十五世紀德國活字印刷與“哥德活字”初期造形研究

15世紀中期，正值手抄書籍的產量達到巔峰，因而產生了新的書籍製作方式－活字印刷：書籍頁面文字的造形概念，亦因為排版取代了抄寫而開始轉變，而採用同期手抄書中流行的哥德字體為藍本，發展出最早的活字字體，特別又以德國為發展重心。本文以15世紀中後期印刷術的發源地－德意志地區為範圍，探討當地哥德手寫字體轉型為哥德活字之造形發展，以作為「歐洲印刷初期字體設計概念」有關哥德字體部份之論述依據。從相關文獻之比較評析中，釐清本研究之命題方向與思考脈絡，先分析活字印刷的發展背景與活字鑄造技術，再考據文獻並參酌字體樣本，將最初哥德活字之造形發展，分為「Textura」、「Rotunda」與「Schwabacher」三種類型進行描述。依此認知的架構，進行字體風格之分析比較，並加入16世紀初成形的「Fraktur」而構成哥德活字的四種基本家族，再與原手寫字體之造形比較，歸納出哥德活字家族之演化脈絡，並詮釋最初字體造形之動機與設計理念。最後，以羅馬字體的優勢為例，分析哥德活字所面臨的問題，並思考當時文化環境變遷之因素，藉以解讀哥德活字使用消退，以及轉型為民族性與文化性象徵之現象。

關鍵字

活字印刷；哥德活字；德國字體

並列摘要

In the middle 15th century, moveable type printing, a new technic of book production, came to Europe as growing market of manuscripts. As typography replacing writing, the concept of book lettering was changed from Gothic script, which was the most popular letterform in the same period, to the ”Gothic type”, the first typeface used in Germany. This study focuses on Germany, the original printing area in Europe, to discuss the lettering development from Gothic script to type, and become the basic idea for the coming research, the original lettering of Western typeface. The topic direction was confirmed by comparing the documents, and then, according to the background of printing evolution and the sample faces, the development of original Gothic typefaces in Germany was described with three varieties. ”Textura”, ”Rotunda” and ”Schwabacher”. By analyzing the lettering styles and comparing with the script, the way of lettering evolution directed another variety ”Fraktur”, which became the fourth family of Gothic typefaces in the very beginning in the 16th century, thus, there built the relationship and evolution system between Gothic type families and script lettering, as well as annotated the concept and motive for designing the original letterform used for printing. Finally the use problems of Gothic type was discussed by comparing with Roman type, and from a view of culture and history, it can be explained why its use abated and transferred to a Germanic type and specific sign, after the 15th century.