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Covenant bond from 1623 written in Latin and English

Secretary hand is a style of handwriting common in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries for writing English, Welsh and even Gaelic. It dominated before the dominance of Italic script, and arose in the early sixteenth century out of the need for a universal hand to cope with the increase in business and personal correspondence. The secretary hand is developed from cursive business hands, and was in common use throughout Britain in the early seventeenth century. It was widely used by scriveners. Pietro Carmeliano, one of Henry VII's chaplains, used the "Italian" style instead, a cursive script developed from the Roman hand which was easier to read but also easier to forge.

William Shakespeare's will, written in secretary hand[1]

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• http://www.catholic-history.org.uk/nwchs/secretary_hand_script.htm
• http://www.crazydiamond.co.uk/fonts/sec.html

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