29631 - Diplomatics (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student understands the specific notions of the discipline: the definition of document and the nomenclature of documents; producers, features, and parts of a document in general; general classification of documents and their examination. The student knows how to conduct a comparative analysis of documents' typologies, as well as how to use the appropriate computer science tools.

Course contents

1) Introduction to the general basics of the discipline, starting from the definition of the object and of the confines of Diplomatics: the document, which will be analyzed in its main features (internal and external ones).

2) Description and analysis of shapes and functions of the medieval document, with some reference to modern and contemporary documentation. Moreover, it will be examined some of the main documentary types of the Middle Ages, as the public as the private ones , and it will be tried to rebuild their genetic process, in order to follow their historical development, highlighting their relationships with Law, History and Palaeography. Part of the course will be dedicated to practical workshops concerning reading and analysis of specific documentary types and their formularies (sales, donations, exchanges, leases, wills, juicial and fiscal documents, letters).

3) The method of Diplomatics and the critical judgement about the authenticity of the document. The concept of authenticity and the problem of forgery. The tradition of the document: minute, original, copy.

4) The dating of the document with hints of medieval chronology (with practice).

5) A permanent attention will be dedicated the theme of the critical edition of documentary sources and to the analysis of the relationship between Diplomatics and History, highlighting the importance of the documentary sources for the historical research.

Readings/Bibliography

1) ATTENDERS

• A. Pratesi, Genesi e forme del documento medievale, Roma 1999
• G. Tamba, Una corporazione per il potere. Il notariato a Bologna in età comunale, Clueb 1998, only pp. 57-99
• G. Nicolaj, Lezioni di diplomatica generale. I. Istituzioni, Roma 2007, only pp. 51-63, 128-133, 180-181, 213-232
• Teaching materials provided during the course.

2) UNATTENDERS

• A. Pratesi, Genesi e forme del documento medievale, Roma 1999
• G. Tamba, Una corporazione per il potere. Il notariato a Bologna in età comunale, Clueb 1998 (full reading, including examples of forms from private Bolognese documents)
• G. Nicolaj, Lezioni di diplomatica generale. I. Istituzioni, Roma 2007, only pp. 51-63, 128-133, 180-181, 213-232

In addiction, one essay of your choice from the following:

• M. Modesti, Le carte di corredo del podestà di Bologna (prima metà XIV sec.). Percorsi diplomatistici, in 'Liber sententiarum potestatis Mediolani'. Storia, diritto, diplomatica e quadri comparativi, ed. by A. Bassani, M. Calleri, M.L. Mangini (Notariorum Itinera, VII/*)
  
  
• M. Modesti, 'In carcere Communis est’. Riflessi del carcere e della carcerazione nella documentazione medievale bolognese (seconda metà XIII-prima metà XIV secolo), in Le officine delle pene esacerbate, «DNA – Di Nulla Academia. Rivista di studi camporesiani», vol. 3, 2 (2022), pp. 48-80

• Documenti scartati, documenti reimpiegati. Forme, linguaggi, metodi per nuove prospettive di ricerca, a cura di G. De Gregorio - M.L. Mangini - M. Modesti, Genova 2023, one article of your choice;

• A. Zuffrano, Teodorico Borgognoni: nuovi apporti documentari dall’Archivio di Stato di Bologna – 1, in Teoria e pratica medica nel basso Medioevo: Teodorico Borgognoni vescovo, chirurgo e ippiatra, ed. by F. Roversi Monaco, Firenze 2019, pp. 147-162.

• L. Iannacci, Teodorico Borgognoni: nuovi apporti documentari dall’Archivio di Stato di Bologna – 2, in Teoria e pratica medica nel basso Medioevo: Teodorico Borgognoni vescovo, chirurgo e ippiatra, ed. by F. Roversi Monaco, Firenze 2019, pp. 163-177.

• A. Antonelli, G. Feo, M. Modesti, Filologia e diplomatica: un modello bolognese dall'edizione di documenti in volgare (secc.XIII-XIV) , in Regionale Urkundenbücher, herausgeber Th. Kölzer, W. Rosner, R. Zehetmayer, St. Pölten 2010 , pp. 50-85

• C. Carbonetti Vendittelli, I falsi del registro di Federico II degli anni 1239-40, in Ingenita curiositas. Studi sull'Italia medievale per Giovanni Vitolo, ed. by B. Figliuolo, R. Di Meglio, A. Ambrosio, Battipaglia 2018, t. III, pp. 1059-1082;

• C. Carbonetti Vendittelli, «Duas cartas unius tenoris per alphabetum divisas scripsi». Contributo a una geografia delle pratiche documentarie nell’Italia dei secoli XII e XIII, in «Scrineum», 10 (2013), pp. 215-258, url:

• G. Tamba, Formazione professionale del notaio in età medievale e moderna, in «Studi e materiali. Consiglio Nazionale del notariato», Milano 2007, pp. 1273-1288

• G. Feo, “Notariati” bolognesi del secolo XIII tra Salatiele e Rolandino. Appunti di Diplomatica, in La norma e la memoria. Studi per Augusto Vasina, ed. by T. Lazzari, L. Mascanzoni, R. Rinaldi, Roma 2004, pp. 195-212;

• G. Feo, L. Iannacci, A. Zuffrano, Il formulario del documento privato tra norma giuridica e prassi notarile. L'apporto della scuola bolognese di notariato del secolo XIII, in Les formulaires. Compilation et circulation des modèles d'actes dans l'Europe médiévale et moderne XIIIe congrès de la Commission internationale de diplomatique (Paris, 3-4 septembre 2012), Elec 2016

• C. Mantegna, I documenti dei mercanti nel quadro socioeconomico del medioevo, in «Archiv für Diplomatik», 57 (2011), pp. 377-394

• M. Calleri, D. Puncuh, Il documento commerciale in area mediterranea, in Libri, documenti, epigrafi medievali. Possibilità di studi comparativi, Spoleto 2002, pp. 273-376

• A. Rovere, I 'Libri iurium' dell'Italia comunale, in Libro, scrittura, documento della civiltà monastica e conventuale nel basso medioevo (secoli XIII-XV), ed. by R. Avarucci, R.M: Borracini, G. Borri, Spoleto 1999, pp. 157-199, distributed in digital format by "Scrineum" journal

• I. Lazzarini, Materiali per una didattica delle scritture pubbliche di cancelleria nell'Italia del Quattrocento, in "Scrineum Rivista" 2 (2004), pp. 155-239

• A. Olivieri, La giustizia e i suoi riflessi fiscali nella documentazione giudiziaria vercellese della fine del Trecento: iter amministrativi e tecniche notarili , in 'Liber sententiarum potestatis Mediolani'. Storia, diritto, diplomatica e quadri comparativi, ed. by A. Bassani, M. Calleri, M.L. Mangini (Notariorum Itinera, VII/*)

Teaching methods

Frontal lessons and practical workshops concerning reading and analysis of documents. If the health situations permits, there are also planned visits to the State Archive and to the Archbischop Archive of Bologna, discovering the Bolognese documentary Heritage.

The course will start on March 31st and it will finish on May 12th 2025.

Assessment methods

For all, attenders and unattenders, the exam consists in an oral test.

1) Attenders (Students who attend at least 75% of the lessons are considered to be attending): the exam consists of two parts:

a) one or more questions of general theory, based on the manuals in the bibliography;

b) the diplomatistic analysis of a document similar to those examined during the lessons, with the method and the specialized terminology of the own discipline. The student will be required to make a general partition of the document, to analyze the formulary, to describe the essential elements of the text and to formulate the document summary.

The aim of the exam is to evaluate the discriminating and methodological abilities of the students, that will have to examine one of the documentary types analyzed during the course. In particular, it will be evaluated the abilities of the student to orientate among documentary sources, in order to distinguish the information of historical – variable kind and the juridical formulary, and the comprehension of all those formal elements which allow to create a critical judgment about the authenticity of the document.

2) Unattenders: the exam consists of two parts:

a) one or more questions of general theory, based on the manuals in the bibliography. The examination aims to verify the knowledge about the document, considered on its extrinsic and intrinsic characters and in its forms and typical functions through a diplomatic approach. There will be evaluated student’s critical and methodological abilities gained through the reading of the bibliography.

b) One or more specific questions on the article chosen by the student. In particular, it will be evaluated if the student is able to move in the world of the documentary sources and if he is be able to handle the critical tools and the method of the discipline.

In the both cases (attenders and unattenders) the achievement of a systematic and complete comprehension of the basic principles of the discipline, joined with their critical use, in addition to the demonstration of owning the competence of the specific language, will be evaluated with excellence marks. A mechanical and/or mnemonic knowledge of the subject, bad structured analysis abilities and/or a correct but not always appropriate language will lead to decent evaluations; formative lacks or an inappropriate language – even if in a context of basic knowledge of the exam material – will lead to marks that will not go beyond sufficiency. Formative lacks, inappropriate language, scarcity of orientation in the bibliography offered during the course will be evaluated in a negative way.

a) one or more general questions about the history of Latin writing, on the basis of the manual. It will be evaluated the knowledge and the comprehension of the main steps of the History of Latin writing and of the fundamental principles and method of the discipline.

b) one or more general questions about the basic principles of Diplomatics, on the basis of the manual;

c) one or more specific questions about the articles chosen by the student. Special attention will be given to the critique abilities of the student, who will have to demonstrate to be able to orient himself into the world of manuscript sources, handing the tools and the method of Paleography and Diplomatics.

In the both cases (attenders and unattenders) the achievement of a systematic and complete comprehension of the basic principles of the discipline, joined with their critical use, in addition to the demonstration of owning the competence of the specific language, will be evaluated with excellence marks. A mechanical and/or mnemonic knowledge of the subject, bad structured analysis abilities and/or a correct but not always appropriate language will lead to decent evaluations; formative lacks or an inappropriate language – even if in a context of basic knowledge of the exam material – will lead to marks that will not go beyond sufficiency. Formative lacks, inappropriate language, scarcity of orientation in the bibliography offered during the course will be evaluated in a negative way.

3) Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is necessary to contact the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en ) with ample time in advance: the office will propose some adjustments, which must in any case be submitted 15 days in advance to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of these in relation to the teaching objectives.

Exam sessions are scheduled for the following months of the academic year:

-march

-may

-june

-july

-september

-november

-december

Teaching tools

During the course didactic material will be provided to attenders: transcriptions and fac-similes of documents, examples of the analysis of formularies, thematic bibliography, and informations about the main informatics tools and data-bases useful for the study of documentary sources. Attending students will be able to download the material directly from Virtuale.

 

Students with DSA or temporary or permanent disabilities: It is suggested that they get in touch as soon as possible with the relevant University office and with the Professor Modesti: it will be their responsibility to propose to the interested students any possible adaptations, which must in any case be submitted, 15 days in advance, for the approval of the teacher, who will also assess their appropriateness in relation to the educational objectives of the teaching.

Office hours

See the website of Maddalena Modesti