Diplomatic [LHISB312]

Learning outcomes

The student will be able to read, criticize and interpret the different categories of documents. In order to do this, they must be able to determine the nature of the documents, appreciate their manuscript and printed tradition, recognise their constituent parts, understand their specific vocabulary, and reconstruct the stages and reasons for their creation. He/she will have notions of technical chronology, sigillography and heraldry.

Content

Diplomatics is the auxiliary science of history dedicated to the critical study of all types of instruments (sovereign diplomas; papal bulls; episcopal, monastic, countal, seigniorial, urban charters, etc.) which, from the Merovingian period to modern times, have served to account for the most varied legal actions, concerning all sectors of life in society. Very rich in content, but cast in stereotyped forms supposed to guarantee their validity, these documents require careful decoding by the historian who wishes to use them. It is necessary to establish and evaluate the handwritten tradition of the document, which is more often preserved in copy(ies) than in original. Within the text, distinguish the parts of the diplomatic discourse and isolate the elements of the form, which call for specific analyses. From there, understand the context and the process of elaboration of the act, try to explain the realities of which it gives an account, and also guess at the part of ideology that it conceals. The interpretation of the seals, which carry written and figurative messages of the greatest value for political, social or cultural history, will also be considered.