Grecs du roi

Estienne's 1550 edition of the New Testament was typeset with Garamond's Grecs du roi.[1]
A manuscript written by Vergecio, whose handwriting was the basis for the type

Les Grecs du roi (lit. "the king's Greeks") are a celebrated and influential Greek alphabet typeface in the Greek minuscule style which was cut by the French punchcutter Claude Garamond between 1541 and 1550. Arthur Tilley calls the books printed from them "among the most finished specimens of typography that exist".[2]

The Grecs du roi punches were ordered by Pierre du Chastel on behalf of King Francis I of France from Robert Estienne in a contract dated 2 November 1540 and remain the property of the French government.[3] The design was based on the handwriting of the Cretan copyist Angelo Vergecio, and includes many alternate letters and ligatures. The Grecs du roi were influenced by types cut by Francesco Griffo and used by printer Aldus Manutius in Venice. The types formed the basic model for Greek typefaces for the next two centuries.[4]

  1. ^ Valerie R. Hotchkiss, Charles C. Ryrie (1998). "Formatting the Word of God: An Exhibition at Bridwell Library". Archived from the original on 2009-07-27. Retrieved 2010-10-13.
  2. ^ Tilley, Arthur (1900). "Humanism under Francis I". The English Historical Review. 15 (59): 456–478. doi:10.1093/ehr/xv.lix.456.
  3. ^ Parent, Annie; Veyrin-Forrer, Jeanne (1974). "Claude Garamont: New Documents". The Library. s5-XXIX (1): 80–92. doi:10.1093/library/s5-XXIX.1.80.
  4. ^ Lane 1996.