Three typological approaches to Catalonian archival evidence, 10-12 centuries

Abstract

This tripartite study draws upon the vast documentation surviving from Catalonia in the tenth through twelfth centuries. It focuses in turn on the following processes, each represented by numerous surviving charters of a specific type: testamentary proof and publication (Nathaniel L. Taylor), convenientiae and agreement enforcement (Adam J. Kosto), and agrarian precaria (Pere Benito). In each case, comparison of large numbers of similar documents has enabled the construction of complex typology, not just in the traditional diplomatic sense, but also considering the function of the documents and the social causes and implications of changes in form or function. The testamentary probate documents illuminate a long-standing civil judiciary; changes in the form of the documents and the identity of testamentary authorities reflect the obsolescence and transformation of this judiciary in the eleventh and twelfth century. A case study of an eleventh-century comital conflict revealed in conventientiae shows notarial responses to changes in political behavior. Finally, agrarian precaria also follow modalities in tenurial structure. Drawing on a very rich archival resources, these findings support the relationship of social change and documentary change. Together, these studies demonstrate the nature of comparative work that can be done with studies based on large numbers of documents of superficially similar type.