Class no. 26 – Summary and Review
Document no. 19
1740 18 Septembris ex Judaismo convertus pravi[tat]e instructus et
de errore convictus baptizatus est Fridericus Amans
filius legitimus Leonis et Sara Judaorum coniugum in Zünders-
bach diocesis Fuldendis oriundus annorum i7. Patrinus
fuit perquam gratiosus illustrissimus ac excellentissimus
Dominus Fridericus de Bastheim Altissimi principis nostri
consiliarius intimus Mareschalbus et Archi satrapa in Brüchenau etc
Course mission statement:
Course purpose: Students will learn to read,
interpret and evaluate Latin language
documents from the 15th -20th centuries
Major goals:
1. Become familiar with Latin grammar and vocabulary
2. Learn translation and transcription methodologies
3. Introduce Latin paleography and shorthand
4. Analyze various Latin document types
- metrical books, court records, etc.
5. Study the Julian and Gregorian calendars
Latin grammar:
The parts of speech in Latin are the same as in English
nouns, adjectives, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, prepositions,
conjunctions and interjections
Latin, however, has no article
Nouns, adjectives, pronouns, verbs are capable of inflection
for nouns, adjectives, pronouns this is called declension
for verbs this is called conjugation
Nouns
Latin nouns are the names of person, place, thing or quality
Three genders
masculine, feminine, and neuter
The gender of words can be natural or grammatical
Most Latin nouns determine gender by Nom. Sing. ending
Number
Latin has two numbers, the singular and the plural
Singular denotes one object, the plural more than one
Case
There are six cases in Latin
Nominative, case of subject
Accusative, case of direct object
Genitive, objective with of
Vocative, case of address
Dative, objective with to or for
Ablative, objective with by, from, in, with
The Latin Declensions
There are five declensions in Latin
Each declension is distinguished by
the final letter of the stem
the termination of the genitive singular
Declension summary table
Declension
Final letter of stem
Gen. Termination
First
a
-ae
Second
o
-i
Third
i
-is
Some consonant
Fourth
u
-us
Fifth
e
-ei
Adjectives
Adjectives denote quality. They are declined like nouns and fall into two classes
Adjectives of the 1st and 2nd declensions
Adjectives of the 3rd declensions
First and Second Declension Adjectives
Third Declension Adjectives
Three terminations
Two terminations
One termination
Numerals
In Latin are of three types
Cardinals
unus, duo
Numerals in Latin are declined
Ordinals
primus, secundus
Distributives
singuli, bini
Pronouns
Latin has eight classes of pronouns
I. Personal
V.
Intensive
II. Reflexive
VI. Relative
III. Possessive
VII. Interrogative
IV. Demonstrative
VIII. Indefinite
personal, possessive, demonstrative and interrogative
Personal
Possessive
1st
2nd
3rd
1st
2nd
3rd
ego
tu
is, ea, id
nos
vos
----
mei
tui
nostrum
vestrum
mihi
tibi
nobis
vos
me
te
nos
vos
----
tu
----
vos
me
te
nobis
vobis
my, thy, his, her, its our, your, their
Latin possessive pronouns are treated as adjectives of the 1st and 2nd
declension
meus, -a, -um
noster, nostra, nostrum
tuus, -a, um
vester, vestra, vestrum
suus, -a, -um
Pater suos liberos amat
Demonstrative Pronouns
Verbs
The inflection of verbs is called conjugation
Verbs have Voice, Mood, Tense, Number and Person
In Latin
Two voices
Active and Passive
Five Moods
Indicative, subjunctive, imperative, infinitive and participle
Six Tenses
Present
Perfect
Imperfect
Pluperfect
Future
Future perfect
Personal Endings of the Verb
Active
Sing.
Plural
Passive
1.
-o; -m; -i (perf. indic.)
-r
2.
-s; -sti (perf. indic.); -to (imp.)
-ris, -re; -re, -tor (imp.)
3.
-t; -to (imp.)
-tur; tor (imp.)
1.
–mus
-mur
2.
-tis; -stis (pef. indic.); -te, -tote (imp.)
-mini
3.
-nt; -erunt (perf. indic.); -nto (imp.)
-ntur; -ntor (imp.)
The Four Conjugations
Infinitive termination
Distinguishing vowel
1.
-are
a
2.
-ere
e
3.
-ere
e
4.
-ire
i
The Verb “to be” (memorize)
Latin verb terminations
Conjugation example: active
Conjugation example: passive
Other Verb Forms
Verbs in -io of the 3rd conjugation are inflected with the endings of the 4th
conjugation (pres. indic.)
Deponent Verbs have the mostly passive forms, but active meaning
patior, pati, passus sum
Periphrastic conjugation
active uses the Future Active Participle with sum
amaturus sum, I am about to love
passive uses the gerundive with sum
amandus sum, I am to be loved
Irregular, Defective and Impersonal Verbs
Adverbs
Most adverbs are in origin case-forms which have become stereotyped by usage
quo - whither
qua - where
hac - by this way
aliquo - to some place
Prepositions
Prepositions govern specific cases [must be memorized as a vocabulary item]
Prep. with the Accusative: ad, circa. contra, post, super, trans
Prep. with the Ablative: de, ex, pro, sine
The prep. in and sub govern both the Accusative and Ablative
in urbem, into the city
in urbe, in the city
Interjections
In Latin, interjections are particles expressing emotion: surprise, joy, sorrow, calling
Vocabulary
baptizatus
mater
mensis

Baptizatus
 Sepultus
 Filius
 Filia
 Pater
 Mater
 Patrinus, levans
 Est
 Die
 Mensis
 Anno Domini

Baptized
 Buried
 Son
 Daughter
 Father
 Mother
 Godfather
 Is or was
 On the day
 In the month
 In the year of the
Lord
Translation and transcription:
1. How to write
2. Making hands
3. Letter composition
4. Translation procedures
5. Parsing
Hand Chart:
ab
c
d
ef
g
h
A,a
____ ____ ____ ____
N,n
____ ____ ____ ____
a
___
B,b
____ ____ ____ ____
O,o
____ ____ ____ ____
b
___
C,c
____ ____ ____ ____
P,p
____ ____ ____ ____
c
___
D,d
____ ____ ____ ____
Q,q
____ ____ ____ ____
d
___
E,e
____ ____ ____ ____
R,r
____ ____ ____ ____
e
___
F,f
____ ____ ____ ____
S,s
____ ____ ____ ____
G,g
____ ____ ____ ____
T,t
____ ____ ____ ____
H,h
____ ____ ____ ____
U,u
____ ____ ____ ____
I,i
____ ____ ____ ____
V,v
____ ____ ____ ____
J,j
____ ____ ____ ____
W,w
____ ____ ____ ____
K,k
____ ____ ____ ____
X,x
____ ____ ____ ____
L,l
____ ____ ____ ____
Y,y
____ ____ ____ ____
M,m
____ ____ ____ ____
Z,z
____ ____ ____ ____
f
g
___
___
h
___
i
___
i
Letter composition:
Square Anglo-Saxon Miniscule
Proto-Gothic Simi-Cursive
Caroline Miniscule
Gothic Textura
Paleographical terms
ascender
minim
headstroke
bow
m p F
f h
base line
head line
hasta
descender
miniscule
majuscule
a lower case letter
a capital or upper case letter
a script using ascenders / descenders
a script where all letters are the
same size
Translation tips:
Decide the documents purpose from:
title page or target
catalog entry
heading of the document
scanning for purpose words
testamentum, obitus est, baptizatus est,
conjugeverunt, liber confirmatorum
Translation tips: cont.
Identify the verb
Identify the subject
Identify the direct object
Identify the indirect object
Identify prepositional phrases and adverbs
Translate into English in the following order:
Subject – Verb – Direct Object – Indirect Object – Prep. Phrase
LOOK AT EACH WORD IN EACH LINE
LOOK FOR FAMILIAR WORDS
LOOK FOR FAMILIAR WORD STEMS, I.E. THE
UNCHANGING PART OF A WORD THAT CARRIES ITS
MEANING
WRITE DOWN EACH WORD IN ORDER
WRITE DOWN THE MOST COMMON MEANING OF THE
WORD STEM
LOOK AT THE MEANINGS OF THE WORDS WITH THE
SAME STEM
Identify pronouns and adjectives
Identify the Verbs
Verbs tell us what happened, when it happened, and how many
were involved
Verbs are always the minority—Nouns, Pronouns, Adjectives
and conjunctions will always outnumber them
Like Nouns, Pronouns and Adjectives, endings are added to the
Verb stem
You will need a good pocket dictionary with regular, irregular
and deponent verb tables
Identify the Nouns
What is the grammar?
Remember:
Nouns are divided into five declensions base on their spelling and
endings.
Each declension has five forms reflecting the noun’s use in the
sentence.
Each form has an ending added to the work stem to indicate the
nouns’s use in the sentence and its number (singular or plural)
Example Translation
Die 22da Julij nata est infans ex Andrea Herman, et Eva Margaretha
Conjugibus, baptizata die Sequenti, cui impositum nomen Maria
Barbara levans fuit Maria Barbara Jacobi Schwind civis hujatis uxor.
Ita testor Andreas Haas
On the 22nd day of July a child was born from the married couple
Andreas Herman and Eva Margaretha, [the child] was baptized the
following day, to whom was placed the name Maria Barbara. The
godmother was Maria Barbara wife of Jacob Schwind, a citizen of
this place. And so I testify Andreas Haas.
Latin abbreviations:



Latin shorthand
Appears to be no rhyme or reason
Basic rules
Basic classes of abbreviation
I.
Truncation
II.
Contraction
III. Abbrev. marks significant in themselves
IV. Abbrev. marks significant in context
V.
Superscript signs
VI. Convention signs
VII. Numerals
General signs indicate the word has been
abbreviated
Truncation signs indicate some letters are missing
at the end of the word
Abbreviation by Contraction
occurs when one or more of the middle letters
are missing
contraction can be pure, i.e. when the first and last letters of the word are
preserved; or mixed, when some of the middle letters are also preserved
dno
domino
ds
Deus
dia
dimidia
ba
beata
epo
episcopo
pr
pater
oa
omnia
mr
mater
Marks Significant in Themselves
indicate which elements are missing, no matter what
letter the symbol is place above or joined with
Abbreviations
significant in context
I.
II.
Marks resembling . : ; and 3 occur almost always at
the end of and are written between the text and head lines
When they follow b they stand for –us or –et
b. b: b; b3
When they follow q- they stand for –ue. Alone the 3
and the : can stand for -que
quib;
hab3
usq;
qa93
lic:
omnib.
II. (cont.)
W/ Өy flw s— Өy std 4 —is
remiss;
cas;
ms;
III.
Θ 3rd claŝ . a; obliq3 le of. hook3 at 2th ends, cut: ars any ltr
o/ Θ a/b
See Capelli, p. 23-29 for more examples
IV.
The fourth class is similar to the Arabic numeral 2 or the letter z
After q- its meaning is –uia, quia
Alone, the signs equal et
After u- or a-, they show a missing -m
After s-, they stand for –et or –ed: sz = sed
Roman Numerals
Basic values
i=1
v = 5 x = 10 l = 50 c = 100
d = 500
m = 1000
Combinations
iv = 4 vi = 6 xxii = 22
1354 mmiv = 2004
xlvii = 47
dcxlviii = 648
mcccliv =
Document types
Structure of Parish Registers (Birth, Baptismal)





Date
Names of the parent(s)
 Often includes mother’s maiden name
Name of the child
Names of the godparents
Tip: Memorize pattern and common Latin phrases
Document types
Structure of Parish Registers (Marriage)
Date
Name and status of groom, parents’ names and status
Name and status of bride, parents’ names and status
Places of origin
Witnesses
Attestation
Document types
Structure of Parish Registers (Death)
Date of death
Name of deceased
Date of birth and status
Names of parents
Cause of death
Date and place of internment
Attestation
A heading, “In the name of God, amen”
Document types
A date expressed in relation to a saint’s day and a regnal year or year of
grace
in festo Sancte Anne anno domini millesimo cccclvjmo
Structure of Manorial Wills
“in the feast of Saint Anne, 1456 A.D.”
Leaving of the testator’s soul to God
Naming of the executors of the will
Citing of witnesses to the will
Sealing the will
The date, if not already given
Dating the document
Most Documents Use the Gregorian Date: Day, Month Year
(1582-Calendar Reform)
Many Events Will Be Recorded Using the Ecclesiastical
Calendar: Fixed and Moveable Feast Days
A Few Recorders Used the Roman Calendar (All Dates Are
Calculated from Kalends, Nones, Ides)
Roman Calendar
nonas Marti , mil esimi octingentesimi sexagesimi noni
xi kalendas Maii
Church Calendar
1641 Dn. 10. p.Tr.
10 Sundays after Trinity, which is 1 Sunday after Pentecost, which is 7
Sundays after Easter, which in the Julian calendar of 1641 was 25 April
Equals 10 Sundays + 1 Sunday + 7 Sundays after 25 April, or
29 August, 1641
Calendar -- continued
Sunday
Abbreviations:
Dom. Sunday
Donca. Sunday
eiusd. of the same month
eod.
on the same [date]
fa
feast day, weekday
fa2a
Monday
pd.
the day before
Monday,
fa2a
Tuesday, fa3a
Wednesday,
fa4a
Thursday,
fa5a
Friday,
fa6a
Saturday,
fa7a
Aries
Libra
Taurus
Scorpiio
Gemini
Sagittarius
Cancer
Capricorn
Leo
Aquarius
Virgo
Pisces
Student Projects
1. Mr Melendez
1:40 pm-2:00 pm
2. Ms Heuer
2:05 pm-2:25 pm
3. Ms Hald
2:30 pm-2:50 pm