Learn to read historic handwriting
Provides you with hundreds of exercises drawn from original manuscripts
Provides you with hundreds of exercises drawn from original manuscripts
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Example transcriptions are provided by scholars and experts in the field of palaeography. Explore the fascinating world of ancient writing.
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The present title is a chartulary of the Königsfelden Monastery (Klarissen and Franziskaner) with documents from the 13th and 14th centuries. The original can be found in the State Archives of the Canton of Aargau (AA/0428). The document has been transcribed true to character (with combined letters, e. g. oͤ) and without breaking up abbreviations. The font is the Gothic book minuscule (2 or 3 hands). It contains copies of privileges, orders, seasonal contributions and records pertaining to the cloister holdings of Königsfeld and has been compiled at the time of Queen Agnes of Hungary (ca. 1281-1346). Online: http://e-codices.ch/en/list/one/saa/0428
This document is 20th century german cursive script and includes court records of the german "Reichsgericht".
This document is a private german cursive letter, written by Johann Philipp Palthen (1672-1710), from 1696. The original is in possession of the University Library Greifswald.
This is an "Easy Learning" document. It is a computer transcription of "Daddy" in Greifswald script. "Daddy" is a poem written by American poet Sylvia Plath. It was written on October 12, 1962, shortly before her death and published posthumously in Ariel in 1965. "Daddy" is one of the most widely anthologized poems in American literature, and its implications and thematic concerns have been discussed academically, with many differing conclusions.
These documents consist of personal papers written by the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and his secretaries. Original copies of these documents are held at University College London. This is a sample of easier handwriting which is suitable for beginners. Volunteers working on the Transcribe Bentham crowdsourcing initiative (http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/transcribe-bentham/) may like to use these documents to practice deciphering Bentham’s handwriting.
Copies of letters sent to the Government of Bengal by botanists, including Robert Kyd and Dr William Roxburgh, reporting on the cultivation of Mawah and Teak trees, the discovery of a new species of Indigo (Nerium tinctorium), and attempts to propagate the Cochineal insect in the Calcutta Nopalry garden. The letters are written in a large, consistent italic cursive. The writer often embellishes capital letters with flourishes, and uses ampersands (&). Contracted words are often indicated with superscript final letters.
This is an "Easy Learning" document. It is a computer transcription of "Pride and Prejudice" in 18th Century Kurrent script. Pride and Prejudice is a romantic novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story charts the emotional development of the protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet, who learns the error of making hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between the superficial and the essential.
Extracts from a Parliamentary Diary written by Walter Yonge, of Colyton, County Devon (Member of Parliament for Honiton in the Long Parliament) for the years 1627-1642, British Library reference Add MS 35331. The diary is written by Yonge in a consistent Secretary Hand, typical for the mid-17th century.
Copies of letters sent to the Government of Bengal by botanists, including Robert Kyd and Dr William Roxburgh, reporting on the cultivation of Mawah and Teak trees, the discovery of a new species of Indigo (Nerium tinctorium), and attempts to propagate the Cochineal insect in the Calcutta Nopalry garden. The letters are written in a large, consistent italic cursive. The writer often embellishes capital letters with flourishes, and uses ampersands (&). Contracted words are often indicated with superscript final letters.
This is an "Easy Learning" document. It is a computer transcription of "Pride and Prejudice" in 18th Century Kurrent script. Pride and Prejudice is a romantic novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story charts the emotional development of the protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet, who learns the error of making hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between the superficial and the essential.
This is an "Easy Learning" document. It is a computer transcription of "The Secret Adversary" in Cöntgen Kanzley script. "The Secret Adversary" is the second published detective fiction novel by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in January 1922 in the United Kingdom.
This is an "Easy Learning" document. It is a computer transcription of the "Erlkönig" in Wiegel script. "Erlkönig" is a ballad written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in 1782. This version has been translated and written by Edgar Alfred Bowringin 1853.