What is all this Latin about?

[MattD30]

lastly - for now - section 5.

There are another three and a half pages of Latin text following this.

The only things I can pick out are the names of the people and some of the relationships.

I've never seen this much Latin in a Will lol!

Thanks again for any ideas or help.

Matt

[Bookbox]

The probate clause states that the will was proved by Ursula Constant, the widow, on 7 December 1633, and probate was confirmed on 8 May 1634.

In between those dates, a court case was brought by Ursula against Richard Constant’s children -- William, Richard and Dorothea. The background to the case is not given.

The rest of the document is a Judicial Sentence, setting out the court’s process in reaching a decision in the case – all in standard legalese. If you want to post the rest of it, I can probably summarize it, but it will not amount to much. It will tell you the final outcome, but it will not provide details of the dispute.

[MattD30]

The probate clause states that the will was proved by Ursula Constant, the widow, on 7 December 1633, and probate was confirmed on 8 May 1634.

In between those dates, a court case was brought by Ursula against Richard Constant’s children -- William, Richard and Dorothea. The background to the case is not given.

The rest of the document is a Judicial Sentence, setting out the court’s process in reaching a decision in the case – all in standard legalese. If you want to post the rest of it, I can probably summarize it, but it will not amount to much. It will tell you the final outcome, but it will not provide details of the dispute.

Hi

Thanks for that. I suspected it might be something to do with some sort of dispute or legal case. I've also found out that in 1634 Ursula remarried, this time to a man named Thomas Whitfield whom she married by licence in Canterbury.

I wonder why Ursula was bringing a case against Richard's children? I believe Ursula was their mother but I'm not certain of that yet as I've only recently begun researching this family and haven't found a marriage for Richard yet.

Interestingly I also have the 1629 Will of Nicholas Constant who appears to be Richard's father and this includes a similar Latin section at the end.

Here is the rest of the Latin text from Richard Constant's Will. It would be great to have a summary of what is going on here and any help you can give would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Matt
PS I'll post this remaining part in 4 pieces as the file will be too big for one post. Each image should follow on directly from the last.

[MattD30]

Next piece here.

[MattD30]

Next piece.

[MattD30]

Next and final section.

Can you recommend any good books or sources I can use if I want to transcribe this. I can read the will ok but my Latin isn't good enough to read this word for word.

Thank again
Matt

[Bookbox]

Can you recommend any good books or sources I can use if I want to transcribe this. I can read the will ok but my Latin isn't good enough to read this word for word.

Brooke Westcott: Making Sense of Latin Documents for Family & Local Historians (2014), published by The Family History Partnership, available from the usual online suppliers at a modest price. It will provide quick-fix answers to many questions.

But if you want to learn to read Latin documents for yourself, these two interactive online courses from TNA are helpful ...

Latin language
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/latin/default.htm

Latin palaeography/handwriting
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/latinpalaeography/

Two other useful books, for more in-depth study ...
Eileen Gooder: Latin for Local History: an Introduction (2nd edition, 1978)
Denis Stuart: Latin for Local and Family Historians: a Beginner’s Guide (1995)

[Bookbox]

It would be great to have a summary of what is going on here and any help you can give would be appreciated.

I'll have to finish it later tonight. There should be quite a bit more at the end, not posted yet?

As I said before, this document will only tell you the outcome. It won't tell you what was going on in the background.

[Bookbox]

Matt, could you also please check if there is a line missing between the extracts that you've labelled Latin1 and Latin2 ? It's the bit where the children are named.

Sorry, ignore that, my mistake. I was confused by the overlap.