# MedievalSharp font

> Sharp, chisel-cut letters with a Gothic flavour, first drawn by a stone carver for inscriptions; one weight.

MedievalSharp is a display typeface by Wojciech Kalinowski, drawn around 1995 for stone inscriptions and based on Gothic letters. Its strokes flare into sharp points and its round letters are cut at an angle. MedievalSharp has one Regular style with 403 glyphs, is released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1 and suits fantasy titles, game graphics and labels.

## Facts

- Classification: [Display](https://trendhub.net/fonts/category/display)
- Designed by: Wojciech Kalinowski
- License: SIL Open Font License 1.1 (https://openfontlicense.org/open-font-license-official-text/)
- Styles: 1 (Regular 400)
- Variable font: No
- Glyphs: 403
- Character sets: latin, latin-ext
- Last updated: 2025-09-10
- Official source: https://fonts.google.com/specimen/MedievalSharp
- Page: https://trendhub.net/fonts/medievalsharp
- Tagged for: Headlines, Posters, Logos

## About MedievalSharp

MedievalSharp is a display face whose letters look cut with a chisel. Stems widen toward their ends and stop in sharp diagonal points, bowls are sliced where they meet the stem, and several forms come from older book hands: a rounded uncial-style e, a w made of two joined bowls and a y with a hooked tail. Despite the Gothic source the letters are open and upright, closer to carved capitals than to dense textura. The designer explains that he made it in about 1995, when he began carving inscriptions in stone professionally; it started as capitals and digits, the lowercase followed later, and from 2010 he turned his lettering designs into digital fonts. MedievalSharp has a single Regular style with 403 glyphs in Latin and Latin Extended character sets. Wojciech Kalinowski is credited as designer, and the license is the SIL Open Font License 1.1.

## License

SIL Open Font License 1.1. Copyright (c) 2011, wmk69 (wmk69@o2.pl), with Reserved Font Name MedievalSharp.

Allowed:
- Use the fonts in personal and commercial work, in print, on the web and in apps.
- Modify the fonts and build new versions from them.
- Redistribute the fonts, on their own or bundled with software, as long as the license text and copyright notice go with them.

Conditions:
- The fonts cannot be sold by themselves.
- A modified version must stay under the same license and cannot use a Reserved Font Name without the copyright holder's permission.
- The authors' names cannot be used to promote a modified version without permission.

Summary only, not legal advice. Full text: https://openfontlicense.org/open-font-license-official-text/

## Where it works

- **Fantasy book and game titles**: Pointed stroke ends and the uncial-style e and w set a medieval scene without the reading difficulty of a true blackletter.
- **Tabletop maps, cards and handouts**: Place names and card headings stay legible because the letters are open and upright.
- **Festival, market and tavern signs**: The design began as lettering for stone, and its sturdy capitals hold up when cut, engraved or painted large.
- **Craft labels**: Mead, beer and candle labels can use the sharp capitals for a product name above plainer small print.

## Things to know

- **Not a broken-stroke blackletter**: The official source classes it as a display face. The specimen shows rounded, flared letters rather than the angular fractured strokes of textura or fraktur.
- **One weight**: Regular is the only style. The file reports a slightly heavier internal weight value, yet there is no bold or italic companion.
- **Reserved name**: The license notice reserves the font name MedievalSharp, so a modified version needs a different name.

## FAQs

### Is MedievalSharp free for commercial use?

MedievalSharp can be used in commercial projects without a fee under the SIL Open Font License 1.1. The license also permits modifying and redistributing the files, but the font may not be sold by itself and derivatives keep the same license. Modified versions also may not use the reserved name MedievalSharp without permission. Read the license text for the exact terms.

### Who designed MedievalSharp?

MedievalSharp is credited to Wojciech Kalinowski, who appears in the copyright notice under the handle wmk69.

### Is MedievalSharp a blackletter font?

MedievalSharp is based on Gothic letters but drawn with open, flared shapes for stone carving. It reads more easily than a traditional blackletter and works as a medieval-style display face.

### How many weights does MedievalSharp have?

MedievalSharp has one weight, labelled Regular 400, and no italic.

### Which languages does MedievalSharp support?

MedievalSharp includes the letters needed for English and other Latin-script languages such as Polish, Czech, German, French, Turkish and Romanian.

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Source: https://trendhub.net/fonts/medievalsharp (trendhub)