École Nationale Des Chartes
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The École Nationale des Chartes (; ) is a French ''
grande école A (; ) is a specialized top-level educational institution in France and some other countries such as Morocco and Tunisia. are part of an alternative educational system that operates alongside the mainstream List of public universities in Franc ...
'' and a constituent college of Université PSL, specialising in the historical sciences. It was founded in 1821, and was located initially at the
National Archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...
, and later at the Palais de la Sorbonne (5th arrondissement). In October 2014, it moved to 65 rue de Richelieu, opposite the Richelieu-Louvois site of the
National Library of France National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
. The school is administered by the Ministry of National Education, Higher Education and Research. It holds the status of a '' grand établissement''. Its students, who are recruited by competitive examination and hold the status of trainee civil servant, receive the qualification of archivist-paleographer after completing a thesis. They generally go on to pursue careers as heritage curators in the archive and visual fields, as library curators or as lecturers and researchers in the human and
social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...
s. In 2005, the school also introduced
master's degrees A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
, for which students were recruited based on an application file, and, in 2011,
doctorates A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...
.


History

The École des Chartes was created by order of
Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...
on 22 February 1821, although its roots are in the
Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
and the Napoleonic period. The Revolution, during which property was confiscated, congregations were suppressed and competencies were transferred from the Church to the State, produced radical cultural changes. In 1793 the feudist Antoine Maugard approached the public instruction committee of the Convention with a proposal for a project of historical and diplomatic education. The project was never carried out, and Maugard was largely forgotten. The institution was eventually created by the philologist and anthropologist Joseph Marie de Gérando, baron of the Empire and general secretary to Champagny, the Minister of the Interior. In 1807 he submitted a proposal to
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
for the creation of a school to train young scholars of history. Napoleon examined the proposal and declared that he wished to develop a much larger specialist history school. However, Gérando was posted to Italy on an administrative mission, and the project was interrupted. At the end of 1820, Gérando convinced Count Siméon, a philosopher and professor of law who had been state councilor under the Empire and who was at that time Minister of the Interior, of the usefulness of an institution modeled on the ''
grandes écoles Grandes may refer to: *Agustín Muñoz Grandes, Spanish general and politician * Banksia ser. Grandes, a series of plant species native to Australia * Grandes y San Martín, a municipality located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain ...
'', dedicated to the study of "a branch of French literature", the charters. The 1820s were a favorable period for the creation of the École des Chartes. Firstly this was because the atmosphere of nostalgia for the Middle Ages created a desire to train specialists who would, by carrying out a direct study of archives and manuscripts confiscated during the Revolution, be able to renew French historiography. Secondly, the need was also felt to maintain this branch of study, which stemmed from Maurist tradition, since the field was endangered by a lack of knowledgeable collaborators in the "science of charters and manuscripts". And thirdly, during the reign of Louis XVIII, a period which saw the return of the Ultras and during which the constitutional monarchy was called into question, the political context influenced the creation of an institution whose name inevitably made explicit reference to the defense of the Charter. Under the order of 1821, twelve students were nominated by the Minister of the Interior, based on propositions by the
Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres The () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the . The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigraphy) and historical literature (see Belles-lettres). History ...
, and they were paid during the two years of their studies. They principally studied
paleography Palaeography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, UK) or paleography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, US) (ultimately from , , 'old', and , , 'to write') is the study and academic disciplin ...
and
philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...
, with a purely practical aim: to be able to read and understand the documents that they would be responsible for curating. The professors and students of the school were placed under the authority of the curator of medieval manuscripts of the Royal Library, rue de Richelieu, and of the general guard of the Archives of the Kingdom. This first experience was not very successful, mainly because no job openings were reserved for the students. The first course was implemented in two stages by the ministerial decree of 11 May (for the Royal Library course) and by the decree of 21 December 1821 (for the Archives of the Kingdom course) and was the only one run. The ''Académie'' did put forward a new list of candidates, and the course length was set at two years by the Order of 16 July 1823, but lessons had to be suspended on 19 December 1823 due to a lack of students. However, following a long period of inactivity, the Ministry of the Interior decided to re-open the school. Rives, the director of staff of the ministry, together with Dacier, drew up a report on the reorganization of the School and a draft order, proposed to
Charles X Charles X may refer to: * Charles X of France (1757–1836) * Charles X Gustav (1622–1660), King of Sweden * Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (1523–1590), recognized as Charles X of France but renounced the royal title See also * * King Charle ...
by La Bourdonnaye, which resulted in the order of 11 November 1829. The school was now open to anyone who had acquired the Baccalaureate, but six to eight students were selected by competitive examination at the end of the first year. They received a salary and followed two further years of training. On completion of their studies, they received the qualification of archivist-paleographer and were reserved half of the available jobs in libraries and archives. The first valedictorian was Alexandre Teulet. The " Guizot period" benefited the École des Chartes, which soon became an important institution in the field of historical – particularly medieval – studies. On 24 March 1839 the Société de l’École des Chartes was founded by Louis Douët d'Arcq, among others, and it published the Bibliothèque de l'École des Chartes, one of the oldest French scientific reviews, to disseminate the work carried out in the school. The Order of 31 December 1846 implemented a fundamental reorganization of the school and its study program, which then remained unchanged for more than a century. The students, who were holders of the Baccalaureate, were recruited by examination (which shortly afterwards became a competitive examination), and followed a three-year course of studies. Interdisciplinarity, an essential characteristic of the school, was then written into the reform, which required students to study six subjects, some of which were not taught anywhere else. The second innovation, a thesis, was introduced, with the first public defense being held in 1849. A surveillance council was set up, consisting of the guard of the Archives, the director of the Royal Library, the director of the School and five members of the
Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres The () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the . The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigraphy) and historical literature (see Belles-lettres). History ...
. The school was finally provided with a new statute. It moved to the Kingdom Archives in the
hôtel de Soubise The Hôtel de Soubise () is a city mansion '' entre cour et jardin''. It is located at 60 Rue des Francs-Bourgeois in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, France. History The Hôtel de Soubise was built as an ''hôtel particulier'' for the Prin ...
, in the oval hall and adjacent rooms of the hôtel de Clisson. By now, the École des Chartes had become a point of reference in Europe. Its historical research methodology had been greatly modernized, as had its teaching methods, thanks to the copies of ancient documents to which it had access. The students were taught paleography, sigillography, numismatics, philology, filing for archives and libraries, historical geography, currencies, systems of weights and measures, the history of political institutions in France, archeology, civil law, canonic law and feudal law. The teaching had both a scientific and a professional aim. Thus, by gradually being integrated into the network of royal then national and departmental archive services, the graduates of the school contributed to the strengthening of the network and to the improvement of archival principles. A career-path for the graduates was thus established in the archives, first implemented by the Order of 31 December 1846, then reinforced by a legislative framework providing them with a means to enforce this law. The decree of 4 February 1850 reserved the posts of departmental archivist to those holding the qualification of archivist-paleographer, while all the positions at the National Archives (except that of senior civil servant) were reserved for them by the decree of 14 May 1887. The same could not be said of libraries. The order of 1839 was never applied, and although the order of 1839 reserved places at the Royal Library for École des Chartes graduates, fewer than 7% of them worked in a library in 1867. It was not until the end of the Second Empire, partly thanks to the work of Léopold Delisle, the general administrator of the national library, that the qualifications of the school's graduates were recognized by libraries. Little by little, decrees and orders facilitated their access to jobs in libraries. The school moved in 1866 into more suitable premises in the hôtel de Breteuil, rue des Francs-Bourgeois, without this move having much effect on the teaching. In the same year a number of the alumni of the school were involved with the creation of the Revue des questions historiques, the first scholarly history journal in France and although influenced by German techniques it was also influenced by the careful historical techniques of the school. Seven professorships were instituted by the decree of 30 January 1869: paleography; Latin languages; bibliography; filing for libraries and archives; diplomacy; political, administrative and judiciary institutions in France; civil and canonic law of the Middle Ages and archeology of the Middle Ages. Apart from minor modifications, these remained unchanged until 1955. The school moved once again in 1897, to 19 rue de la Sorbonne, into the premises originally intended for the Paris Faculté de théologie catholique. This move brought the school geographically closer to the other research and teaching institutions based at the Sorbonne, such as the Faculté de lettres and the École pratique des hautes études. The school had a classroom, with windows along both sides and special deep desks for paleography practice, as well as a library, in which books were available for immediate access. Although the premises have been refurbished, the school is still located here today. During the 1920s, a number of moves to other premises were proposed, with suggestions including the hôtel de Rohan in 1924, the garden of the Institution for Deaf-Mutes (suggested by Michel Roux-Spitz), a plot on rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs, a house on rue de Vaugirard, the former Polytechnic School, and the refectory of the Bernardins. The school will move in 2015 to the Richelieu area, into new premises at 65 rue de Richelieu and 12 rue des Petits-Champs. The school was also a founding member of the Campus Condorcet, and for this reason, some of its research activities were conducted at the Aubervilliers campus. The image of the École des Chartes, in political and social terms, was firmly anchored, even though it has sometimes been classified as a right-wing institution. The image of the "right-wing chartiste" originated in the figure of the "amateur", the son of a well-off family, passing through the school to kill time elegantly, or to "wait", in the words of Robert Martin du Gard, who graduated from the school in 1905. In fact, throughout the 19th century there was a discontinuity between the high-prestige training offered by the École des Chartes and the lower-prestige, modestly remunerated jobs open to graduates. However, this reputation was at least partly unfounded, as demonstrated by several cases. At the time of the Dreyfus Affair, for example, the milieu of the École des Chartes mirrored the divisions in French society: "Nowhere were civic quarrels more completely invested in the job of historian." The few chartistes who were called upon as experts during the Zola trial – Arthur Giry, Auguste Molinier, Paul Meyer, Paul Viollet and
Gaston Paris Bruno Paulin Gaston Paris (; 9 August 1839 – 5 March 1903) was a French literary historian, philologist, and scholar specialized in Romance studies and medieval French literature. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1901, ...
– and those who were involved in the founding of the League of Human Rights were attacked by other archivist-paleographers, including Robert de Lasteyrie, Gabriel Hanotaux and Émile Couard, as well as by their students at the École des Chartes. The variety of engagements at the time of the Dreyfus Affair did not necessarily reflect the political sensitivities of those involved, and their motives were political as well as professional, jeopardizing the very training and methods of the school. Although it was conservative to some extent, the school admitted a female student, Geneviève Acloque, in 1906, long before the other ''grandes écoles'' had started admitting women. The École des Chartes may have been perceived as a bastion of the French Action during the interwar period, although several relatively prominent alumni, such as Georges Bataille or Roger Martin du Gard, seem to have been more left-leaning. During the Second World War, there were therefore more École des Chartes students and teachers on the side of the Resistance than on the side of Vichy. Bertrand Joly concludes that the school was largely neutral, in that each "wing" seems to have been equally represented, a neutrality that was also justified by the fact that the school was not big enough for its members to have a significant effect on national politics. The entrance examination and internal examinations of the École des Chartes were reformed at the beginning of the 1930s. At this time, the school began offering the qualification of diplôme technique de bibliothécaire (DTB) 34, which was required to obtain a job as a librarian in first-category municipal libraries or university libraries. The school opened its classes on the history of books and
bibliography Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliograph ...
to external students preparing for the qualification. This practice continued until 1950, when the ''diplôme supérieur de bibliothécaire'' (DSB) replaced the DTB as the qualification for librarians. The mid-20th century was a difficult period for the school as it struggled to modernize. Its student numbers dropped sharply (there were only 11 archivist-paleographers in the class of 1959). Its training was considered to be outdated and lacking in the latest approaches to history, notably the historiographic revival of the
Annales School The ''Annales'' school () is a group of historians associated with a style of historiography developed by French historians in the 20th century to stress long-term social history. It is named after its scholarly journal '' Annales. Histoire, S ...
. It was not until the 1990s, when the entrance examination and teaching were reformed and a new policy was introduced, that the school really saw a revival. It entered a period of development under the direction of Yves-Marie Bercé (1992–2001) and Anita Guerreau-Jalabert (2001–2006). The current development of the school is based on solid training in new technologies and their application to the conservation of cultural heritage, and closer, more structured links with French universities and similar institutions in other European countries. The teaching has also been restructured to be better suited to the current demands of scientific research and evolution in conservation jobs. This approach will be introduced gradually as of the academic year 2014–15. Since the current director, Jean-Michel Leniaud, took up his post in 2011, the school has once more reformed its entrance examination to focus student recruitment on the specifics of the training, while also expanding the training to a broader field of human and social sciences, adapting it to the European context and recruitment conditions within conservation organizations. The range of subjects taught, which was expanded in the 1990s to include the history of art, now also includes archeology, the history of contemporary law, and history of property law. The course has been extended from three years to three years and nine months, aligning training in fundamental scientific techniques with empowerment in conservation jobs. In no other social and human sciences institution is the study of history, philology and law integrated to this extent into the conservation of archives, books monuments and works of art, be they inventories, historic monuments or museums. As well as improving the recruitment process and upgrading the training of future archivist-paleographers, the school has introduced specialized Master's programs focusing on digital technologies adapted to the humanities. It has recently introduced a continuing training service that takes into account the ''validation des acquis de l'expérience (VAE)'' (a certification accrediting work experience). The school's collaboration with the Établissement Public de Coopération Scientific (Campus Condorcet Paris-Aubervilliers), the ComUE heSam University and the Sorbonne Universities demonstrates the new directions that it has taken in recent years. To this end, it has modernized its administration, implemented ambitious communications programs and established a new campus opposite the National Library on rue de Richelieu. It is thus preparing to fulfill as effectively as possible the public service role assigned to it by the government.


Missions

The École nationale des Chartes is regulated by the statute of 27 January 1984, modified by statute no. 2013-660 of 22 July 2013 which relates to higher education and research. Article 3 of decree no. 87-832 of 8 October 1897 modified by decree no. 2005-1751 of 30 December 2005 defines the missions of the school as follows:


Organization

The governing bodies are composed of the director of the School, the administrative council and the scientific council. The director is selected from among the directors of studies of the
École pratique des hautes études The (), abbreviated EPHE, is a French postgraduate top level educational institution, a . EPHE is a constituent college of the Université PSL (together with ENS Ulm, Paris Dauphine or Ecole des Mines). The college is closely linked to É ...
, the École nationale des Chartes and the École française d'Extrême-Orient, or from among professors of the universities and members of affiliated institutions. The director is appointed by decree of the President of the Republic for a term of five years, renewable once under the conditions of the article. The director is assisted by a director of studies and a general director of services. The administrative council, consists of 21 members, including four unelected members, ten members appointed by the minister responsible for higher education, two of whom are members of the Institute, and seven elected members, three of whom are teachers, two of whom are IATOS (non-teaching staff) and two of whom are students. The scientific council37, headed by the director of the School, includes all the teachers who are directors of studies, as well as other unelected members. It also includes fifteen appointed members, five of whom are members of the Institute, as well as an elected teacher and a student representative. The Paris URFIST (an inter-academic research and training body) and the Committee of Historical and Scientific Work are affiliated with the l'École des Chartes.


Training


Archivist-paleographers


Entrance examinations

French students are recruited by competitive examination prepared in literary-oriented '' classes préparatoires'' in and outside Paris. Since 1991, it has been divided into two sections: * Section A, "Classics". This includes, among other subjects,
medieval history In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
,
modern history The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500, ...
and
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
. Studies at the School require fluency in Latin. * Section B, "Modern". This is part of the École normale supérieure's ''banque d'épreuves littéraires'' (BEL), a set of entrance examinations valid for several schools, and includes
modern history The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500, ...
,
contemporary history Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...
and modern languages among its subjects. Students prepare for the entrance examination in dedicated '' classes préparatoires'', the first year of which is known as "hypoChartes" and the second year "Chartes". Depending on the school, students preparing for examination A and those preparing for examination B may be grouped into a single cohort with different options, or they may be divided into two different cohorts. Those preparing for Section B can be grouped into '' khâgnes'' with additional options. Candidates who can provide proof of at least a
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
in theory may take an examination to be allowed to proceed directly into the second year. This examination is aimed at candidates who are already conducting research at an advanced level. There is now a limit on the number of candidates taking the entrance examination. It was reduced from 30 to 20 in three years, which was lower than the number of jobs available to graduates of the school (in archives, libraries, museums, etc.).


Status of the students

Students recruited by competitive examination can assume the status of trainee civil servants, being paid (currently approximately €1250/month net) in exchange for committing to a ten-year engagement. Those who pass the examination may choose whether or not to accept this status. Foreign students who are recruited by examination or on the basis of qualifications (according to the international selection procedure) are not remunerated while they follow the course, although they can apply for a scholarship. The course duration is three years and nine months. At the end of their studies, the students submit a
thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...
, which qualifies them as archivist-paleographers. Those who have fulfilled their third-year obligations can apply for two '' écoles d'application'': the École nationale supérieure des sciences de l'information et des bibliothèques (Enssib, reserved competitive examination) and the Institut national du patrimoine (INP). Following their studies in these schools, they may join the professions of either curators of libraries or curators of heritage. Each year, a number of students sit the INP's examination in the visual branches (Museums, Historic Monuments and Inventories) or the ''agrégation'' examination (History, Classic or Modern Letters and Grammar), thus following either a research-oriented or a teaching-oriented career path.


Training and teaching

The course takes place over eight semesters, of which six are dedicated to teaching. As well as a common core of subjects, students choose options according to their scientific and professional objectives. These options can be taken externally through a university. Internships play an important role, with a five-month compulsory internship in an institution in the field of conservation (e.g. archives, libraries, museums, or heritage or archeological services) in France, and three months in a similar institution abroad. The principal subjects studied are: * Latin and French
paleography Palaeography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, UK) or paleography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, US) (ultimately from , , 'old', and , , 'to write') is the study and academic disciplin ...
(plus other languages in seminars) * archiving, diplomacy and history of the institutions that have produced these archives (medieval, modern and contemporary) * history of civil and canon law * history of contemporary law * Roman
philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...
*
medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Western Roman Empire, Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidi ...
* history of art (medieval, modern and contemporary) * archeology * editing of texts *
bibliography Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliograph ...
*
history of books The history of books begins with the invention of writing, as well as other inventions such as paper and printing; this history continues all the way to the modern-day business of book printing. The earliest knowledge society has on the history o ...
* manuscripts and medieval literary texts * statistics and cartography for the study of history * modern languages and IT ECTS credits are allocated to the subjects, making it possible for students from universities or other ''grandes écoles'' to follow some of them and for the subjects to be included in the external students' Master's qualifications. This is made possible by the new LMD reform, which harmonizes French academic qualifications with other European ones. Classes are also open to independent auditors.


Master's

In 2006 the École des Chartes introduced a Master's program in Digital Technologies Applied to History and has since then trained approximately 20 students per year. In the first year, all students take the same basic modules plus three options (archiving, history of books and media, and history of art). The first year of the Master's is a continuance of the École des Chartes undergraduate training. In the second year, students follow more specialized training in the field of IT applied to webcasting. There are two possible paths, one more research-oriented and the other, which is more vocational, oriented towards the dissemination of knowledge in a heritage service. In 2011, the École des Chartes introduced a further two Master's courses. The first, in Medieval Studies, is offered in partnership with the École normale supérieure, the University of Paris III and the University of Paris IV. Its aim is to "provide training in literary research for medieval texts, with an interdisciplinary approach in the context of specialization in the Middle Ages". The second, run in partnership with the
École normale supérieure Paris-Saclay The (; also ENS Paris-Saclay or Paris-Saclay), formerly ENS Cachan, is a grande école and a constituent member of Paris-Saclay University. It was established in 1892. It is located in Gif-sur-Yvette within the Essonne department near Paris ...
and the Institut national de l'audiovisuel, is in Audiovisual Design: Plurimedial Representations of History, Society and Science. It aims to "train designers and makers of audiovisual documentaries (for cinema, television, radio and internet) as well as creators and heads of multimedia sites operating in the written press and publishing".


Doctorate

The École nationale des Chartes awards doctorates in the subjects that it teaches. Any student holding a master's degree, whether or not it was awarded by the École des Chartes, can apply to enroll in a doctoral program at the school. The doctorate is prepared through two collaborating doctoral schools: the École pratique des hautes études (for doctorates in medieval history, history of art, archeology, Roman philology and Latin) and the Paris Sorbonne University (for doctorates in modern and contemporary history).


The Institut national du patrimoine's ''classe préparatoire intégrée''

Detailed article: Institut national du patrimoine (France). The École des Chartes provides part of the preparation for the competitive examination for heritage curators (archive specialization) for students of the INP's ''classe préparatoire intégrée''. These students are selected on the basis of social and academic criteria.


Research

Most of the professors at the École nationale des Chartes are affiliated to the Centre Jean-Mabillon, the École's research unit, whose director is currently Olivier Poncet. The aim of the centre's research program is to cover all the processes that explain and publicize the written production from the Middle Ages to the present, through various stages: * the conditions of production (axis 1: the cultures of writing from the Middle Ages to the 21st century) * the mechanisms of heritage transmission (axis 2: genesis and tradition of written heritage: author, institutions, laws, study, etc.) * the conditions of returning this historic documentation to the scientific community (axis 3: epistemology and the norms of editing texts and images in the digital age) A significant part of the school's research activity is the theses of the students, whose fields of studies have diversified over the years and now relate to all periods of history, notably contemporary.


Partnerships

Partnerships with other institutions form one of the central policies of the current administration, which collaborates closely with the
École pratique des hautes études The (), abbreviated EPHE, is a French postgraduate top level educational institution, a . EPHE is a constituent college of the Université PSL (together with ENS Ulm, Paris Dauphine or Ecole des Mines). The college is closely linked to É ...
, the Institut de recherche et d'histoire des textes and the Centre d'études superieures de civilisation médiévale of the
University of Poitiers The University of Poitiers (UP; , ) is a public university located in Poitiers, France. It is a member of the Coimbra Group. It is multidisciplinary and contributes to making Poitiers the city with the highest student/inhabitant ratio in France ...
to create the École d'Érudition en réseau. The École des Chartes is also part of the Institut d'histoire du livre together with the City of Lyon (its municipal library and Museum of printing works), the École normale supérieure of Lyon and the Enssib. The École des Chartes also collaborates with other higher education establishments in Paris to form the ComUE heSam University, the ComUE Sorbonne Universities and the Campus Condorcet Paris-Aubervilliers. The school also has partnerships with institutions outside France, such as the Russian State Archives, a number of Moscow libraries, the
University of Alicante The University of Alicante (, ; , ; also known by the acronym ''UA'') was established in 1979 on the basis of the Center for University Studies (CEU), which was founded in 1968. The university main campus is located in San Vicente del Raspeig/San ...
, and some Italian research centers. The school takes in a number of foreign students, who are often Swiss, Belgian or from francophone African countries, and is currently seeking to attract new students for shorter stays, through partnerships with universities. The school's students are also regularly invited to do internships in archives or libraries in other countries.


The library

The library was created by the order of 31 December 1846. At the time it occupied one of the two rooms reserved for the school in the
hôtel de Soubise The Hôtel de Soubise () is a city mansion '' entre cour et jardin''. It is located at 60 Rue des Francs-Bourgeois in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, France. History The Hôtel de Soubise was built as an ''hôtel particulier'' for the Prin ...
. The library moved with the school in 1897, and since then has occupied the second floor (reading room and history room), third floor (Horseshoe Room) and fourth floor (offices and store rooms in the attic). In 1920, the management of the library was taken over by the secretary of the school, who at the time was
René Poupardin René Poupardin (27 February 1874 – 23 August 1927) was a French medievalist and paleographer whose most important works were on Burgundy, Provence and the south Italian principalities. He was an alumnus of the École nationale des chartes and a ...
. Today it is managed by a library curator. It was designed as a research library. Its collections are particularly well supplied in the subjects taught at the school: medieval history, philology, history of books, bibliography, etc. The collections (around 150,000 volumes) are all available for immediate access. The catalogue is available online. Many electronic resources are also available. Due to lack of space at the Sorbonne, the library moved in 2017 to 12 rue des Petits-Champs, into much larger premises.


Dissemination of knowledge

The École nationale des Chartes disseminates scientific works in its fields of specialization, in printed and electronic format. It has published four collections of works in the printed format : * ''Mémoires et Documents'', a collection dating from 1896, consisting of monographs, most notably the theses of École des Chartes alumni * ''Études et Rencontres'', a collection begun in 1998, principally consisting of the minutes of scientific meetings * ''Matériaux pour l'Histoire'', a collection inaugurated in 1996, consisting of richly illustrated quarto volumes * ''Études et documents'' for a Gallia Pontificia, a collection jointly edited by the École nationale des Chartes and the German Historical Institute of Paris since 2009 with the aim of presenting the work carried out as part of the ''Gallia Pontificia'', a scientific enterprise that aims to identify, publish and study the papal acts concerning France dating from before 1198 The École des Chartes also publishes two periodic publications relating to the training it offers : * ''Abstracts of theses'' submitted by students to obtain their qualification of archivist-paleographer, published annually by the École des Chartes since 1849. Since 2000, they have also been available online * ''Hypotheses''. Works of the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne doctoral school of history and the École nationale des Chartes, co-edited by the École nationale des Chartes and Sorbonne publications since 2010 These works are disseminated by CID-FMSH, through the Comptoir des presses de l'université. Since 2002, the École des Chartes has also published scientific works in electronic format in its online collection of publications, the Éditions en ligne de l'École des Chartes (ELEC). This gives scientific works digital functions and brings together repertoires and databases as well as texts, in a format that is more suited than printed versions to detailed examination. This collection is completed by : * corpora of text made available online for research purposes, unedited by the École des charts * teaching materials, available on the THELEME website * a space for the presentation of the IT tools and methods developed by the École des Chartes These materials are under an open license. The school develops its scientific and teaching work through several initiatives, including the Thélème website 48, which offers materials supporting the subjects taught at the school, such as educational packs, advice, lessons, and interactive facsimiles.


École des Chartes publications

The École des Chartes also publishes numerous works, in both paper and electronic format. The ''Mémoires et documents de l'École des Chartes'' are monographs, many of them drawn from École des Chartes theses or doctoral research. The first of these was published in 1896 and they are distributed by Honoré Champion and Droz. Two more collections, the ''Études et rencontres'' (minutes of conventions and brief monographs) and ''Matériaux pour l'histoire'' (illustrated large-format albums), have been created more recently. ELEC is also responsible for the school's online publications, which include databases, editions of texts, minutes of symposia, bibliographies, and studies.


The Société de l'École des Chartes

The Société de l'École des Chartes is registered as a public-interest association, which students and alumni can join. Its current president is Marie-Françoise Limon-Bonnet, who was elected in 2018. Twice a year, the Société publishes the ''Bibliothèque de l'École des Chartes'' with the support of the École. This scientific review, founded in 1839, is one of the oldest in France.


Some famous École des Chartes alumni


Archives, libraries, research

* Pierre Aubry (1874–1910), musicologist * Jean-François Bergier (1931–2009), modernist * Léopold Victor Delisle (1826–1910), librarian * Jean Favier (1932–2014), medievalist and archivist * Arthur Giry (1848–99), professor at the École des Chartes *
Louis Halphen Louis Sigismond Isaac Halphen (4 February 1880 in Paris – 7 October 1950 in Paris) was a French medieval specialist and the author of many important books over a long career. He was noteworthy as the editor of a modern edition of the famous class ...
(1880–1950), medievalist * Suzanne Honoré (1909–2000), archivist, librarian, historian * Antoine Le Roux de Lincy (1806–1869), medievalist *
Charles-Victor Langlois Charles-Victor Langlois (; May 26, 1863, in Rouen – June 25, 1929, in Paris) was a French historian, archivist and paleographer, who specialized in the study of the Middle Ages and was a lecturer at the Sorbonne, where he taught paleography, b ...
(1863–1929), medievalist and archivist *
Henri-Jean Martin Henri-Jean Martin (; 16 January 1924 – 13 January 2007) was a leading authority on the history of the book in Europe, and an expert on the history of writing and printing. He was a leader in efforts to promote libraries in France, and the history ...
(1924–2007), historian of books *
Émile Maupas François Émile Maupas (2 July 1842 in Vaudry – 18 October 1916 in Algiers) was a French librarian, protozoologist, cytologist, and botanist. Maupas contributed to ideas on the life cycle and reproduction of the ciliates. He founded the ide ...
(1842–1916), librarian and zoologist * Auguste Molinier (1851–1904), professor at the École des Chartes * Michel Pastoureau (born 1947), medievalist * Ngô Đình Nhu (1910–1963), archivist (Director of National Library of Vietnam from 1945 to 1946) *
Régine Pernoud Régine Pernoud (17 June 1909, Château-Chinon (Ville), Château-Chinon, Nièvre – 22 April 1998, Paris) was a French historian and archivist. Pernoud was one of the most prolific medievalists in 20th century France; more than any other single ...
(1909–98), medievalist * Marcel Poëte (1866–1950), librarian, historian and urban planner * Jean Richard (1921–2021), medievalist * Paul Viollet (1840–1914), professor at the École des Chartes * Dominique de Courcelles (1953–), historian of ideas * Suzanne Dobelmann (1905–1993), librarian and curator


Clergy

* Jules Doinel * George Bernard Flahiff * * Maurice de Germiny * Henri Brincard


Politics

* Charles Beauquier * Camille Pelletan * Gabriel Hanotaux * Louis Germain-Martin * François de Clermont-Tonnerre * Félix Grat * Lucien Romier * Ngô Đình Nhu (1910 - 1963), State Counsellor of
South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...
from 1955 to 1963


Literature

* Roger Martin du Gard * Valérie Mangin *
André Chamson André Chamson (6 June 1900 – 9 November 1983) was a French archivist, novelist and essayist. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. He was the father of the novelist Frédérique Hébrard. Biography Chamson was born at Nîme ...
*
Georges Bataille Georges Albert Maurice Victor Bataille (; ; 10 September 1897 – 8 July 1962) was a French philosopher and intellectual working in philosophy, literature, sociology, anthropology, and history of art. His writing, which included essays, novels, ...
*
René Girard René Noël Théophile Girard (; ; 25 December 1923 – 4 November 2015) was a French-American historian, literary critic, and philosopher of social science whose work belongs to the tradition of philosophical anthropology. Girard was the a ...
* Édith Thomas Some biographers, perhaps overgeneralizing, also use the term ''chartiste'' to refer to certain
French historians This is a list of French historians limited to those with a biographical entry in either English or French Wikipedia. Other major French chroniclers, annalists, philosophers, or other writers are included if they have important historical output. ...
, such as La Villemarqué, Achille Jubinal, Pierre Lalo and
Louis Madelin Louis Emile Marie Madelin (8 May 1871 – 18 August 1956) was a French historian (specialising in the French Revolution and First French Empire) and a Republican Federation deputy for Vosges from 1924 to 1928. He is buried at the Cimetière d ...
, or foreign historians, such as Alfred Métraux, K. J. Conant or
Aleksander Gieysztor Aleksander Gieysztor (17 July 1916 – 9 February 1999) was a Polish medievalist historian. Life Aleksander Gieysztor was born to a Polish family in Moscow, Russia, where his father worked as a railwayman. In 1921, the family relocated to Poland ...
, who audited some of the lessons at the École des Chartes, or to
Auguste Poulet-Malassis Paul Emmanuel Auguste Poulet-Malassis (16 March 1825 – 11 February 1878) was a French printer and publisher who lived and worked in Paris. He was a longstanding friend and the printer-publisher of Charles Baudelaire. Biography In his short six ...
,
José-Maria de Heredia José-Maria de Heredia (22 November 1842 – 3 October 1905) was a Cuban-born French Parnassian poet. He was the fifteenth member elected for seat 4 of the Académie française in 1894. Biography Early years Heredia was born at Fortuna Ca ...
and
François Mauriac François Charles Mauriac (; ; 11 October 1885 – 1 September 1970) was a French novelist, dramatist, critic, poet, and journalist, a member of the'' Académie française'' (from 1933), and laureate of the 1952 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Pr ...
, who were registered as students but who never completed their studies.


List of directors of the École des Chartes


See also

* Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques (CTHS) (''Committee for Historic and Scientific Works'')


Sources

* The theses submitted at the École des Chartes since 1849 are kept at the
National Archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...
on shelf no. ABXXVIII. * The papers of the Société de l'École des Chartes are also kept at the
National Archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...
on shelf no. 11AS.nationales
/ref>


References


External links

*
Site of the École des Chartes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ecole Nationale Des Chartes Schools in Paris Archival science Grands établissements Information schools Educational institutions established in 1821 1821 establishments in France Louis XVIII