secretary hand?

[nealc]

I came across the "secretary hand" and i want to learn to write it.  i've found a few websites like 

 

https://www.scottishhandwriting.com/tutorials.asp

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/palaeography/

 

but these are either very brief on instruction or more about reading secretary hand.  i was wondering if anyone knows of any more comprehensive practice books or other resources for learning this - it was a practical handwriting style centuries ago and it looks very nice to me..

 

thanks

-Neal

[ParramattaPaul]

Have you tried these sites?

secretary handwriting - Bing

What Is Secretary Hand? (with picture) (wise-geek.com)

STEP 2: Secretary Hand alphabet - Rediscovering Rycote (ox.ac.uk)

Microsoft Word - English Secretary Hand Alphabet Examples.docx (lds.org)

Alphabet_Abbreviations.pdf (folger.edu)

How to Read Secretary Hand (Part 1) - Bing video

Bess of Hardwick's Letters | The complete correspondence, 1550-1608

[sidthecat]

You might also look for books on Tudor and Elizabethan handwriting. My handwriting is highly informed by Secretary Hand (which in its original form is tiny and almost illegible) and its wonderful backwards ascenders.

[katerchen]

Until very recently I didn't know that Secretary Hand was its own writing system, then found this course created by a Yale professor:

 

https://sway.office.com/2il2mOAQ3Dr1sZeP?ref=Link&loc=play

 

the best part is that it teaches the form using excerpts from the practice notebook of a young man from the 1600's

[inkstainedruth]

Years ago I was at an SCA event talking to a guy I knew who was a master calligrapher for the organization.  Kingdom Court [think "awards ceremony"] was about to start, and the guy suddenly said "Oh no!  I forgot to include a sheet with a translation of the text of the scroll I did for this court, for the herald to read from!"  I asked him what the problem was, and he said "It was written in SECRETARY HAND!"

Thanks to everyone who posted a link!  Now I know just what the guy was talking about all those years ago....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[katerchen]

14 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

 "It was written in SECRETARY HAND!"

 

It's frustrating, eh. I look at it and think : hey this kinda looks like English, but WHY CAN'T I READ THE DAMNED THING?

[inkstainedruth]

Yeah, that's what the guy was worried about.  

Sometimes award scrolls are also given out in foreign languages, depending on the recipient's SCA persona (basically you come up with a name to use at events, and might have an entire history of who you are and where and when you're from), plus the organization is world-wide at this point so some people may not speak English as a first language to begin with.

As for the name of the hand, I have a suspicion that it came from the fact that "secretaries" were originally trusted aides, and part of their jobs were to keep secrets....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth