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RESOURCE GUIDE Handwriting Guide: German Gothic

PURPOSE GERMAN

Reading old German records requires a knowledge German has all 26 letters used in the English of basic German genealogical terms and familiarity alphabet, plus a few additional letters: umlauted with German handwriting. Difficulty in a —ä, ö, and ü—and an Eszett, ß. Specific record may not result from a record keeper’ poor information about these additional letters is given penmanship but rather the use of a different style later. of handwriting. As most early German documents were written in some form of Gothic handwriting There is often no distinction made between the or , familiarity with this style of writing capital , and the capital  ,). They may be will aid in deciphering early German records. This represented by the same whether printed or guide introduces common Gothic letters, type, and handwritten and may be also indexed as the same handwriting used in German records. letter. When followed by a the letter is a , J and when followed by a consonant, it HISTORICAL BACKGROUND is a vowel, I. For example: -XOL (Juli) = July Two major styles of writing emerged in Europe: GHU -XQJH Gothic, which has been used since the ninth (der Junge) = boy GLH ,GHH century, and Roman, also known as Antigua or (die Idee) = the idea . Roman eventually became the standard GLH ,QVHO (die Insel = the island) throughout most of western Europe, Canada, and the , but the Gothic style prevailed in PRINTED GOTHIC until 1941, in the Czech Republic through the 1700s, and in and the Books or forms published with Gothic typeset can Baltic countries through the nineteenth century. be difficult for someone to read. Some of the Gothic letters are similar to Roman style print, but You may find Gothic or Latin handwriting styles others are quite different. The following letters used alone or together in the same German record. will probably seem unfamiliar at first: () , [ (), For example, names and headings may be written * (), + (), 6 (S), ‰ (ß), and 7 (). In addition, in one style and the text of the document in as several of the letters are very similar, you will another. also need to pay particular attention to the small distinguishing characteristics to be able to read The chart included with this guide lists both the typed Gothic. These include the letters: standard printed and handwritten Gothic forms of the German alphabet and their Roman $and8 (A and ), and I (s and ) counterparts. Since handwriting varies from person % 9 ‰ to person, the handwriting in your record may vary and (, V, and ß) and (b and v) from the forms shown on the chart. &and( ( and E) N and (k and t) *and6 (G and S) and X (n and u) You may also find variations of Gothic . In .and5 K and U and [ (r and x) various regions of the German Empire, slight 1  5 Y and \ (v and y) variations of Gothic handwriting and type and (N and R) developed. Variants included “” and the more formal “German .” There are some tricks that will help you recognize Gothic letters. which letters extend below the When printing by moveable type was invented, line of writing and which extend above. Some were based on the handwriting styles of letters extend both above and below. Some letters the time. Two major styles emerged corresponding extend neither above nor below, such as the letter to the two handwriting styles: Gothic, with a. pointed, heavy-bodied letters, and Roman, with lighter, more simple letters. Gothic print also has ligatures (multiple letters When reading German records, you may printed as one letter) and (accent experience three common problems: notations added to a letter) not found in English. In German certain consonant combinations are C Gothic letters may look like those you are common. The early designers of Gothic type used used to in Roman script, and you will think one type piece to print both . The most they are the Roman letters. For example, the v common ligatures are: may resemble a w and a w might resemble an . ! - ck - V] , ‰ - ` - tz > , ‰ - C Some Gothic letters may look like other Gothic letters. For example, the following The Umlaut (sound shift) is commonly used with letters may appear very similar to each other three vowels: a, , and u. It appears as two dots in Gothic script and must be carefully placed over the vowel and indicates a change in distinguished: the sound of the vowel. These sound shifts are often written without the marks: e, n, u g, p, q s, h, f, j B, C, Ä ä Ae ae b l $H  r, v Ö ö =Oe oe g | 2H ± Ü ü = ue h  8H XH C Some Gothic letters may be entirely new to you. For example, the Gothic lowercase letters Occasionally two dots were also used over the y e, h, and s and the Gothic capital letters B, C, (ÿ, º) and over an e as in Noël (1RsO) and Michaël H, and S are quite different from the Roman (0LFKDsO). In these instances, there is no change in letters. pronunciation of the letter beneath. The dots over the y are carried over from Latin when the double i With practice you will learn to recognize Gothic letters. By studying particular letters, you will be at the end of a word was written, ‘LM’. (Latin did able to read the Gothic handwriting much more not have the letter j or y). The dots over the e accurately. Learning key German genealogical indicate that the e is pronounced with its own terms will also help. value (it is not part of an umlaut). When a letter cannot be identified in a document, Another marking found over letters is the U- look for the same letter or word in another part of bogen, or u-. This was a marking like a the document. It may be clearer, or the context curved placed over a u to distinguish it from may make it easier to figure out. Also look for an an n. This is not to be confused with a straight line . Indexes to German records were often made placed over an m or n which was used as a much later than the original documents and may for a double letter or include the names in a style of handwriting which ã leaving out additional letters, as in Joha for is easier to read. Johann or Joes for Joannes (Latin form of Johannes). Since every individual’s handwriting is distinct, you may wish to prepare a handwriting chart with German has an additional letter not found in the alphabet for the particular style used by the English, called an Eszett (ß). It looks like a Roman scribe who wrote the records you are researching. script capital B with a tail on top (‰). It is In particular, note letters that are different than pronounced and sometimes rewritten as a double those you are used to. ss. It is never found at the beginning of a word. HOW TO USE THE CHART FOR HANDWRITTEN GOTHIC GERMAN RESEARCH With handwritten documents, it is not always easy The following chart shows Roman letters with to tell where one letter ends and the next one typed and handwritten German Gothic equivalents. begins. Many of the letters also have similar To learn this style, practice writing it. This will shapes making it difficult to tell one letter from help you develop a feel for the way letters are another. Practice writing your name and other written and distinguish the letters when they are words in the until you can develop written differently. a feel for the flow of the letters. This will help you read documents more easily.

2 3 SUGGESTED READING COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS

Dozens of guides and handbooks have been The Family History Library welcomes comments written to assist people in reading German Gothic and corrections intended to improve future script. Studying these books will help you to see editions of this guide. Please send your variations of the script. Most guides for suggestions to: genealogists include examples of names, occupations, and genealogical terms showing how Publications Coordination they look in both Roman and Gothic handwriting. Family History Library 35 North West Temple The following is an excellent introductory guide to Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 reading names and genealogical records. It was USA produced to help people who are unfamiliar with Gothic script: We appreciate the archivists, librarians, and others who have reviewed this outline and shared helpful German Records Extraction&Script Exercises. Salt information. Lake City, Utah: Family History Library, 1980. (FHL book 943 D27gs; film 1224522 item 1.) © 1999 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. English approval: 12/99

Other helpful guides include the following: No part of this document may be reprinted, posted on-line, or reproduced in any form for any purpose without the prior Bentz, Edna M. If I Can, You Can: Deciphering written permission of the publisher. Send all requests for such Germanic Records. San Diego, Calif.: Edna permission to: M. Bentz, 1982. (FHL book 943 G3b; Copyrights and Permissions Coordinator number 0170537.) Family History Department 50 E. North Temple Street Salt Lake City, Utah 84150-3400 Mashey, Anne B. A Guide to Olde German USA Handwriting of the Mid-1800s for Fax: 801-240-2494 Genealogists, Researchers, Antiquers. Wexford, .: Anne B. Mashey, 1982. (FHL 36316 book 943 G37n no.2; computer number 0205085.)

Storrer, Norman J., and Larry O. Jensen. A Genealogical and Demographic Handbook of German Handwriting, 17th%19th Centuries. Pleasant Grove, Utah: Norman J. Storrer, 1977. (FHL book 943 G3sj; computer number 0246694.)

Verdenhalven, Fritz. Die deutsche Schrift&The German Script: Ein Übungsbuch [an exercise book]. Neustadt an der Aisch: Verlag Degener & Co., 1991. (FHL book 943 G37v; computer number 0651425.)

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