How did the dispute between the Jesuits and Benedictines advance the study of documents?

The dispute between the Jesuits and the Benedictines was the catalyst for establishing diplomatics as a rigorous, reputable science.

The conflict began in 1675 when Daniel van Papenbroeck, a Jesuit member of the Bollandists, inspected monastic documents for the Acta Sanctorum. Upon discovering some forgeries, he erroneously concluded that nearly all early-medieval documents were spurious. Because many of these documents belonged to the Benedictine Order, the Benedictine scholar Jean Mabillon felt compelled to refute the claim.12

In response, Mabillon published De Re Diplomatica in 1681. This landmark work established the fundamental principles for verifying the authenticity and dating of medieval manuscripts through a critical examination of their internal and external features. By providing a systematic method for distinguishing genuine documents from forgeries, Mabillon effectively founded the science of diplomatics and created the field of Latin paleography. Papenbroeck eventually acknowledged the validity of Mabillon’s findings, and their debate transformed the study of historical documents from an uncritical practice into a disciplined, scientific endeavor.123