Decipher Gothic script: a guide for beginners

Many families have letters, diaries or parish registers written in Gothic script - set down by grandparents or great-grandparents before about 1875. The script looks foreign and difficult at first glance. But with a little practice and the right Gothic alphabet, you will soon be able to decipher the first words and sentences. This guide gives a practical introduction to reading Gothic script.

What is Gothic script?

Gothic handwriting (also called Gothic script) was for centuries the everyday writing hand in Denmark. It was standard in schools until the school reform around 1875, after which the Latin script took over. That is why virtually all old Danish documents from before 1875 - parish registers, censuses, deeds and private letters - are written with Gothic letters.

The Gothic alphabet: the most important letters

When you set out to decipher Gothic script, it helps to know the typical letterforms. Many lowercase letters look alike: an e often resembles an n, and a u is distinguished from n only by a small arc above it. The long ſ can be confused with f and h. The capital letters differ more from today's Latin script. The best advice: print out a Gothic alphabet and keep it beside you while you read.

Practical tips for practising

Start with short, clear texts: a postcard or a brief passage from a letter. Read word by word, and compare uncertain letters with the alphabet. In difficult spots it helps to guess the word from the context: names, place names and recurring phrases (»Dear...«, »yours affectionately«) come up again and again and make deciphering easier. If you would rather skip the learning curve, you can have your documents deciphered by a service such as MormorsBreve - so you get readable text straight away.

Remember the old spelling

When you decipher Gothic script, you come across the old spelling: before the reform of 1948, people wrote »Aa« instead of »Å«, and every noun began with a capital letter. These are not mistakes, but the correct spelling of the time. Read more in our article on old Danish spelling.

Do you have many pages in Gothic script and little time? With MormorsBreve you simply upload photos or scans and get a readable transcription within minutes - free to try for the first pages.