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Making sense of old handwriting

This website offers guidance in the deciphering of documents written in archaic handwriting styles or alphabets. The tutorials and materials gathered here are meant to help a variety of people learn more about old scripts and how to use that knowledge to analyze and interpret the past. The concentration is on European scripts, particularly those in use between 1500 and 1800. There is general introductory material about the history of writing and the development of different scripts (or hands) in the Paleography Introduction pages, as well as extensive and interactive Language Tutorials.

Learn more about the history of writing, manuscript production, and transcription techniques.


Language Tutorials

Catalan Tutorial
English | Español
Dutch Tutorial
English
English Tutorial
English
French Tutorial
English | Français
German Tutorial
English | Deutsch
Italian Tutorial
English | Español 
Latin Tutorial
English
Portuguese Tutorial
English | Português
Russian Tutorial
English
Spanish Tutorial
English | Español