Diplomatics (in American English, and in most anglophone countries), or diplomatic (in British English),
is a scholarly discipline centred on the critical analysis of
documents: especially,
historical documents. It focuses on the conventions, protocols and formulae that have been used by document creators, and uses these to increase understanding of the processes of document creation, of information transmission, and of the relationships between the facts which the documents purport to record and reality.
The discipline originally evolved as a tool for studying and determining the authenticity of the official
charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
s and
diploma
A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...
s issued by royal and papal
chanceries. It was subsequently appreciated that many of the same underlying principles could be applied to other types of official document and
legal instrument, to non-official documents such as private
letters, and, most recently, to the
metadata
Metadata is "data that provides information about other data", but not the content of the data, such as the text of a message or the image itself. There are many distinct types of metadata, including:
* Descriptive metadata – the descriptive ...
of electronic records.
Diplomatics is one of the
auxiliary sciences of history. It should not be confused with its sister-discipline of
palaeography.
In fact, its techniques have more in common with those of the literary disciplines of
textual criticism and
historical criticism
Historical criticism, also known as the historical-critical method or higher criticism, is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts in order to understand "the world behind the text". While often discussed in terms of ...
.
Etymology
Despite the verbal similarity, the discipline has nothing to do with
diplomacy. Both terms are derived, by separate linguistic development, from the word ''diploma'', which originally referred to a folded piece of writing material—and thus both to the materials which are the focus of study in diplomatics, and to accreditation papers carried by diplomats.
The word ''diplomatics'' was effectively coined by the
Benedictine monk
Jean Mabillon, who in 1681 published his treatise, ''De re diplomatica'' (
Latin: roughly, "The Study of Documents"). From there, the word entered the French language as ''diplomatique'', and then English as ''diplomatic'' or ''diplomatics''.
Definitions
''
Webster's Dictionary'' (1828) defines diplomatics as the "science of diplomas, or of ancient writings, literary and public documents, letters, decrees, charters, codicils, etc., which has for its object to decipher old writings, to ascertain their authenticity, their date, signatures, etc."
Giorgio Cencetti (1908–1970) defined the discipline as "the study of the ''Wesen''
eingand ''Werden''
ecomingof documentation, the analysis of genesis, inner constitution and transmission of documents, and of their relationship with the facts represented in them and with their creators".
The
Commission International de Diplomatique has defined diplomatics as "the science which studies the tradition, the form and the issuing of written documents".
More pragmatically, Peter Beal defines diplomatics as "the science or study of documents and records, including their forms, language, script and meaning. It involves knowledge of such matters as the established wording and procedures of particular kinds of document, the deciphering of writing, and document analysis and authentication".
Theo Kölzer defines diplomatics as "the teaching and the study of charters". He treats the terms "charter", "diploma", and "document" as broadly synonymous, and refers to the German scholar
Harry Bresslau's definition of "documents" as "written declarations recorded in compliance with certain forms alternating according to the difference in person, place, time, and matter, which are meant to serve as a testimony of proceedings of a legal nature".
Properly speaking, and as usually understood by present-day scholars, diplomatics is concerned essentially with the analysis and interpretation of the linguistic and textual elements of a document. It is, however, closely associated with several parallel disciplines, including
palaeography,
sigillography,
codicology
Codicology (; from French ''codicologie;'' from Latin , genitive , "notebook, book" and Greek , '' -logia'') is the study of codices or manuscript books. It is often referred to as "the archaeology of the book," a term coined by François Masai. ...
, and
provenance
Provenance (from the French ''provenir'', 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art but is now used in similar senses i ...
studies, all of which are concerned with a document's physical characteristics and history, and which will often be carried out in conjunction with a diplomatic analysis. The term diplomatics is therefore sometimes used in a slightly wider sense, to encompass some of these other areas (as it was in Mabillon's original work, and as is implied in the definitions of both Webster and Beal quoted above). The recent development of the science in non-English Europe is expanding its scope to a cultural history of documentation including aspects of
pragmatic literacy or
symbolic communication Symbolic communication is the exchange of messages that change ''a priori'' expectation of events. Examples of this are modern communication technology and the exchange of information amongst animals.
By referring to objects and ideas not present at ...
.
Christopher Brooke, a distinguished teacher of diplomatics, referred to the discipline's reputation in 1970 as that of "a formidable and dismal science ... a kind of game played by a few scholars, most of them medievalists, harmless so long as it does not dominate or obscure historical enquiry; or, perhaps, most commonly of all, an aid to understanding of considerable use to scholars and research students if only they had time to spare from more serious pursuits".
History
Title page of Volume 4 of Tassin and
Toustain's ''Nouveau traité de diplomatique'' (1759)
In the
ancient and
medieval periods, the authenticity of a document was considered to derive from the document's place of preservation and storage, in, for example, temples, public offices, and archives. As a result, those with nefarious motives were able to give
forged documents a spurious authenticity by depositing them in places of authority. Diplomatics grew from a need to establish new standards of authenticity through the critical analysis of the textual and physical forms of documents.
The first notable application of diplomatics was by
Nicolas of Cusa
Nicholas of Cusa (1401 – 11 August 1464), also referred to as Nicholas of Kues and Nicolaus Cusanus (), was a German Catholic cardinal, philosopher, theologian, jurist, mathematician, and astronomer. One of the first German proponents of Renai ...
, in 1433, and
Lorenzo Valla, in 1440, who determined, independently, that the
Donation of Constantine, which had been used for centuries to legitimize papal temporal authority, was a forgery. Diplomatic techniques were further developed as part of a wider battery of
antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...
skills during the
Reformation and
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...
eras. The emergence of diplomatics as a recognisably distinct sub-discipline, however, is generally dated to the publication of
Mabillon's ''De re diplomatica'' in 1681. Mabillon had begun studying old documents with a view towards establishing their authenticity as a result of the doubts raised by the
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
Daniel van Papenbroek
Daniel Papebroch, S.J., (17 March 1628 – 28 June 1714) was a Flemish Jesuit hagiographer, one of the Bollandists. He was a leading revisionist figure, bringing historical criticism to bear on traditions of saints of the Catholic Church.
Life ...
over supposed
Merovingian documents from the
Abbey of Saint-Denis. During the
Middle Ages, the production of spurious
charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
s and other documents had been common, either to provide written documentation of existing rights or to bolster the plausibility of claimed rights. Mabillon's work engendered a far livelier awareness of the potential presence of forged or spurious documents, in the fields of both
history and
law.
Although Mabillon is still widely seen as the "father" of diplomatics, a more important milestone in the formation of the battery of practical techniques which make up the modern discipline was the publication of
René-Prosper Tassin and
Charles-François Toustain
Charles-François Toustain (13 October 1700 – 1 July 1754) was a French historian and a member of the Benedictine Congregation of Saint Maur. He is remembered for his scholarly work carried out withwith his fellow-Maurist, Dom René-Prosper Tas ...
's ''Nouveau traité de diplomatique'', which appeared in six volumes in 1750–65.
The most significant work in English was
Thomas Madox's ''Formulare Anglicanum'', published in 1702. In general, however, the discipline was always studied more intensively by continental scholars than by those in Britain.
Diplomatics is often associated with the study of documents of the medieval period. However, scholars such as
Luciana Duranti
Luciana Duranti is an archival theorist and professor of archival science and diplomatics at the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies, University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. She is a noted expert on diplomatics and e ...
have argued that many of its theories and principles can be adapted and applied to contemporary
archival science
Archival science, or archival studies, is the study and theory of building and curating archives, which are collections of documents, recordings and data storage devices.
To build and curate an archive, one must acquire and evaluate recorded m ...
.
Uses
The study of diplomatics is a valuable tool for
historians, enabling them to determine whether alleged
historical documents and
archives are in fact genuine or
forgeries. Its techniques may also be used to help date undated documents.
Diplomatics has many similar applications in the field of
law.
Some famous cases in which the principles of diplomatics have been employed have included:
*
Lorenzo Valla's proof of the forgery of the
Donation of Constantine. Valla's work preceded Mabillon by roughly two centuries, and was the first application of the principles of modern, scientific diplomatics.
* The
Hitler diaries hoax
A hoax is a widely publicized falsehood so fashioned as to invite reflexive, unthinking acceptance by the greatest number of people of the most varied social identities and of the highest possible social pretensions to gull its victims into pu ...
(1983).
* The
National Archives forgeries (the Martin Allen forgeries, or
Himmler forged documents) (2005).
Diplomatic editions and transcription
A diplomatic edition is an edition (in print or online) of an historic manuscript text that seeks to reproduce as accurately as possible in typography all significant features of the manuscript original, including spelling and punctuation, abbreviations, deletions, insertions, and other alterations. Similarly, diplomatic transcription attempts to represent by means of a system of editorial signs all features of a manuscript original.
The term ''semi-diplomatic'' is used for an edition or transcription that seeks to reproduce only some of these features of the original. A diplomatic edition is thus distinguished from a ''normalized edition'', in which the editor, while not altering the original wording of the text, renders it using normal (modern)
orthography.
A diplomatic edition is also to be distinguished both from a ''
facsimile
A facsimile (from Latin ''fac simile'', "to make alike") is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, Old master print, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from ...
edition'', which, in the modern era, normally employs photographic or digital images; and from a ''type facsimile'' (such as
Abraham Farley's
edition of ''Domesday Book''), which seeks to reproduce the appearance of the original through the use of a
special typeface or
digital font
A computer font is implemented as a digital data file containing a set of graphically related glyphs. A computer font is designed and created using a font editor. A computer font specifically designed for the computer screen, and not for pri ...
.
See also
*
False document
*
Forensic science
Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal ...
*
Palaeography
*
Papal diplomatics
Papal diplomatics is the scholarly and critical study (diplomatics) of the authentic documents of the papacy, largely to distinguish them from spurious documents. The study emerges in the Middle Ages and has been further refined in the centuries s ...
*
Questioned document examination
In forensic science, questioned document examination (QDE) is the examination of documents potentially disputed in a court of law. Its primary purpose is to provide evidence about a suspicious or questionable document using scientific processes a ...
(for document forensics related to criminal activity)
*
Sigillography
*
Textual scholarship
References
External links
Virtual Library Historical Auxiliary Sciences - Diplomaticsmonasterium.netlargest online database of charters
Online-Database LBA onlineprovided by the
Lichtbildarchiv älterer Originalurkunden at
Marburg University (Germany, state of Hesse)
Vocabulaire international de la diplomatique, ed. Maria Milagros Cárcel Ortí, 2. ed., València 1997 (Col·lecció Oberta), online versionCommission internationale de DiplomatiqueThe International Research on Permanent Authentic Records in Electronic Systems (InterPARES)
{{Authority control
Historiography
Archival science
Writing
Document forgery
Forensic disciplines
Textual criticism
Textual scholarship