Latin language and palaeography
It is superfluous to say that the further back one goes, the more difficult the handwriting of documents becomes. Many people have some experience of English secretary hand which enjoyed a long currency and comes in varying grades and levels of legibility, some testing to read and perhaps dependent on the scribe’s age, education, experience or level of attention and interest in his text.
Before about 1525 the student must become familiar with other English hands, some perhaps incorporating a proportion of mediaeval French. If luck and skill take you back to around 1300 or earlier, then documents for the most part are clearly written but will be in Latin. Here now a knowledge of the language will be essential to expand correctly the many mediaeval abbreviations and appreciate fine distinctions in word endings and verb tenses.
We might note here that the many abbreviations used in Latin texts often survived for much longer in English documents, some remarkably down to the present day, including &c (et cetera) and £ - a capital ‘L’ with a line through it for liber, pound.
The Institute currently teaches English palaeography with a smattering of Latin thrown in, a sound practice for all beginners, but not the ancient language itself. In a generation’s time, and perhaps less, how many people will be able to read Latin manuscripts, many of which remain untranslated, and perhaps not even fully calendared in an archive catalogue? Manorial documents, a hugely valuable genealogical source, are generally in Latin until well into the 1600s, and Latin was not finally abandoned in the legal profession until 1733. The National Archives at Kew has the world’s greatest collection of mediaeval documents, much of it in Latin. Some, perhaps many, must relate to your ancestors.
We are currently in discussion about teaching Latin language and palaeography, starting with a basic grounding in classical Latin (after which the mediaeval language seems remarkably easy!), and then moving to look at original texts and their interpretation. If this fascinating journey appeals to you, do please get in contact with the Principal.
Dr David Wright
