Not only were blackletter forms called Gothic script , but any other seemingly barbarian script , such as Visigothic , Beneventan , and Merovingian , were also labeled `` Gothic '' , in contrast to Carolingian minuscule , a highly legible script which the Humanists called littera antiqua , `` the ancient letter '' , wrongly believing that it was the script used by the Romans . Not only were black-letter forms called Gothic script , but any other seemingly barbarian script , such as Visigothic , Beneventan , and Merovingian , were also labeled `` Gothic '' , in contrast to Carolingian minuscule , a highly legible script which the Humanists called littera antiqua , `` the ancient letter '' , wrongly believing that it was the script used by the Romans .