Online Lecture Series

The Age of the Writing Master and the Origins of English Roundhand
with Sybille van Zuylen

Don’t know your Van de Velde from your Materot? Your Snell from your Shelley? Join us for a series of 12 online lectures (one a month) with Sybille van Zuylen—creator of the Penna Volans website, an amazing resource for the study of writing masters and copybooks—as she takes us on a journey that spans several centuries and delves into the lives and letters from the Age of the Writing Master.

From the Italian Hand to what we know today as Copperplate, Sybille will enlighten us about a time span that is often overlooked in the calligraphy history books, but which gave rise to the pointed-pen styles we know today. The writing masters engaged in competition and innovation as they produced endless flourishes and seemingly impossible feats with narrow pens that still amaze us and leave us wondering, “How the Snell did they do that?” 

Throughout the year 2022, Sybille will be presenting one live lecture per month as she traces the origins and branches of writing that made English Roundhand possible. Participants will receive handouts and be able to ask questions. These monthly lectures will be presented live online and also be recorded for later viewing, all exclusively for members of the Society of Scribes.

Spanning several centuries and regions, get to know influential figures such as Barbedor, Perling, Seddon, Ayres, Tomkins, Jenkins, Bickham, Dunton, Spencer, and more. If you’ve ever wondered about the calligraphers behind the Universal Penman and the writing masters who influenced them, this is your opportunity to become educated and inspired!

Next Lecture (December 18, 2022)

Lecture 11: Final lecture – wrap-up and Q&A

Previous Lectures (recordings available to members)

1. The Renaissance: development and diffusion of the Cancellarescas.
   (Arrighi, Palatino, Tagliente, Cresci)

2. The transition to intaglio (1550–1600)
   (Bosse, Neudörffer, Mercator, Perret)

3. The Golden Age of Dutch calligraphy (1600–1630)
   (Van de Velde, Carpentier, Strick, Roelands, Frisius)

4. Development and diffusion of the French “Italienne Batarde”
   (Le Gagneur, Beaulieu, Materot, Barbedor, Senault)

5. Writing styles in Early Modern England (1500–1700)
   (Bales, Billingsley, Gething, Cocker, Ayres)

6. A round hand to rule them all (1680–1715)
   (Snell, Ayres, Shelley, Seddon, Clark)

7. “The Standard Rules of the English Round Hand”
   (Snell, Shelley, Clark, Langton, Champion, Bickham)

8. Engraving the English Round Hand (1700–1750)
   (George Bickham and The Universal Penman)

9. Plain and Ornamental Penmanship (1750–1800)
   (Champion, Thompson, Furbor, Tomkins, Miln, Seally)

10. The Legacy of the English Round Hand (19th–early 20th century)
    (de Araujo, Saintomer, Jenkins, Carstairs, Foster, Spencer, Dunton, Girault)

HOW TO Access

For access to the free live sessions and recordings, you must be a current member of Society of Scribes. If you are not yet a member, click here to join!

The first live session will start on January 30, 2022, at 2 PM Eastern time. The recording will be posted soon after. Access details will be sent to Society of Scribes members.