How to Go About Learning to Write in an Insular Minuscule Inspired Style?

[Conservative Eccentric]

I have always loved the traditional Irish script styles, especially the old insular script, and in my quest to begin improving my handwriting (currently just a basic messy print), I would really like to learn to write in this fashion, or at least something influenced by and vaguely reminiscent of it.  But where do I even start or find instruction resources?  Here are some of my favourite examples of the handwriting, and a more deliberately calligraphic one as well as a modern example of Irish handwriting that I still like:

[Duffy]

On 2/17/2023 at 11:39 PM, Conservative Eccentric said:

I have always loved the traditional Irish script styles, especially the old insular script, and in my quest to begin improving my handwriting (currently just a basic messy print), I would really like to learn to write in this fashion, or at least something influenced by and vaguely reminiscent of it.  But where do I even start or find instruction resources?  Here are some of my favourite examples of the handwriting, and a more deliberately calligraphic one as well as a modern example of Irish handwriting that I still like:

They should never have done away with this type of script. I think mine was the last generation to learn it in primary school. Lovely writing.

[txomsy]

A few references

 

Medieval Calligraphy: Its History and Technique (Lettering, Calligraphy, Typography)  by Marc Drogin, but this is about a lot of different scripts

 

https://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Calligraphy-Technique-Lettering-Typography/dp/0486261425/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1XWZ41BW25Q6Z&keywords=drogin+marc+calligraphy&qid=1690981763&sprefix=drogin+marc+calligraphy%2Caps%2C140&sr=8-1

 

Alternatively, Calligraphy of the Middle Ages and How to Do It (Lettering, Calligraphy, Typography) , also by Drogin:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Calligraphy-Middle-Ages-Lettering-Typography/dp/0486402053/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1XWZ41BW25Q6Z&keywords=drogin+marc+calligraphy&qid=1690981763&sprefix=drogin+marc+calligraphy%2Caps%2C140&sr=8-2

 

But, most likely, the one you are after is this one:

 

Celtic Hand Stroke by Stroke: Irish Half-Uncial from The Book of Kells, by Arthur Baker.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Celtic-Hand-Stroke-Irish-Half-Uncial/dp/0486243362/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2JX9VSBOVRH2Y&keywords=celtic+hand+calligraphy&qid=1690981960&sprefix=celtic+hand+calligraphy%2Caps%2C133&sr=8-1

 

None of them are particularly expensive.

[inkstainedruth]

txomsy beat me to the punch.  I would also have suggested the Marc Drogin books (I actually recently got the second one by him, but don't know if it's just the same book only re-titled, because I haven't had time to really do a side-by-side comparison).  

Trying to remember if the book I had from taking a calligraphy class in college did that hand (unfortunately, I can't get at the cabinet it's in because SOMEBODY had blocked the way to get from the living room to the back den with all of his random cr@p -- large portions of which I have no idea what the boxes and tubs even contain).  And of course there's also the treadmill that HE wanted but damaged the living room ceiling using up in his office....  And hasn't used since he moved it downstairs....  (My husband used to use it while watching videos, but I couldn't concentrate on that, so just watched the little light track pattern when I used it....)

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth