Palaeography reads handwriting in context. Compare difficult letters with words written by the same person instead of guessing the surname you hope to find.
The method, step by step
- Use a clear image and preserve an original copy. Adjust contrast only on a working copy without erasing strokes.
- Transcribe easy words first and compare repeated formulas, dates and places. Build a small alphabet from letters you can identify.
- Mark unreadable passages in brackets and distinguish a faithful transcription from a modernised text. Record abbreviations before expanding them.
- Check the register context and request a second reading with the whole page visible. Retain possible alternatives instead of forcing certainty.
What to record
Build a reference alphabet from certain words by the same writer. Mark illegible text and uncertain readings instead of guessing names. Keep a faithful transcription beside a modernised version, with the reference and image number.
Keep a verifiable reading
- Keep an original-spelling transcription separate from analysis. Modernised spelling can aid searches but should not silently replace the record’s wording.
- State your conventions, for example [illegible] for unread text and [uncertain reading: …] for a proposal. These are working conventions; follow the service’s rules when contributing to a catalogue.
- Recheck identity-changing fields first: parents, spouse, place and date. Compare letters across words by the same writer; OCR agreeing with your hypothesis can still be wrong.
- Fictional example: if “Louise” and “Louis” remain possible readings, keep both with the reference and image. Seek another occurrence before assigning parents or merging people.
Record in your research log
- Certain word
- comparable letter
- uncertain reading
- passage image.
Sources & references
- The National Archives ↗ (Resource review date : )
- FranceArchives ↗ (Resource review date : )
- National Archives — Transcription Tips ↗ (Resource review date : )