The use of calligraphy

A dramatized workshop entitled The use of calligraphy concerns elementary teaching of reading and writing – today taught within the subject of Croatian language. In the nineteenth century, calligraphy was one of the school subjects in lower primary school. The role of calligraphy, apart from its basic purpose to teach pupils various types of lettering (upright, rounded and angled), was also to develop a sense of beauty and to encourage them to be tidy, quiet, patient, clean and orderly. Calligraphy was also a way of preparing the pupils for subsequent more demanding tasks and other subjects that involved elements of calligraphy (embroidery, drawing, geometry, vocational subjects and other). The participants of this workshop will adopt the basics of calligraphy and practice completing an exercise under the close supervision of a “strict” nineteenth-century teacher. They will be dressed in appropriate school attire for the primary school of the period and write using pen and ink. They will learn how to sit properly, how to hold a pen correctly and how to behave well. For this workshop, it is assumed the participants have already mastered the basics of reading and writing.

Duration: 45 minutes.

Participants: elementary school pupils from 2nd to 8th form, secondary school pupils, adults.