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Antiqua– Fraktur dispute Fraktur is a calligraphic hand and any of several blackletter typefaces derived from this hand. The blackletter lines are broken up – that is, their forms contain many angles when compared to the smooth curves of the Antiqua typefaces modeled after antique Roman square capitals and Carolingian minuscule. From this, Fraktur is sometimes contrasted with the Latin alphabet in northern European texts, being sometimes called the German alphabet, despite simply being a typeface of Latin. Similarly, the term Fraktur or Gothic is sometimes applied to all of the blackletter typefaces. Besides the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, the ß and vowels with umlauts, Fraktur typefaces include the long s. They also sometimes include a variant form of the letter r known as the r rotunda, and a variety of ligatures once intended to aid the typesetter and which have specialized rules for their use. Most older Fraktur typefaces make no distinction between the majuscules »I« and »J«, so even though the minuscules »i« and »j« are differentiated. One difference between the Fraktur and other blackletter scripts is that in the small-letter o, the left part of the bow is broken, but the right part is not. From at least the 16th century, Danish texts already generally employed ø in preference to the German and Swedish.
origin First Fraktur typeface was designed when Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (c. 1493–1519) established a series of books and had a new typeface created specifically for this purpose, designed by Hieronymus Andreae. Fraktur quickly overtook the earlier Schwabacher and Textualis typefaces in popularity, and a wide variety of Fraktur fonts were carved. It became common in the German speaking world and areas under German influence (Scandinavia, the Baltic states, Central Europe). Over the succeeding centuries, most Central Europeans switched to Antiqua, but German-speakers remained a notable holdout.