History

Documents in Action: Medieval Diplomatics Workshop

Medieval Diplomatics, the scholarly examination and use of documents from the Middle Ages, is an indispensable component in the study of medieval history. Diplomatics covers a broad range of documents (e.g. royal charters, papal bulls, diplomas, legal writs, contracts, judicial records, treaties etc.) and requires several technical skills.

But Medieval Diplomatics is more than an antiquarian pastime. From donation charters in the study of monasteries to exchequer rolls in the history of fiscal governance, the careful use of documentary sources is essential in the political, institutional, religious, social, economic and intellectual history of the Middle Ages.

In spite of its importance, however, provision for introducing students to the study of Medieval Diplomatics remains limited. This one-day workshop hosted by UCL’s Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies aims to fill that gap.

The workshop will provide an introduction to some of the necessary technical skills in studying different types of both British and continental medieval documents. Equally importantly, it will demonstrate how historians can use these documents ‘in action’ to address a range of questions. What can we learn about the rule of law from inquisitorial records – and how do we read between their lines? What do donation charters reveal about the exercise of power by both the aristocracy and religious institutions? What were the purposes of arengae, the often elaborate and formulaic introductions to official documents? And just how rational was the papal bureaucracy?

The workshop will be led by three of UCL’s medieval historians, Professor David d’Avray, Dr Antonio Sennis and Dr John Sabapathy, who will address subjects including English governance; the papacy; medieval rationality; monasteries and social power; inquisitorial procedures. The workshop is open to undergraduates, postgraduates and any other interested parties.

It will be of especial interest and benefit to those interested in pursuing further study in medieval history at MA or PhD level.

Attendance is free and no knowledge of Latin is required. Materials will be provided.

To register for the workshop or to find out more information, please contact the workshop organiser, Dr Zubin Mistry (z.mistry@ucl.ac.uk).

Images of the Black Book of the Exchequer (London, the National Archives, PRO E36/266).

This mid- to late thirteenth-century manuscript includes oaths, a sale deed, calendars of appointments and salary tables together with verses and drawings of the crucifixion, Virgin Mary and the four evangelists. Together with the earlier thirteenth-century Red Book of the Exchequer (London, the National Archives, PRO E164/2), the Black Book contains a copy of the Dialogus de Scaccario (The Dialogue of the Exchequer), an important late twelfth-century treatise on the practices of the exchequer at the time of Henry II (r.1154-1189). Images reproduced by permission of the National Archives.