How to Read Gothic Handwriting — Part 3: Grouping Letters
I’m continuing my quest to get better at reading Gothic handwriting in old Norwegian sources. In this part, I group common letterforms and point out the small differences that help you tell them apart—especially in Norwegian church books (kirkebøker) and other handwritten records where “Gothic” script was widely used.
Before you get going on this part, I hope you have had the opportunity to study the two first parts in the series on Gothic handwriting. These are found here:
https://martinroe.com/blog/index.php/2016/02/02/gothic-handwriting/
https://martinroe.com/blog/index.php/2016/02/06/gothinc-handwriting-2/
As I’ve said earlier: this is my first serious journey into reading Gothic handwriting too. I’m learning as I go, and I strongly recommend studying the source material linked at the end of the article.
After you’ve practiced identifying single letters, you quickly discover the real challenge: many Gothic letters look nearly identical. I’ve found Knut Geelmuyden’s way of grouping letters by shape extremely helpful.
Small round letters
These small round letters rise to the first “level” above the line. The letters a, æ, o, ø are easy to confuse—especially when the loop isn’t fully closed. When that happens, they can start to resemble “peaked” letters.
Tip: If the circle is open, don’t decide too early. Read the whole word and let context confirm the letter.
Small letters with two peaks
This group includes e, n, u, and nn.
e and n often look similar, but e tends to be narrower.
u is often marked with a small curved dash above it.
A dash above n or m can indicate the letter is doubled (nn or mm).
It’s also worth remembering that u and v may be used interchangeably; the intended sound depends on the word and context.
Small letters with one and three peaks
This group includes i, c, m, e, n—and it’s where many readers get stuck.
i and c are notoriously easy to mix up.
The i should have a dot, but dots (and other marks) can be missing or placed slightly to the side.
i and j were often treated as the same letter, with the intended reading determined by context.
m can be confused with a combination of letters (for example shapes that resemble i + c) or with two-peaked letters like n or u.
Tip: When you suspect m, count the “strokes/peaks” and look at neighboring letters. Gothic handwriting rewards slow, careful comparison.
The letters r and v
The letters r and v can be easy to mix up. A reliable way to separate them is to look closely at the ending stroke:
r ends with a short line stretching to the right at the first level above the baseline.
v ends with a line that descends down toward the writing line.
Letters that goes below the writing line
The letters p, x, q all drop below the writing line, but they differ in key details:
p usually has a loop below the line.
x has no loop; the descending line typically curves to the right.
q should have a crossbar, but in messy handwriting the crossbar may be faint or missing. Sometimes the tail continues to the right without a loop.
The letters j, g, y, z also extend below the writing line and can be difficult to distinguish.
In g, the loop can be very small—or not fully closed—making it resemble y.
y may have an umlaut above it, but marks can be missing.
A sloppy z can look like y without the umlaut.
Tall letters
These letters rise to the second level above the writing line: b, l, t, d, k.
b, l, t often resemble their modern Latin forms.
k may look like the modern k, but it can also resemble a capital L in some hands.
Letters that go both high and low
The letters h, s, f rise high above the line and also drop below it. In real records they’re often hard to separate, and context matters.
f often resembles the modern letter, with loops above and below connected by a smaller loop in the middle.
h also has loops, but they may not be joined in the middle.
s is often written without loops; the lower stroke typically returns to the writing line and connects directly to the next letter.
Well, these strange letters are beginning to make some sense. We are getting better at reading Gothic handwriting. I hope you will be back. In the next installment I will start to put the letters together to form words.
Sources:
Geelmuyden, Knut: “Gotisk skrift – En kort veileding i lesing av gamle kilder” Bergen 2015 Available for download as PDF. (in Norwegian)
