Court hand

Court hand

Court hand was a style of handwriting used in medieval English law courts. Originally used by the official courts, it later came into use by professionals such as lawyers and clerks. "It is noticeably upright and packed together with exaggeratedly long ascenders and descenders, the latter often and the former occasionally brought round in sweeping crescent shaped curves.

By the middle of the 17th century the writing had become so stylized that it was primarily being used for formal documentation."[1] Notoriously illegible, it was banned in 1731.[2] Even in the nineteenth century, however, an ability to read court hand was considered useful for anyone who had to deal with old court records.[3]

Contents

Cultural influence

Court hand was referred to in T. H. White's 1938 novel The Sword in the Stone.

References

  1. ^ Plymouth City Council, "Quills and court-hand writing."
  2. ^ New Oxford American Dictionary (OUP, 2nd ed., 2005), p. 390; see John Barrett and David Iredale, Discovering Old Handwriting (Osprey Publishing, 1995: ISBN 0747802688), p. 47.
  3. ^ Wright and Martin, Court-Hand Restored, pp. vii-viii.

See also

External links

Sources

  • Andrew Wright and Charles Trice Martin, Court-Hand Restored or, The Student's Assistant in Reading Old Deeds, Charters, Records, Etc., Reeves & Turner, 9th ed., 1879.
  • Charles Johnson and Hilary Jenkinson, English Court Hand A.D. 1066 to 1500: Illustrated Chiefly from the Public Records, Clarendon Press, 1915.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Court hand — Court Court (k[=o]rt), n. [OF. court, curt, cort, F. cour, LL. cortis, fr. L. cohors, cors, chors, gen. cohortis, cortis, chortis, an inclosure, court, thing inclosed, crowd, throng; co + a root akin to Gr. chorto s inclosure, feeding place, and… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • court hand — In old English practice, the peculiar style and form of writing in which court records were transcribed from the earliest period to the reign of George II, circa 1760. Dictionary from West s Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005. court hand …   Law dictionary

  • court hand — n. a kind of handwriting formerly used in English legal documents; Gothic handwriting …   English World dictionary

  • court hand — noun Etymology: court (I) (of law) + hand : the hand formerly used in charters, deeds, and other legal documents * * * a style of handwriting formerly used in the English law courts. [1585 95] * * * court hand …   Useful english dictionary

  • court-hand — In old English practice, the peculiar hand in which the records of courts were written from the earliest period down to the reign of George II. Its characteristics were great strength, compactness, and undeviating uniformity; and its use… …   Black's law dictionary

  • court-hand — In old English practice, the peculiar hand in which the records of courts were written from the earliest period down to the reign of George II. Its characteristics were great strength, compactness, and undeviating uniformity; and its use… …   Black's law dictionary

  • court hand — /ˈkɔt hænd/ (say kawt hand) noun a style of handwriting formerly used in the English law courts …  

  • court hand — The style of handwriting which is peculiar to English court records …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • court hand — a style of handwriting formerly used in the English law courts. [1585 95] * * * …   Universalium

  • court-hand — …   Useful english dictionary

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