Handbook · English secretary hand

The secretary hand alphabet

The letter forms you’ll meet in English secretary hand, c.1550–1700. Open a form to see its model letter, examples, and the letters it gets mistaken for.

Earlier and later are tendencies, not rules. A writer could keep the forms he learnt young all his life, so a form alone dates a hand only roughly. (Petti p. 33)

Show

Period

a

a with a looped back a with a tall back a with a long approach stroke 2-shaped a roofed a open a alpha a rounded a

b

looped b b crossed by its approach open-bowl b

c

right-angle c T-headed c hooked-head c long-link c looped-foot c footed c italic c

d

looped d compact d back-dashed d

e

reversed e two-stroke e hooked two-stroke e v-like two-stroke e broken e epsilon e italic e

f

ticked f crossed f open-loop f bowed-head f

g

roofed g with a wide tail roofed g sigma g figure-8 g

h

butcher's hook h flat-sweep h crossed-tail h figure-8 h

i

i with a lead-in minim i ticked i

j

tailed i (j)

k

open-loop k crossed k bowl k k with an attached 2 ornate k

l

looped l leaning l spurred l

m

m of three minims m with a lead-in pointed m

n

n of two minims u-like n w-like n

o

closed o open o looped o

p

secretary p struck-bowl p open-head p linked p

q

diagonal q looped q straight q

r

twin-stem r 2-shaped r v-like r italic r epsilon r zed r squiggle r (raised)

s

long s looped long s split long s sigma s tailed sigma s figure-8 s elongated round s

t

4-shaped t footed t long-bar t hooked t

u

u of two minims n-like u

v

curved v looped-ascender v

w

looped-head w tall-first w rounded w minim w

x

looped x hooked x

y

open-tail y looped-head y long-return y

z

tailed z 3-shaped z flat z

Reading notes

Marks that aren't lettersLine-fillers, the virgule, the double hyphen, points around numbers, empty flourishes and the ways scribes corrected themselves: strokes to recognise, not to read as words.
How transcriptions are writtenEditors agree on the aim but not on the signs: the same square brackets mean added letters in one edition and deleted ones in another.
Earliest registers (1538–1560)Parish registers begin in 1538, before the Elizabethan secretary hand had settled. What to expect in the first twenty years of entries.

Historical context

Abbreviations

yᵉ, wᶜʰ, ꝑ, li. s. d. and the rest: what they stand for.

Open the guide

a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

i

j

k

l

m

n

o

p

q

r

s

t

u

v

w

x

y

z

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I/J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U/V

W

X

Y

Z

Reading notes

Historical context

Abbreviations