Words Matter - Upon Trajan's Column

You're looking at the inscription from Trajan's Column, circa 113 A.D.. The person who engraved these letters, the Senate and the People of Rome who dedicated them, and Trajan himself are long since dust. But the words remain.

This particular set of characters happens to be the basis of modern typography: an unintended consequence, but true. Typesetters have long considered Trajan's column to be the gold standard of Roman capital letters. Every printed word in a Western language owes a little something to this bit of Second Century political adulation.

Which goes to show the persistence and power of words -- or, in this case, the mere form of words. This inscription was meant to immortalize a certain Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus for his victory in the otherwise-forgotten Dacian Wars. Instead, it really came to immortalize an idea: one of classical beauty, of the delicate serifs and contrasting strokes which still support the alphabet you are now reading. It's a legacy far greater than quelling some upstart empire on the banks of the Danube.

In our increasingly twitterized world, it's easy to forget the value of words. "Less is more," as communication gets stripped to its barest essentials. Syntax, elegance, and grammar -- all gone, in the service of utilitarian economy.

But just because we're no longer chipping our thoughts into stone, we shouldn't assume their lack of permanence or effect. Our most trivial online musings rarely escape the unblinking, restless gaze of Google and its seemingly limitless virtual libraries of digital storage. It would be fascinating to peer 19 centuries into the future, squinting like some bygone artisan under a hot Roman sun, to see what of our words remain for others. Surely there will be unintended consequences.

Comments

[Mahesh CR]

The thought and the words are almost chiseled to perfection, really beautiful post.

I especially agree with the idea of all grammar and structure being stripped away in a Twitter based world.

[Joanna Young]

I love the fluidity of Twitter Valeria, but there are times when you just have to write, your words your way, and tell it like it is.

This post is precious to me, as a lover of words, but also as the daughter of a Classics teacher. We spent many holidays in European cities looking at Roman remains, and they never ceased to cause as to stop and wonder.

Thanks for getting me to slow down and think

Joanna

[Roger von Oech]

When you look at the letters, what do you notice is missing? Something really obvious and important isn't there. (Go ahead, and take a moment to look again.)

Here's a big clue:
http://blog.creativethink.com/2007/02/give_me_space_b.html

[trainerdave]

Roger, great link to what's "missing"! History reveals as much in its form as in its substance.

Serifs themselves must have a reason for being, beyond aesthetics. Why go thru the trouble of adding tails to the ends of letter strokes?

And why do the Swiss remove the serifs? I'd enjoy seeing a post pointing to those reasons. Like most changes of form, I'm sure these are not arbitrary but lend function / practicality .

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Mahesh - your blog offered many refreshing ideas and images. Thank you for reaching out with this comment. I've enjoyed getting to know how you think.

@Joanna - to me it's balance. Sometimes it's fine to be hanging out and chatting. The deeper need to develop a thought is in long hand, or long form. Many recently have brought into question the value of self publishing. Perhaps there is less time... the value depends on what we put into it.

@Roger - I am reading your book now and enjoying it tremendously. What a great whack on the side of the head! The other notable element that was missing then, was the character for "U". Good thing my name is Valeria, a very Roman name.

@Trainerdave - thank you for joining in. As I am not an expert in fonts, just a Roman history buff via linguistics and classic studies, I will defer to Roger for your request.

[mvellandi]

We're missing the melted bronze.
The spacing between words, letters, and line breaks is another (as Roger pointed out)

Then there's also the lack of lowercase letters, which by contrast identify the beginning of sentences and serve to accentuate individual words like Names.

With increasing digitalism, the contrast and attention to beautiful typography will increase, not to mention the handwritten/artistic.

The Grotesk typefaces (sans-serifs) serve to increase readability in particular contexts like small text and road signage.

Valeria - Here's my post on Trajan. It's elegant indeed. I like it best used with small caps, so the first letter has greater prominence.
http://vellandi.wordpress.com/2008/03/30/trajan-the-original-roman-serif/