Transcribing Early Records
Scroll down for help with Latin phrases
This can be quite a daunting task, especially
for a new OPC. One of the best pieces of advice is to start with later records
and work backwards from (what should be) easier to decipher script.
However, eventually it's likely that all OPCs will come across
a form of Early Secretary Script, or its equivalent, or even records in Latin.
The illustrations and references on this page are intended to help with those.
English in Early Genealogy Records
A few of the characters illustrated below survived until well into
the 1800s, so most transcribers will be familiar with the double s (which looks
rather like a modern day fs) and the e (which looks like a crossed through o).
Some of the others in this image are not so familiar.
Websites with other useful illustrations include:
- Early English Handwriting
- A more complex set of examples from Cambridge University.
Clicking on 'Go to Lesson' will launch a pop-up window and it's possible to see
translations of each image by clicking on the symbol
Latin for Genealogy
Some words commonly found in early records, compiled from
various sources:
| Latin |
English |
|
Latin |
English |
| adulter (adultera) |
adulterer (adulteress) |
|
locus sigilli |
location of seal |
| agricola |
farmer |
|
mater |
mother |
| ambo |
both |
|
mensis |
of the month |
| annoque predicto |
of the year aforesaid |
|
meretrix/maretrix |
harlot |
| armiger |
gentleman |
|
miles |
knight |
| avi/avus (avia) |
grandfather (grandmother) |
|
natus/nata |
born (maiden name) |
| baptizatus (-a) erat |
was baptised |
|
nothus |
bastard |
| coelebs |
bachelor |
|
nupt fuerunt |
were married |
| cognatus |
blood relationship |
|
obit |
died |
| copulati sunt |
were married |
|
parochie |
of the parish of |
| coram |
before, in the presence of |
|
per bannos |
by banns |
| creatura Christi |
child of Christ who died unnamed |
|
per licentiam |
by licence |
| cum contione |
with a sermon |
|
puella |
spinster, girl |
| de hac parochia |
of this parish |
|
relict, relicta (relictus) |
widow (widower) |
| denunciatio |
publication of banns |
|
renatus (renata) |
baptised |
| dominus (domina) |
lord, sir or master (lady, dame or mistress) |
|
sepeliebatur |
was buried |
| duxit |
led (in marriage) |
|
sepeltus (sepelta) erat |
was buried |
| ejus |
of him or her |
|
solotus (solota) |
bachelor (spinster) |
| eques |
knight |
|
soror |
sister |
| ex hac eadem parochia |
of this same parish |
|
stylo Angliae |
with year starting 25 March |
| filius (filia) |
son (daughter) |
|
testis |
witness |
| filius (filia) vulgi |
bastard son (daughter) |
|
ut dicitur |
as is said |
| frater |
brother |
|
ut fertur |
of a putative father |
| gemelli (gemelle/gemellue) |
twin boys (girls) |
|
uterque |
booth |
| genitores |
parents |
|
uxor, uxoris |
wife |
| in comitatu |
in the county of |
|
vedovus |
widower |
| innuba |
unmarried woman |
|
vide (infra, supra) |
see (above, below) |
| juxta Christi |
according to Christ |
|
viduus (vidua) |
widower (widow) |
| in matrimonia juncti sunt |
were joined in matrimony |
|
|
|
Other online resources include:-
- From Genealogy Quest,
a list of frequently-found words and their translations.
- A much more
comprehensive dictionary from the Babylon website.
- A similar glossary of words found in
English records
- It's also possible to download
The
record interpreter: a collection of abbreviations, Latin words and
names used in English historical manuscripts and records (1892).
Rootsweb Mailing Lists
-
For help with deciphering records in Old English.
-
The equivalent list for Latin.
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