Reading Secretary Hand

The most popular handwriting style in Elizabethan Europe is a script commonly known as the Secretary Hand. This handwriting appears in official documents such as wills, deeds, and parish records, as well as personal correspondence throughout much of Western Europe from the 16th and early 17th centuries. In many areas, including the American colonies, a mixed hand style will be found, including elements of this Secretary Hand as well as Italic and other handwriting styles.

For help reading the letters, check out this example of Secretary Hand created from a beautiful Secretary Hand font available from Crazy Diamond Design in Cheshire. For even further information and practice with Secretary Hand, I love the guidance offered at Scottish Handwriting. Here you can choose from a 1-hour basic tutorial and several more advanced tutorials (all free), as well as sections on letter identification and problem solving. There is also an excellent online tutorial available in the Palaeography Guide from the UK National Archives.