Help Make Sense of 17th Century Latin Scribblings

[Electronic God-Man]

These parish records from Widdern (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widdern), Germany were sent to me. I can't read the Latin. Help!

I'm pretty sure that he's pointing to the entries that are relevant to me. Let me know if you can read any of it and I'll figure out what is relevant on the pages where he's not pointing.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Widdern-panorama.jpg/800px-Widdern-panorama.jpg

[Psychonaut]

Fuck, dude...

[Comte Arnau]

Infantes = Children
Parentes = Parents
Patrini = Godfathers

EDIT: Oh, you mean the dates the finger points at?

[Electronic God-Man]

Fuck, dude...

I know. All I can make out are the words parentes (parents), infantes (infant), patrini (sponsors/patrons) and sometimes uxor (wife) appears in there.

The surnames that are supposedly in there are Hunzinger, Schweitzer, Dietscher, Eichelsheimer, Götzinger, and Leysen. "Frankch" too, which just looks odd.

These pictures were taken by some older researcher who has since passed away, but before he did he gave them and some of the names to another person who has no idea what it really says in there.

[Electronic God-Man]

EDIT: Oh, you mean the dates the finger points at?

Yeah, the dates and whatever else is written next to them.

[Comte Arnau]

Ok, what I see:

1st finger = 14? of August
2nd finger = 10 of December
3rd finger = 5 of September

[Osweo]

The date with the finger seems to start with a 'd.', which from context and logic could be 'ditto'....? Look at the top of the page for the year.

[Comte Arnau]

D is just for day, IMO.

[Electronic God-Man]

The date with the finger seems to start with a 'd.', which from context and logic could be 'ditto'....? Look at the top of the page for the year.

Of the three pages which have the guy seemingly pointing to things...

1. Anno 1669
2. Anno 1691
3. Anno 1690


Can anyone make out the names, etc. in the Parentes and Patrini columns?

[Electronic God-Man]

D is just for day, IMO.

They wouldn't be using English in a church in Germany.

D could stand for datum though, or ditto. In either case, it is not of much importance. It's repeated for every date.

[Electronic God-Man]

In the second picture it does look like next to "Anna Agatha" could be written "Joh. M... Schweitzer, uxor Anna Christina" in the Parentes column.

[Comte Arnau]

They wouldn't be using English in a church in Germany.

D could stand for datum though, or ditto. In either case, it is not of much importance. It's repeated for every date.

Lol, I didn't mean day in English, I was referring to the Latin word dies, obviously. :p

[Comte Arnau]

So, for instance, in the second finger pic, one reads:

d. 10 xbr.

Which has to mean: day 10 of December, x being short for decem, which means 10, and br for the rest.

[Electronic God-Man]

So, for instance, in the second finger pic, one reads:

d. 10 xbr.

Which has to mean: day 10 of December, x being short for decem, which means 10, and br for the rest.

Ah! You're definitely right about that. I see 9br and 8br above that. :D

[Comte Arnau]

Ah! You're definitely right about that. I see 9br and 8br above that. :D

Aha. The numbers in Latin. :)

Septem br - 7br
Octo br - 8br
Novem br - 9br
Decem br - 10br = xbr

We must take into account that the year began in March, just like Aries or spring. So September was the 7th month. :thumb001:

[Osweo]

Great Puzzle! :p

You should have put it in the Palaeography Quiz thread... :D

I'm tired now, and they're bloody hard to read, but you'll just have to look at the other entries till you get used to the style. You're probably more familiar with German naming practices than I am too, from your genealogical research.

[Osweo]

Of course, there weren't that many names in circulation, so the clerk has written some fairly indistinctly, but enough to be recognised.

Am I seeing a shorthand form of 'Michel' in the middle name of the father?

Is the infant Johannes Georg in the other page?