Old Scripts

 

Encountering old scripts from the ancient past should be expected as part of the genealogical profession. Human beings were not recording information with the same types of scripts we use today, so encountering scripts now considered archaic will be unavoidable. In this post, you will receive a shortlist of some of the scripts in use as far back as the middle ages, because unless you don't need to read the medieval script (that is if a person has no traceable ancestry that far back), it's still important to know what type of scripts were used for that time. I should mention this list will need to be extended as I find names for other old scripts. 

Old Scripts

Carolingian Script

Gothic (Black letter)

Secretary Hand

Palmer Script

Note: Certain types of scripts vary depending on the locality, but this list is presently focused on the genealogy of scripts for Americans. Other scripts exist that didn't receive a mention in the list.