Okay, to finish up on Fraktur! What in the world does that odd word mean? Fraktur actually takes its name from the type of lettering that was used in making it... the old German text, or "black letter" text has a broken or "fractured" appearance, and thus the name! The actual words on the fraktur inspired the name of the art. Most fraktur were made up of words, and the words were illuminated like medieval manuscripts, though being folk art, the majority of fraktur artists were everyday people such as schoolmasters or clergy. Gradually, the pictures in fraktur began to take precedence, and a stylized form of art began to be called "Fraktur." One thing I find interesting is that the fraktur made by Protestants tended to be more "word" oriented, since the written Word was of great importance to their religious heritage, and fraktur made my Catholics and other more liturgical denominations tended to be more "picture" oriented, since those denominations leaned more heavily on visual expressions of their Faith.

Another reason I enjoy historic Fraktur art is that it was "art with a purpose" to the utmost degree! Fraktur had many purposes, but the main reason it was made was to document important events... marriages, births, and baptisms. In a day when the government did not keep these important records, someone thought it important enough to memorialize the event on paper. Not only did they record the events, they added beauty by embellishing the lettering and drawing symbolic pictures. Fraktur was also used to make house blessings, reward school children, and immortalize important people such as "Excelency George General Waschingdon." (I think that's the exact spelling on one example of fraktur!) An interesting note about the spelling of names... usually the local schoolmaster or clergyman made fraktur for those born, baptised, or married in their area... and how they spelled the names became how a name was spelled! Which most likely explains why our last name, pronounced "Fry" ended up with an extra letter... FREY. Our cousins in the next town could have been Fry's or Frye's or Frei's or... well, you get the idea!

Just like scherenschnitte, symbolism was an important part of fraktur. My favorite example of symbolism is the heart. The heart in fraktur symbolizes the love and protection of God, and when names are inscribed within a heart it symbolizes God's protection over the newlyweds or the newlyborn. Fraktur is also full of scriptures and poetry about the Lord. It truly is a beautiful and God-honoring art form.