Lombardic capitals
Lombardic capitals is the name given to a type of decorative upper-case letters used in inscriptions and, typically, at the start of a section of text in medieval manuscripts. Paul Shaw describes it as a 'relative' of uncial writing.
The term Lombardic comes from the study of incunabula.
A characteristic form of text decoration in manuscripts and early printed books with hand colouring was to use alternating red and blue Lombardic capitals for the start of each successive paragraph.
Unlike historiated or inhabited initials, Lombardic capitals are devoid of further decoration.
In modern times, fonts of Lombardic capitals have been designed by many typographers, such as Frederic Goudy, who included a set as an alternative uppercase for his Goudy Text font.
