Common Abbreviations and Symbols

Welcome back to my blog.  Last week, we covered the Church records written in Latin.  Today, we’ll be discussing abbreviations and symbols used in Latin and German records.  Throughout the history of central Europe, these have been used in both religious and secular records.  Sometimes, the information that a researcher needs has been written in plain sight.  However, comprehension of both representations and abbreviations is necessary in order to find it.

Background information

Scribes chose not to write something out in full for various reasons.  Sometimes, they would shorten names and words that were supposed to be understood in context.  While writing materials are relatively inexpensive today, they were very costly during the Middle Ages.  Consequently, writers had to get their ideas across without exhausting resources.  When it came to expressing ideas, there were different ways to “get the idea across.”  In addition, the same letter or abbreviation took on various meanings—depending on the context.

The last few posts have employed an example, that is described at the end.  This week’s illustration—found in the sidebar—includes a variety of examples in context.  The reader is advised to consult this while I explain the various symbols and abbreviations.  It should be remembered that these serve as examples—not the rules themselves.  The purpose of this article is to explain general principles; thus, readers should be able to pick up on common patterns and practices.

Abbreviations used in names

As previously stated, masculine names and words typically ended in ‘-us.’  This ending was sometimes written as a character resembling the letter ‘g.’  For instance, the Latin name “Augustus” could be written as “Augustg.”  A single letter with a stroke above was a substitute for double letters.  For example, “An̄a” and “Joan̄es” were short ways of writing “Anna” and “Joannes” (corresponding to Johannes—or other forms of John—in German).  In addition, the name “Joannes” could be presented as “Jo,” “Joes,” and “Jois.”  It should be noted that Johann (a common form of Johannes) was by far the most popular given name for boys during the middle ages in German-speaking areas.

Many devout Christians have found the term Xmas offensive, claiming that Christ has been taken out of Christmas.  Historically, the purposing of using the letter ‘X’ has been the opposite.  In Greek, the name “Christos” (Χριστός) was written with a letter that looks like the letter ‘X’ in our alphabet (commonly called “Chi” in mathematics).  Thus, for more than a millennium, scribes used the letter ‘X’ to represent “Chris” or “Christ.”

Two examples of naming conventions were “Xtofer” (Christopher) and “Xtina” (Christina).  Occasionally, the name “Christ” would appear in German records.  Perhaps an English-speaking Christian feel troubled by its use.  In a Christian context, this was not blasphemy; instead, it was a short form of other names—much like the English nick-name Chris.  Instead, Jesus’ surname in German has been rendered “Christus.”

Abbreviations related to numerals

The following were shortened forms of months: “7ber/7bris” (“September/Septembris”), “8bris/8ber” (“October/Octobris”), “9ber/9bris” (“November/Novembris”), and “10ber/10bris” (“December/Decembris”).  In addition, December was occasionally represented by the Roman numeral ‘X’—also meaning 10—in “Xber/Xbris.”  For more information on the background of calendar months, see my podcast in the sidebar.

Ordinal numbers often employed endings—either in masculine or feminine forms (“-us” or “-a” respectively).  Examples of this practice included “7ma” (7^th), “19na” (19^th), or “25ta” (25^th).  Many readers today are accustomed to reading Roman numerals.  However, two important notes need to be made here.  First, unconventional applications were used.  For example, 9 could be written as VIIII (instead of IX) and 70 could be written as XXXC (rather than LXX).  Second, Roman numerals typically signified feast days (instead of calendar days). and calendar years.  Occasionally, the number 1 was rendered ‘I’ with a dot—appearing much like the lower-case ‘i.’

Other Abbreviations and Symbols

Place names could be written by their German or Latin names.  In both of these languages, abbreviations were typically employed.  For instance, “Regensburg” (in German) could be rendered as “Ratisbon” (in Latin).  The latter could be abbreviated as “Ratisb.,” “Rat.,” or even “R.”  Latin used a variety of words to say “same as above”—especially, “ditto,” “eodem,” “eiusdem/ejustdem,” “idem,” and “item.”

A host of genealogical symbols often presented themselves in church records.  A star referred to birth; one or two lines with squiggles—somewhat resembling a tilde—signified a christening.  Marriage was signified by two adjacent circles—appearing in form like the number eight on its side.  A cross represented death.  If a cross was followed by a star, the scribe has mentioned a stillborn child.  A burial was illustrated by means of a simple rectangle (with the shorter sides being on the left and right sides).

Conclusion

In both German and Latin records, there have been various ways to explain the same information.  As the article shows, useful information could be shortened.  Scribes used abbreviations and symbols to save time, space, and money.  For success in research, careful attention must be paid in extracting details.  Thanks for reading this week’s blog.  Next time, we’ll be discussing regional spellings and variations in German.