“Manueline” scripts in royal provisions at the early sixteenth-century

Abstract

In the reign of D. Manuel, from 1500 onwards, a new kind of letter appeared in Portugal. This lettering was distinct from the johannine calligraphy (a standard graphic fixed in the Royal Chancellery since D. João I), with the introduction of changes and innovations similar to the model of the Castilian courtier characterized by a different calligraphic version and a faster cursive hand. The introduction of these variations into a previously canonized writing must have been accomplished through the hands of highly positioned professionals in the royal court, who had the capacity and authority to maneuver and imposed them. The analysis of the writings used by the court clerks in the drafting of royal provisions allows assigning the introduction of manueline writing to the writers Afonso Mexia and António Carneiro respectively in the calligraphic version and quick cursive hand.