perfected in Europe in the Fifteenth century, the epithets Divine and Noble have not untruly been applied.”[2]—

It is Divine, inasmuch as it is one of the grand instruments in the hands of Providence for the regeneration of fallen humanity. By it the mightiest movement the world has ever seen since the days when the Apostolic Twelve went about “turning it upside down,” — the Great Reformation of the Sixteenth century, — was mainly effected. Without it the Word of God could not have been diffused, as it has been, is being, and will continue to be, to every nation and tribe and people and tongue throughout the world.”[3]

We are made by our Creator to be “sensory-rich,” and our typographic history unfolds this in stunning and diverse ways. As one writer has so eloquently said Holy Scripture calls us to inhabit an ordered world of creation and providence that is sensory rich, but we suffer what we may regard as spiritual sensory deprivation. And the more we discover the depth, scope and lush richness of the divinely ordered real world, the more we discover the impoverishment of the modern condition.[4]

Even the briefest of surveys and historical typographic study will reveal the theology of type. The depth, scope and richness of typography through the centuries displays either the beauty God has given this world, or the resistance to such beauty.

The Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century was deeply tied to advancements in typography and printing, which played a crucial role in spreading reformist ideas. Some major typographical advances during this period include the use of the printing press of Johann Gutenberg around 1440 which had revolutionized printing. Printers improved the efficiency of moveable type, making it faster and easier to print large numbers of religious pamphlets, tracts and Bibles. 

Instead of obscure Latin, reformers like Martin Luther advocated for scripture and religious texts in local, common languages. The Blackletter face Fraktur was a Gothic script used in German-speaking areas. The more humanist Roman type gained traditional use in parts of Europe.

Woodcut illustrations like those of Lucas Cranach the Elder, who supported Martin Luther, complemented printed texts, making complex religious ideas and theological concepts more accessible to a largely illiterate population. There were greater efforts in standardizing spelling and grammar studies and books. Printing advancements enabled the production of smaller, more affordable Bibles.

These typographical innovations, combined with the theological upheaval of the Reformation, transformed the way people accessed and engaged with religious texts, ultimately shaping modern literacy and communication.

Notes

1. William Skeen, Early Typography (Colombo: Ceylon, 1872), opening poem.

2. Skeen, 11–12.

3. Skeen, 12–13.

4. Alexander Lawson, “Typographic Journey—Craft to Computer,” Typeworld, July 1, 1992.