langula
What is Kurrent script?
Kurrent (from Latin “currere”, to run) is the German handwriting that developed from Gothic chancery scripts in the 16th century. For centuries, pastors, clerks, merchants and schoolchildren wrote in Kurrent, which is why church registers, land records and letters are in this script well into the 20th century.
Kurrent is pointed, strongly slanted to the right and has long ascenders and descenders. There was no single standard: every region, period and writer had their own habits. From 1915, the simplified Sütterlin script replaced Kurrent in many schools, and in 1941 German script was abolished altogether.
Tips for family historians
- Read the names and dates you already know first, to get used to the hand.
- In church registers, Latin words and names often appear in Latin letters in the middle of the Kurrent text.
- Compare unclear letters with other places in the same hand rather than with a chart.