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UK and Ireland: Handwriting
- The National Archives' Palaeography Tutorial (how to read old handwriting)(link is external)
- Medieval Writing(link is external) - a very extensive tutorial, by Dianne Tillotson
- English Script Tutorial(link is external) - provided by the BYU Center for Family History and Genealogy.
- How to Read 18th Century British-American Writing(link is external) - from the DoHistory website
- A useful description of old handwriting(link is external) has been made available by Sabina J. Murray.
- Andrew Booth has prepared some examples of old handwriting(link is external) for tutorial purposes.
- Palaeography tutorial & competition(link is external) (for Secretary Hand), from the Bodleian Library.
- Early Modern Paleography(link is external) by Dr D.A. Postles of Leicester University.
- Medieval Paleography(link is external) by Dr D.A. Postles of Leicester University.
- Palaeography aids(link is external), from the companion website to the Old English mailing list.
- Introduction to Reading and Understanding Medieval Documents(link is external), from Nottingham University.
- David Manthey's 18th Century Ligatures and Fonts(link is external), though intended as an aid to replicating 18th century printed texts, can also be of help in reading old printed documents.
- A Nevv Booke, containing all sorts of hands vsvally written at this day in Christendome(link is external) - downloadable PDF of a 1611 book. (Shows "the English and French Secretary, the Roman, Italian, French, Spanish, high and low Dutch, Court and Chancerie hands".)
Hector, L. C. The Handwriting of English Documents (2nd. rev. ed.), Hodder & Stoughton (1966) 136 pp. [ISBN-10: 071315182X] [This has photographs of the various hands from Domesday book to 1830 with the transcripts in the text.]
Newton, K.C. Medieval Local Records: A Reading Aid, The Hist. Assoc (1971) 28pp.
Wright, A, Court Hand Restored, or the Student's Assistant....., Clarke & Sons London, 1818. [Particularly useful if the text is in latin because it has appendices listing the latinised place names, surnames and Latin words, and plates showing the alphabets and abbreviations used.] [Reprinted by, e.g. Hardpress Publishing (2013)]