The Typography of Syriac

Syriac, a dialect of the ancient Aramaic language, has a remarkable Christian literature spanning a thousand years from the 4th to the 13th centuries. Using archival documents, type specimens and other scattered evidence, this study records and illustrates 129 different Syriac types.

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Syriac, a dialect of the ancient Aramaic language, has a remarkable Christian literature spanning a thousand years from the 4th to the 13th centuries, including important versions of the Bible. It remains the liturgical language of several churches in the Middle East, India and the west, and modern Syriac is a vernacular still in use today. The challenge of conveying the beautiful cursive Syriac script, in one or another of its three variations was taken up by many type designers, from Robert Granjon in the 16th century to the Monotype and Linotype designers in recent years. Using archival documents, type specimens and other scattered evidence, this study records and illustrates 129 different Syriac types. This book will be of interest to scholars of Middle Eastern languages, as well as all historians of type and printing.