I'm a practicing calligrapher, not a historian or paleographer, but a brief historical introduction will help put Fraktur in context.

Fraktur is a script which is distinguished from textura by its curved elements, from rotunda by its narrowness, from the gothic bastarda by its tallness and from the humanistic cursive by its stress on the joints of the structural elements. These accents, accomplished by interruptions in the movement of the pen, explain the name fraktur.

Gerrit Noordzij, “Broken Scripts and the Classification of Typefaces” (1970), p. 228.

While humanist Antiqua dominated in southern Europe, the Blackletter tradition remained strong in the North. Fraktur developed from earlier Gothic writing traditions and became closely associated with the court of Emperor Maximilian I in the early 16th century.

Its forms combine the lively movement of Bastarda with the more formal structure of Gothic bookhands. It is difficult to credit a single inventor of Fraktur. The Benedictine monk Leonhard Wagner is often associated with its early development, while earlier examples of proto-Fraktur appear in manuscripts written by Wolfgang Spitzweg for the young Maximilian.

Fraktur appeared in print early on through projects commissioned by Maximilian. Two important early examples are his illustrated prayer book, the Gebetbuch (1513), and Theuerdank (1517), both printed by Johann Schönsperger.

Fraktur's history is also the story of the mutual influence of calligraphy and print. Written forms provided models for type, while printed letters offered new ideas and references for calligraphers. Writing books by Johann Neudörffer, Wolfgang Fugger, and Cornelis Boissens offer different approaches to the script and its possibilities.

The exemplar for this workshop draws partly on Neudörffer and Boissens, alongside my own practice and preferences. I've tried to balance a modern approach with respect for the script's roots. It is my interpretation of Fraktur rather than a copy of one historical model.

Selected historical examples:

Johann Neudörffer the Elder 

Wolfgang Fugger

Cornelis Dirckszoon Boissens

Jan van de Velde

Recommended further reading:

• Albert Kapr: Fraktur: Form und Geschichte der gebrochenen Schriften (in German).
• Albert Kapr: The Art of Lettering
• Peter Bain and Paul Shaw (eds.): Blackletter: Type and National Identity.
• Paul Shaw: The Calligraphic Tradition in Blackletter Type. Scripsit, vol. 22
• Claude Mediavilla: Calligraphy: From Calligraphy to Abstract Painting.
• Ewan Clayton: The Golden Thread: The Story of Writing
• Gerrit Noordzij: “Broken Scripts and the Classification of Typefaces”. The Journal of Typographic Research, vol. 4, no. 3 (1970), pp. 213–240.