Seminar in Medieval Societies and Institutions

1) Read in the following in order to familiarize yourself with the history, terminology, and hot issues of the discipline of diplomatics (if one may use the words “hot” and “diplomatics” in the same phrase):

• Georges Tessier, “Diplomatique,” in L’Histoire et ses méthodes , ed. Charles Samaran, Encyclopédie de la pléiade 11 (Paris, 1961), 633–76
• Robert Henri-Bautier, “Leçon d’ouverture du cours de diplomatique à l’École des chartes (20 octobre 1961),” Bibliothèque de l’École des chartes 119 (1961), 194–225
• Leonard E. Boyle, “Diplomatics,” in James M. Powell, ed., Medieval Studies:  An Introduction, 2nd edn (Syracuse, 1992), 82–113
• Brigitte Bedos-Rezak, “Diplomatic Sources and Medieval Documentary Practices: An Essay in Interpretive Methodology,” in The Past and Future of Medieval Studies, ed. John van Engen, Notre Dame Conferences in Medieval Studies 4 (Notre Dame, 1994), 313–43

2) Try to get some practice reading documents.  The following works might prove more or less useful, depending on your preparation and experience:

• John Thorley, Documents in Medieval Latin (London, 1998)
English documents and some chronicle texts.  Includes historical and grammatical notes as well as translations.
• Michel Zimmermann, ed., Les Marches meridionales du royaume aux alentours de l'an mil: Inventaire typologique des sources documentaires: Colloque Hughes Capet 987–1987, La France de l'an mil (Nancy, 1987)
A wide variety of documents from Southern France and Catalonia with historical commentary.
• William Stubbs, ed., Select charters and other illustrations of English constitutional history from the earliest times to the reign of Edward the First, 9th edn, rev. H. W. C. Davis (Oxford, 1913)
A classic.  Documents and other texts with historical commentary.  Translations for many of these texts can be found in David C. Douglas, ed., English Historical Documents, 12 vols in 13 parts (London, ,1953– ), vols 1–2 (2nd edn, 1979) and  3.

Better yet, find a cartulary or recueil des actes related to an institution or individual you are interested in and get friendly with it.  There are a number of guides, more or less useful, to these collections:

• G. R. C. Davis, Medieval Cartularies of Great Britain (London, 1958)
• Henri Stein, Bibliographie générale des cartulaires français (Paris, 1907)
• Inventaire des cartulaires conservés dans les archives de l’État en Belgique (Brussels, 1895); Inventaire des cartulaires conservés en Belgique aillerus que dans les dépôts des archives de l’État (Brussels, 1899); Inventaire des cartulaires belges conservés à l’étranger (Brussels, 1895)
• Hermann Oesterley, Wegweiser durch die Litteratur der Urkunden-Sammlungen , 2 vols (Berlin, 1886); Rudolf Schieffer, “Neuere regionale Urkundenbücher und Regestenwerke,” Blätter für deutsche Landesgeschichte 127 (1991), 1–18.
• J. A. Garcia de Cortazar et al., Catálogo de colecciones diplomáticas hispano-lusas de epoca medieval, 2 vols. (Santander, 1999)

David Herlihy's lists of sources used in his statistical studies will fill in some gaps in Spain, Italy, and Germany:

• Speculum 33 (1958), 38-41
• Speculum 36 (1961), 100-102
• Traditio 18 (1962), 114-16

Or look up the sources available for your place, person, or institution in one of the standard references:

• R. C. van Caenegem, Introduction aux sources de l'histoire médiévale, new edn, ed. Luc Jocqué, Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Mediaevalis, s.n. (Turnhout, 1997)
• Potthast, August, Bibliotheca historica medii aevi, 2 vols (Berlin, 18962)
• Repertorium fontium historiae medii aevi, 5 vols to date (Rome, 1962– );  Addimenta (Rome, 1977– )
• Chevalier, Ulysse, Répertoire des sources historiques du moyen âge:  Bio-bibliographie, 2 vols (Paris, 1903–72)
• Chevalier, Ulysse, Répertoire des sources historiques du moyen âge:  Topo-bibliographie, 2 vols (Montbeliard, 1894–1903)
• Cottineau, L. H., Répertoire topo-bibliographique des abbayes et prieurés, 2 vols (Macon, 1935–39);  vol. 3, ed. G. Poras (Macon, 1970)
• Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie ecclésiastique (Paris, 1909– )