Altdeutsch

Altdeutsch is a German term that literally means "old German." In modern usage it is ambiguous and can refer to multiple historical phenomena. In linguistics, Altdeutsch is sometimes used informally to denote historical phases of the German language preceding modern German. More precise terms are Althochdeutsch (Old High German), typically dated to roughly the 6th–8th centuries through the 11th century, Mittelhochdeutsch (Middle High German, approximately 1050–1350), and Neuhochdeutsch (New High German, from about 1350 onward). The scholarly standard for the earliest stage is Althochdeutsch.

In typography and printing, Altdeutsch or Altdeutsche Schrift describes the traditional German blackletter scripts, including Fraktur and Schwabacher, used from the late medieval period through the early 20th century. These typefaces were widespread in German-speaking lands, before Antiqua became predominant in the mid-20th century. In 1941 the Nazi regime began promoting Antiqua for official use, contributing to a decline in blackletter usage.

In cultural and political discourse, the term has sometimes appeared in nationalist or antiquarian contexts to evoke an idealized sense of a historic German past. Such usage is not an academic category and can reflect specific ideological aims rather than linguistic or typographic classifications.

See also: Althochdeutsch, Mittelhochdeutsch, Fraktur, Schwabacher, Antiqua.