Copperplate handwriting can be used to describe a wide variety of different script styles including "Edwardian," "French" and "Italian." However, it most commonly describes what began as "English Round Hand" and then evolved in the United States into "Spencerian" script with its characteristic large loops. The name derives from the copperplate printing process. Copperplate pens are distinguishable for their extremely sharp and flexible nibs.
Italic script originated before Copperplate and is thought to have begun in Italy during the 15th Century, hence the name "italic." Written using a broad-nibbed ink pen, italic scripts are characterised by thicker downward strokes and thinner upward ones, resulting in a stylish, ornate script. Most Western calligraphy styles are a form of italic script.
Older still is the Humanist script, which first started to be written in the 14th Century. An imitation of ancient classical texts, "humanist" script got its name from the humanist thinkers who first began using it. The precursor to italic script, humanist script also features broad downstrokes and thin upstrokes but without the flowing "tilt" of italic letters.
The forerunner to all the scripts mentioned above, variations on black letter scripts are still often found in fonts and calligraphy today. A variation in itself on the ornate Germanic Gothic scripts typified by "feet," bold strokes and elaborate decoration of the opening letter to pages, chapters and paragraphs (which arose during the time of the Visigoths, hence the name) black letter scripts were often used in the writing and printing of bibles, most notably the Gutenberg Bible.