Fonts ⮞ Classics ⮞
Blackletter (English)
Error: JavaScript is needed to render this site: please enable it.
Classic-like english blackletter font families which are free (but, alas, not flexible) include:
- AnglicanText
- Canterbury
- Chomsky ✓
- Cloister Black
- CloisterBlack BT
- Dearest ✓
Note: you should select a font which has the glyphs you use, which is legible, and which has the right flavour for your work. For example, you could choose Chomsky or Cloister Black if your work needs a simple, clear english blackletter font, but AnglicanText or Dearest if your work needs a more ornate english blackletter font.
Note: for-pay fonts often offer more glyphs.
See also: diverse blackletter fonts are offered by 1001 Fonts, Font Space, and others.
Caution: blackletter fonts may have limited character sets; make sure your font has all the characters you need.
Caution: blackletter fonts — and especially ornate blackletter fonts — work best at large font sizes.
Recommended
For a clear, legible font, I recommend Chomsky, though like most of these fonts, its font family includes only 1 font.
For an especially ornate font, I recommend Dearest, though its font family has only 3 variants (each with a different look), and though each is legible only at very large font sizes.
Comparisons
The fonts compared, at sizes φ4, φ3, and φ2 ems:
AnglicanText
This font comes in 1 weight: Regular.
Select this font with this CSS: font-family:'AnglicanText', serif; font-stretch:condensed;
1.90emABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789
2.62emAaBbEeGgMmPpQqRrTtWwYyZz
3.61emAaBbEeGgMmPpQqRrTtWwYyZz
4.96emAaBbEeGgMmPpQqRrTtWwYyZz
Canterbury
This font comes in 1 weight: Regular.
Select this font with this CSS: font-family:'Canterbury', serif; font-stretch:condensed;
1.90emABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789
2.62emAaBbEeGgMmPpQqRrTtWwYyZz
3.61emAaBbEeGgMmPpQqRrTtWwYyZz
4.96emAaBbEeGgMmPpQqRrTtWwYyZz
Chomsky ✓
This font comes in 1 weight: Regular.
Select this font with this CSS: font-family:'Chomsky', serif; font-stretch:condensed;
1.90emABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789
2.62emAaBbEeGgMmPpQqRrTtWwYyZz
3.61emAaBbEeGgMmPpQqRrTtWwYyZz
4.96emAaBbEeGgMmPpQqRrTtWwYyZz
Cloister Black
This font comes in 1 weight: Regular.
Select this font with this CSS: font-family:'Cloister Black', serif; font-stretch:condensed;
1.90emABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789
2.62emAaBbEeGgMmPpQqRrTtWwYyZz
3.61emAaBbEeGgMmPpQqRrTtWwYyZz
4.96emAaBbEeGgMmPpQqRrTtWwYyZz
CloisterBlack BT
This font comes in 1 weight: Regular.
Select this font with this CSS: font-family:'CloisterBlack BT', serif; font-stretch:condensed;
1.90emABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789
2.62emAaBbEeGgMmPpQqRrTtWwYyZz
3.61emAaBbEeGgMmPpQqRrTtWwYyZz
4.96emAaBbEeGgMmPpQqRrTtWwYyZz
Dearest
This font family comes in three varieties: Dearest, Dearest Open, and Dearest Outline.
Dearest ✓
This font comes in 1 weight: Regular.
Select this font with this CSS: font-family:'Dearest', serif; font-stretch:condensed;
1.90emABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789
2.62emAaBbEeGgMmPpQqRrTtWwYyZz
3.61emAaBbEeGgMmPpQqRrTtWwYyZz
4.96emAaBbEeGgMmPpQqRrTtWwYyZz
Dearest Open
This font comes in 1 weight: Regular.
Select this font with this CSS: font-family:'Dearest Open', serif; font-stretch:condensed;
1.90emABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789
2.62emAaBbEeGgMmPpQqRrTtWwYyZz
3.61emAaBbEeGgMmPpQqRrTtWwYyZz
4.96emAaBbEeGgMmPpQqRrTtWwYyZz
Dearest Outline
This font comes in 1 weight: Regular.
Select this font with this CSS: font-family:'Dearest Outline', serif; font-stretch:condensed;
1.90emABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789
2.62emAaBbEeGgMmPpQqRrTtWwYyZz
3.61emAaBbEeGgMmPpQqRrTtWwYyZz
4.96emAaBbEeGgMmPpQqRrTtWwYyZz
