SUMMARY

Historians and genealogists alike need palaeography to decipher ancient writings. However, in Alsace, reading difficulties are linked not only to the writing and abbreviations, but also to the language used. There is Old French, Gothic German (Spitzschrift or Sütterlinschrift), Old German and Latin. A book dedicated to this region is therefore essential. This handbook covers the documents you may come across in the course of your genealogical research, classified under four headings: family papers, civil status records, parish registers and notarial documents. The transcription and brief translation into French are given for each one. To make it easier to understand certain Latin or German terms, three essential glossaries are provided on first names, professions and functions, and family relationships. A precise explanation of the type of document analysed is added in the notes, giving you a better understanding of its usefulness in historical or genealogical terms. Finally, based on the author's experience, many useful tips are given throughout the pages. The meaning of abbreviations, for example. Or the fact that, in Alsace even more than elsewhere, some documents are written phonetically, particularly those drawn up during the revolutionary period, and even up to 1810 in the smaller communes: to better understand these documents written in dialectal German, it is necessary to read them aloud. So, in a single volume, you have both a collection of exercises and a handbook to help you decipher the difficulties. An ideal tool to help you progress at your own pace.

AUTHOR

Doris Kasser-Freytag worked at the Centre départemental d'histoire des familles in Guebwiller (Haut-Rhin) from its inception in 1991, and was its director from 2009 to 2015. Since then, she has been President of the CRHF (Centre de recherches sur l'histoire des familles), where she teaches palaeography. In 2017, she opened the Dorigines genealogy and palaeography firm. She is the author of the guide Retrouver ses ancêtres alsaciens, published by the same publisher.