THE AUTOGRAPH OF BOGUSLAVAS RADVILA IN THE CONTEXT OF THE 17TH-CENTURY ROMAN CURSIVE The article dwells on the autograph of Boguslavas Radvila (Bogusław Radziwiłł) (1620–1669). The earliest autograph of the duke in the analysed material is detected in two letters in the Polish language dating back to 1622, and one letter in the same language dating back to 1623, written in his name by an adult to Kristupas II Radvila (Krzysztof Radziwiłł). The assumption is that the validation ręką swą in the letters of 1622 and the subscription, signature and validation in the letter of 1623 were made by the young duke while his hand was being held by an adult. The slightly different ductus of Boguslavas’ ‘autograph’, as observed in the letters, suggests that this might have been two different adults. It still remains unclear whether Boguslavas, who grew up in his mother’s German household and only spoke German, was taught to write in the German Gothic Cursive. While in the custody of his uncle Kristupas II Radvila, from 1629 to 1633, Boguslavas Radvila was taught to write, and used four different version of Italian Humanist Bastard. Based on the chronology, these versions are conditionally referred to as the first, the second, the third and the fourth. Letters in Polish to his uncle dating from 1629 and 1630 were written in the first and second versions. Letters to his uncle in Latin dating from 1630–1633 were written or signed (if they were written by somebody else) in the third and fourth versions. For a child’s hand, most letters are written calligraphically. The abundance of decorative elements suggests that Boguslavas was increasingly in control of the quill, and that he had talent. In addition, it points to the fact that when teaching a nobleman to write, the focus was on calligraphy. It still remains unclear why the letters in Latin were written in different versions of Humanist Bastard to those in Polish. The cautious assumption can be made that this was due to the preference of the duke’s teachers for those particular versions of testeggiata cursive. Consistent changes in Radvila’s autograph from a child’s to an adult’s hand could not be traced. Undoubtedly, the autograph was influenced by his studies between 1637 and 1648, and his visits to countries (Germany, the Netherlands, France and England) where the national script was Gothic Cursive, though Italian Humanist Bastard and French Humanist Bastard were also used. By 1641, the duke’s hand had already changed. The autograph was half-cursive, and included Gothic forms of d and z which had not been used in childhood. By 1645, Boguslavas Radvila’s hand had been fully trained, and the autograph had fully formed in the shape of cursive ductus. The choice of cursive was subject to the language of the text. Accuracy when writing was also an important factor. Based on the nature of the cursive used, four versions of the nobleman’s autograph can be distinguished: a Humanistic, a Mixed one, and two Gothic, one German Gothic and the other French Gothic. Texts in Polish and Latin (insertions in the text) were written either in Humanistic or in Mixed Cursive. Italian Humanistic Bastard served as the basis for the Humanistic autograph. However, quite a few of its characteristic features had paled, had been modified, or substituted with elements of French Humanistic Bastard, Gothic or Gothicised characters. The more accurate the duke was, the more elements of Italian Humanistic Bastard could be detected in his autograph. Occasionally, some features of French Humanistic Bastard can be identified (a letter or two). When writing in a fast and casual manner, the number of Gothic and Gothicised elements increased, which made the cursive Mixed. Texts in French were written in Gothic French Cursive. When the duke was not accurate enough, the number of Humanistic elements in his French Gothic autograph increased. This was Mixed Cursive with elements of French Gothic Cursive. Texts in German were written in German Gothic Cursive, under the influence of Humanistic Cursive. This is obvious in the ductus and occasional Humanistic form of the letters. Boguslavas Radvila’s autograph was subject to change: it either became neater or more casual. The calligraphic, or close to calligraphy, and casual, at times almost illegible, version of his cursive can be distinguished. Differences in the autograph can be explained by the duke’s attitude when writing, and by his physical well-being. Boguslavas Radvila’s autograph is evidence of the two types of Roman Cursive that were used at that time. At the same time, the duke joins the ranks of those who mastered two different cursives.
Read full abstract
Dec 4, 2023
Paola Colleoni 
Open Access
