Legible or not, cursive is back! Huzzah!

Over the past few decades, many schools moved away from teaching cursive writing, often viewing it as unnecessary in an age dominated by keyboards, standardized testing, and digital communication. However, a growing number of districts have since reinstated cursive instruction after recognizing what was lost. Educators and researchers have noted that cursive supports fine motor development, strengthens hand–eye coordination, and engages different neural pathways than typing or printing alone. It also helps students read historical documents, sign their names with confidence, and develop writing fluency by encouraging continuous motion rather than letter-by-letter stops. In an era of rapid digital input, the return of cursive reflects a renewed appreciation for slow, embodied learning—one that connects cognitive development, literacy, and personal expression in ways that screens alone cannot replace.

Though people humorously lament the legibility of the physician's script, even reading one's own handwriting can be tricky sometimes! However, if you are the family genealogist and have Scottish ancestry, count yourself lucky! Scottish ancestry records are some of the most-detailed, best kept, and reach back further than records of many of countries. And as an added bonus, Scottish records are usually graced with very legible handwriting! Scottish handwriting parallels that of England, adopting the "secretary" hand style which was introduced in the late 15th and 16th centuries, eventually to be replaced by the "italic" style. A distinctive form of Gaelic hand can be found in some older documents, and is similar to the Old Irish script. But our modern cursive has origins associated with the practical advantages of writing speed and infrequent pen-lifting originally meant to accommodate the limitations of the quill pen, which was fragile and sensitive to the delivery of ink!

This tartan was designed for all involved in the study, teaching, improvement, or preservation of handwriting. The colour brown represent fingers; blue for ink; white for paper and black to represent pen strokes. The 52 threads in white are intended to represent the 26 uppercase and 26 lowercase letters in the English alphabet and was inspired by the 1522 pamphlet, "Operina", the first book devoted to writing the italic script known as Chancery Cursive! 🤍 🖤 💙 🤎 ✍️ 🪶 🖊️