Anacharsis

A geometric lineal built on medieval Rotunda proportions

Anacharsis is a modernist geometrical lineal by Matthieu Cortat, released in 2017, whose proportions draw from gothic Rotunda letterforms used in southern Europe during the 14th and 15th centuries. It offers two layers of historical reference through OpenType alternates: turned capital letters echoing medieval scribal conventions, and archaic lowercase forms. Both alternate sets are off by default, allowing the family to function as a straightforward geometric lineal. The family spans six styles—regular, bold, and black, each with an italic.

Set in Anacharsis

Insights

Proportions are sourced from gothic Rotunda, a round, southern-European script tradition active in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Capital alternates cover 13 letters (E F H I J M N P S T V W Y) and lowercase alternates cover 8 (a d h l s v w y), both disabled by default to preserve neutral lineal behavior.
The design aligns itself with Futura, Simplex, and Semplicitàas modernist geometric lineals while embedding a pre-modern structural layer.