De Re Diplomatica
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De Re Diplomatica is a foundational work by Jean Mabillon, a French monastic scholar, published in 1681. This book established the principles for determining the authenticity and dates of medieval manuscripts. It essentially created the science of diplomatics, which is the critical study of historical documents. Mabillon's work challenged the notion that many early medieval documents were forgeries, sparking a significant debate. The book also laid the groundwork for Latin paleography, the study of ancient handwriting, which is crucial for understanding historical documents.123
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- forgeryDetection of literary forgeries
…Mabillon, in his great work De re diplomatica (1681), for determining the authenticity of a document by the writing and the style of the terminology. These techniques have developed during three centuries into the modern sciences of paleography and diplomatics, by which various scripts and formulas can be assigned to…
Read More…Mabillon, in his great work De re diplomatica (1681), for determining the authenticity of a document by the writing and the style of the terminology. These techniques have developed during three centuries into the modern sciences of paleography and diplomatics, by which various scripts and formulas can be assigned to…
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historiographyThe Bollandist Fathers and Jean MabillonJean Mabillon (1632–1707), in his De re diplomatica (1681), which can be regarded as the founding work of diplomatics, or the study of charters. Mabillon’s methodology was comprehensive—he examined ink, parchment, and handwriting style and compared one charter with others. Indeed, he did his work so well that little has…
Read MoreJean Mabillon (1632–1707), in his De re diplomatica (1681), which can be regarded as the founding work of diplomatics, or the study of charters. Mabillon’s methodology was comprehensive—he examined ink, parchment, and handwriting style and compared one charter with others. Indeed, he did his work so well that little has…
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