Uploaded March 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Can you READ OLD HANDWRITING and could you understand OLD ENGLISH if you had a time machine and could go back and hear it? In today’s video from History Calling, I’m going to show you examples of real letters written by famous historical figures (and a few who weren’t so famous) to give you a flavour of what their handwriting and speech were both like and to let you test your palaeography abilities (palaeography is the study of old handwriting and manuscripts). We’ll start in the nineteenth century and work out way backwards to the tenth using documents including a request for a Christmas meal at a workhouse, Jane Austen’s will, arrangements for the funeral of Queen Anne, the records of a witchcraft trial, a desperate letter written by the future Elizabeth I, a sweet little note from Lady Margaret Beaufort to her son, Henry VII, the Knight’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer and the Beowulf epic. I’ll also share some tips and tricks for reading old documents which I picked up whilst studying for my PhD and during my postdoctoral research and show you the differences between good handwriting and bad handwriting in different time periods. This will also function as an old handwriting tutorial and you’ll get to see some gorgeous old illuminated manuscripts.
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:
The first ever flight
youtu.be/XNdE-xJoH4M
The history of Pride and Prejudice
youtu.be/AKp_gpR6onk
Life of Lady Margaret Beaufort, part 1
youtu.be/bLoIgu-t_Us
Life of Lady Margaret Beaufort, part 2
youtu.be/86i3a_G7gl4
Richard III’s corpse
youtu.be/NpQZZanLaRM
The first Irish witch burning
youtu.be/hKtFlAPHGI4
Jacquetta of Luxembourg: a real royal witch
youtu.be/6S9IlEW4w8U
GEAR USED
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3EPIK9U (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rTWScL (US LINK)
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/37CdC1r (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3vaVxjU (US LINK)
Memory Card: amzn.to/36QvcOQ (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3KeLZZs (US LINK)
Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
LEARN MORE:
[FREE] English Handwriting Online 1500-1700 – a course from Cambridge University
english.cam.ac.uk/ceres/ehoc/lessons.html
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
Open Street Map copyright information
openstreetmap.org/copyright
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Can you READ OLD HANDWRITING and could you understand OLD ENGLISH if you had a time machine and could go back and hear it? In today’s video from History Calling, I’m going to show you examples of real letters written by famous historical figures (and a few who weren’t so famous) to give you a flavour of what their handwriting and speech were both like and to let you test your palaeography abilities (palaeography is the study of old handwriting and manuscripts). We’ll start in the nineteenth century and work out way backwards to the tenth using documents including a request for a Christmas meal at a workhouse, Jane Austen’s will, arrangements for the funeral of Queen Anne, the records of a witchcraft trial, a desperate letter written by the future Elizabeth I, a sweet little note from Lady Margaret Beaufort to her son, Henry VII, the Knight’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer and the Beowulf epic. I’ll also share some tips and tricks for reading old documents which I picked up whilst studying for my PhD and during my postdoctoral research and show you the differences between good handwriting and bad handwriting in different time periods. This will also function as an old handwriting tutorial and you’ll get to see some gorgeous old illuminated manuscripts.
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:
The first ever flight
youtu.be/XNdE-xJoH4M
The history of Pride and Prejudice
youtu.be/AKp_gpR6onk
Life of Lady Margaret Beaufort, part 1
youtu.be/bLoIgu-t_Us
Life of Lady Margaret Beaufort, part 2
youtu.be/86i3a_G7gl4
Richard III’s corpse
youtu.be/NpQZZanLaRM
The first Irish witch burning
youtu.be/hKtFlAPHGI4
Jacquetta of Luxembourg: a real royal witch
youtu.be/6S9IlEW4w8U
GEAR USED
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3EPIK9U (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rTWScL (US LINK)
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/37CdC1r (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3vaVxjU (US LINK)
Memory Card: amzn.to/36QvcOQ (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3KeLZZs (US LINK)
Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
LEARN MORE:
[FREE] English Handwriting Online 1500-1700 – a course from Cambridge University
english.cam.ac.uk/ceres/ehoc/lessons.html
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
Open Street Map copyright information
openstreetmap.org/copyright
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
