[1] La Bruyere, _Caracteres_, ii. 77 (ed. P. Jouast, Paris, 1881).
[2] To Wellesley, in Stapleton's _Canning_, i. 374.
[3] For the motives of Metternich's foreign policy see
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: _History_ (iii. 332-333).
[4] e.g. _A History of Diplomacy in the International Development of
Europe_, by D. J. Hill (London and New York, 1905).
[5] For this see Hinschius, _Kirchenrecht_, i. p. 498.
[6] The Venetians, however, in their turn, doubtless learned their
diplomacy originally from the Byzantines, with whom their trade
expansion in the Levant early brought them into close contact. For
Byzantine diplomacy see ROMAN EMPIRE, LATER: _Diplomacy_.
[7] See Eugenio Alberi, _Le Relazioni degli ambasciatori Veneti al
senato_, 15 vols. (Florence, 1839-1863).
[8] The _apocrisiarii_ ([Greek: apokrisiarioi]) or _responsales_
should perhaps be mentioned, though they certainly did not set the
precedent for the modern permanent missions. They were resident
agents, practically legates, of the popes at the court of
Constantinople. They were established by Pope Leo I., and continued
until the Iconoclastic controversy broke the intimate ties between
East and West. See Luxardo, _Das vordekretalische Gesandtschaftsrecht
der Papste_ (Innsbruck, 1878); also Hinschius, _Kirchenrecht_, i.
501.
[9] N. Bianchi, _Le Materie politiche relative all' estero degli
archivi di stato piemontese_ (Bologna, Modena, 1875), p. 29.
[10] Ib. Note 2, _teneamus et deputemus ibidem continue mansurum._
[11] The first ambassador of Venice to visit England was Zuanne da
Lezze, who came in 1319 to demand compensation for the plundering of
Venetian ships by English pirates.
[12] Germonius, _De legatis principum et populorum libri tres_ (Rome,
1627), chap. vi. p. 164; Paschalius, _Legatus_ (Rouen, 1598), p. 302.
Etienne Dolet, who had been secretary to Cardinal Jean du Bellay, and
was burned for atheism in 1546, in his _De officio legati_ (1541)
advises ambassadors to surround themselves with taciturn servants, to
employ vigilant spies, and to set afoot all manner of fictions,
especially when negotiating with the court of Rome or with the
Italian princes.
[13] See Pearsall Smith, _Sir Henry Wotton_, pp. 49, 126 et seq.
[14] Francois de Callieres, _De la maniere de negocier avec les
souverains_ (Brussels, 1716). See also A. Sorel, _Recueil des
instructions donnees aux ambassadeurs et ministres de France_ (Paris,
1884), e.g. vol. _Autriche_, pp. 77, 88, 102, 112.
[15] "Nova res est, quod sciam, et infelicis hujus aetatis infelix
partus.... Hinc oriri securitatem universorum, hinc stabiliri pacem
gentium. Quae utinam tam vere dicerentur, quam speciose. Ego quidem,
ne quid dissimulem, ab istis seorsum sentio. Nimirum, effoeta
virtutis, foecunda fraudis haec saecula video peperisse spissata haec
imperia, sive summas potestates, unde, ut e vomitariis, hae legationes
undatim se fundunt." Paschalius, _Legatus_ (1598), p. 447. So too
Felix de la Mothe Le Vayer (1547-1625), in his _Legatus_ (Paris,
1579), says "Legatos tunc primum aut non multum post institutos fuisse
cum Pandora malorum omnium semina in hunc mundum ... demisit."
[16] _De jure belli et pacis_ (Amsterdam, 1621), ii. c. 18, S 3, n. 2.
[17] The term _corps diplomatique_ originated about the middle of the
18th century. "The Chancellor Furst," says Ranke (xxx. 47, note),
"does not use it as yet in his report (1754) but he knows it," and it
would appear that it had just been invented at Vienna. "Corps
diplomatique, nom qu'une dame donna un jour a ce corps nombreux de
ministres etrangers a Vienne."
[18] So too Pradier-Fodere, vol. i. p. 262.
[19] Thus Charles V. would not allow the representatives of the duke
of Mantua, Ferrara, &c., to style themselves "ambassadors," on the
ground that this title could be borne only by the agents of kings and
of the republic of Venice, and not by those of states whose
sovereignty was impaired by any feudal relation to a superior power.
(See Krauske p. 155.)
[20] See Pradier-Fodere, i. 265.
[21] Gentilis, who had been consulted by the government in the case
of the Spanish ambassador, Don Bernardino de Mendoza, expelled for
intriguing against Queen Elizabeth, lays this down definitely. An
ambassador, he says, need not be received, and he may be expelled. In
actual practice a diplomatic agent who has made himself objectionable
is withdrawn by his government on the representations of that to
which he is accredited, and it is customary, before an ambassador is
despatched, to find out whether he is a _persona grata_ to the power
to which he is accredited.
[22] See Zeller.
[23] A. O. Meyer, p. 22.
[24] See the amusing account of the methods of these agents in
Morysine to Cecil (January 23, 1551-1552), _Cal. State Pap. Edw.
VI._, No. 530.
DIPLOMATIC, the science of diplomas, founded on the critical study of
the "diplomatic" sources of history: diplomas, charters, acts, treaties,
contracts, judicial records, rolls, chartularies, registers, &c. The
employment of the word "diploma," as a general term to designate an
historical document, is of comparatively recent date. The Roman diploma,
so called because it was formed of two sheets of metal which were shut
together (Gr. [Greek: diploun], to double) like the leaves of a book,
was the passport or licence to travel by the public post; also, the
certificate of discharge, conferring privileges of citizenship and
marriage on soldiers who had served their time; and, later, any imperial
grant of privileges. The word was adopted, rather pedantically, by the
humanists of the Renaissance and applied by them to important deeds and
to acts of sovereign authority, to privileges granted by kings and by
great personages; and by degrees the term became extended and embraced
generally the documents of the middle ages.
_History of the Study._--The term "diplomatic," the French
_diplomatique_, is a modern adaptation of the Latin phrase _res
diplomatica_ employed in early works upon the subject, and more
especially in the first great text-book, the _De re diplomatica_, issued
in 1681 by the learned Benedictine, Dom Jean Mabillon, of the abbey of
St Germain-des-Pres. Mabillon's treatise was called forth by an earlier
work of Daniel van Papenbroeck, the editor of the _Acta Sanctorum_ of
the Bollandists, who, with no great knowledge or experience of archives,
undertook to criticize the historical value of ancient records and
monastic documents, and raised wholesale suspicions as to their
authenticity in his _Propylaeum antiquarium circa veri ac falsi
discrimen in vetustis membranis_, which he printed in 1675. This was a
rash challenge to the Benedictines, and especially to the congregation
of St Maur, or confraternity of the Benedictine abbeys of France, whose
combined efforts produced great literary works which still remain as
monuments of profound learning. Mabillon was at that time engaged in
collecting material for a great history of his order. He worked silently
for six years before producing the work above referred to. His
refutation of Papenbroeck's criticisms was complete, and his rival
himself accepted Mabillon's system of the study of diplomatic as the
true one. The _De re diplomatica_ established the science on a secure
basis; and it has been the foundation of all subsequent works on the
subject, although the immediate result of its publication was a flood of
controversial writings between the Jesuits and the Benedictines, which,
however, did not affect its stability.
In Spain, the Benedictine Perez published, in 1688, a series of
dissertations following the line of Mabillon's work. In England, Madox's
_Formulare Anglicanum_, with a dissertation concerning ancient charters
and instruments, appeared in 1702, and in 1705 Hickes followed with his
_Linguarum septentrionalium thesaurus_, both accepting the principles
laid down by the learned Benedictine. In Italy, Maffei appeared with
his _Istoria diplomatica_ in 1727, and Muratori, in 1740, introduced
dissertations on diplomatic into his great work, the _Antiquitates
Italicae_. In Germany, the first diplomatic work of importance was that
by Bessel, entitled _Chronicon Gotwicense_ and issued in 1732; and this
was followed closely by similar works of Baring, Eckhard and Heumann.
France, however, had been the cradle of the science, and that country
continued to be the home of its development. Mabillon had not taken
cognizance of documents later than the 13th century. Arising out of a
discussion relative to the origin of the abbey of St Victor en Caux and
the authenticity of its archives, a more comprehensive work than
Mabillon's was compiled by the two Benedictines, Dom Toustain and Dom
Tassin, viz. the _Nouveau Traite de diplomatique_, in six volumes,
1750-1765, which embraced more than diplomatic proper and extended to
all branches of Latin palaeography. With great industry the compilers
gathered together a mass of details; but their arrangement is faulty,
and the text is broken up into such a multitude of divisions and
subdivisions that it is tediously minute. However, its more extended
scope has given the _Nouveau Traite_ an advantage over Mabillon's work,
and modern compilations have drawn largely upon it.
As a result of the Revolution, the archives of the middle ages lost in
France their juridical and legal value; but this rather tended to
enhance their historical importance. The taste for historical literature
revived. The Academie des Inscriptions fostered it. In 1821 the Ecole
des Chartes was founded; and, after a few years of incipient inactivity,
it received a further impetus, in 1829, by the issue of a royal
ordinance re-establishing it. Thenceforth it has been an active centre
for the teaching and for the encouragement of the study of diplomatic
throughout the country, and has produced results which other nations may
envy. Next to France, Germany and Austria are distinguished as countries
where activity has been displayed in the systematic study of diplomatic
archives, more or less with the support of the state. In Italy, too,
diplomatic science has not been neglected. In England, after a long
period of regrettable indifference to the study of the national and
municipal archives of the country, some effort has been made in recent
years to remove the reproach. The publications of the Public Record
Office and of the department of MSS. in the British Museum are more
numerous and are issued more regularly than in former times; and an
awakened interest is manifested by the foundation in the universities of
a few lectureships in diplomatic and palaeography, and by the attention
which those subjects receive in such an institution as the London School
of Economics, and in the publications of private literary societies. But
such efforts can never show the systematic results which are to be
attained by a special institution of the character of the French Ecole
des Chartes.
_Extent of the Science._--The field covered by the study of diplomatic
is so extensive and the different kinds of documents which it takes into
its purview are so numerous and various, that it is impossible to do
more than give a few general indications of their nature. No nation can
have advanced far on the path of civilization before discovering the
necessity for documentary evidence both in public and in private life.
The laws, the constitutions, the decrees of government, on the one hand,
and private contracts between man and man, on the other, must be
embodied in formal documents, in order to ensure permanent record. In
the case of a nation advancing independently from a primitive to a later
stage of civilization we should have to trace the origin of its
documentary records and examine their development from a rudimentary
condition. But in an inquiry into the history of the documents of the
middle ages in Europe we do not begin with primitive forms. Those ages
inherited the documentary system which had been created and developed by
the Romans; and, imperfect and limited in number as are the earliest
surviving charters and diplomas of European medieval history, they
present themselves to us fully developed and cast in the mould and
employing the methods and formulae of the earlier tradition. Based on
this foundation the chanceries of the several countries of Europe, as
they came into existence and were organized, reduced to method and rule
on one general system the various documents which the exigencies of
public and of private life from time to time called into existence, each
individual chancery at the same time following its own line of practice
in detail, and evolving and confirming particular formulas which have
become characteristic of it.
_Classification of Documents._--If we classify these documents under the
two main heads of public and private deeds, we shall have to place in
the former category the legislative, administrative, judicial,
diplomatic documents emanating from public authority in public form:
laws, constitutions, ordinances, privileges, grants and concessions,
proclamations, decrees, judicial records, pleas, treaties; in a word,
every kind of deed necessary for the orderly government of a civilized
state. In early times many of these were comprised under the general
term of "letters," _litterae_, and to the large number of them which
were issued in open form and addressed to the community the specific
title of "letters patent," _litterae patentes_, was given. In
contradistinction those public documents which were issued in closed
form under seal were known as "close letters," _litterae clausae_.
Such public documents belong to the state archives of their several
countries, and are the monuments of administrative and political and
domestic history of a nation from one generation to another. In no
country has so perfect a series been preserved as in our own. Into the
Public Record Office in London have been brought together all the
collections of state archives which were formerly stored in different
official repositories of the kingdom. Beginning with the great survey of
Domesday, long series of enrolments of state documents, in many
instances extending from the times of the Angevin kings to our own day
in almost unbroken sequence, besides thousands of separate deeds of all
descriptions, are therein preserved (see RECORD).
Under the category of private documents must be included, not only the
deeds of individuals, but also those of corporate bodies representing
private interests and standing in the position of individual units in
relation to the state, such as municipal bodies and monastic
foundations. The largest class of documents of this character is
composed of those numerous conveyances of real property and other title
deeds of many descriptions and dating from early periods which are
commonly described by the generic name of "charters," and which are to
be found in thousands, not only in such public repositories as the
Public Record Office and the British Museum, but also in the archives of
municipal and other corporate bodies throughout the country and in the
muniment-rooms of old families. There are also the records of the
manorial courts preserved in countless court-rolls and registers; also
the scattered muniments of the dissolved monasteries represented by the
many collections of charters and the valuable chartularies, or registers
of charters, which have fortunately survived and exist both in public
and in private keeping.
It will be noticed that in this enumeration of public and private
documents in England reference is made to rolls. The practice of
entering records on rolls has been in favour in England from a very
early date subsequent to the Norman Conquest; and while in other
countries the comprehensive term of "charters" (literally "papers": Gr.
[Greek: chartes]) is employed as a general description of documents of
the middle ages, in England the fuller phrase "charters and rolls" is
required. The master of the rolls, the _Magister Rotulorum_, is the
official keeper of the public records.
From the great body of records, both public and private, many fall
easily and naturally into the class in which the text takes a simpler
narrative form; such as judicial records, laws, decrees, proclamations,
registers, &c., which tell their own story in formulae and phraseology
early developed and requiring little change. These we may leave on one
side. For fuller description we select those deeds which, conferring
grants and favours and privileges, conform more nearly to the idea of
the Roman diploma and have received the special attention of the
chanceries in the development and arrangement of their formulae and in
their methods of execution.
Structure of medieval diplomas.
All such medieval deeds are composed of certain recognized members or
sections, some essential, others special and peculiar to the most
elaborate and solemn documents. A deed of the more elaborate character
is made up of two principal divisions: 1. the TEXT, in which is set
out the object of the deed, the statement of the considerations and
circumstances which have led to it, and the declaration of the will
and intention of the person executing the deed, together with such
protecting clauses as the particular circumstances of the case may
require; 2. the PROTOCOL (originally, the first sheet of a papyrus
roll; Gr. [Greek: protos], first, and [Greek: kollan], to glue),
consisting of the introductory and of the concluding formulae:
superscription, address, salutation, &c., at the beginning, and date,
formulae of execution, &c., at the end, of the deed. The latter
portion of the protocol is sometimes styled the eschatocol (Gr.
[Greek: eschatos], last, and [Greek: kollan], to glue). While the text
followed certain formulae which had become fixed by common usage, the
protocol was always special and varied with the practices of the
several chanceries, changing in a sovereign chancery with each
successive reign.
The Invocation.
The Superscription.
The Address.
The Salutation.
The different sections of a full deed, taking them in order under the
heads of Initial Protocol, Text and Final Protocol or Eschatocol, are
as follows:--The initial protocol consists of the Invocation, the
Superscription, the Address and the Salutation. 1. The INVOCATION,
lending a character of sanctity to the proceedings, might be either
verbal or symbolic. The verbal invocation consisted usually of some
pious ejaculation, such as _In nomine Dei, In nomine domini nostri
Jesu Christi_; from the 8th century, _In nomine Sanctae et individuae
Trinitatis_; and later, _In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus
Sancti_. The symbolic form was usually the _chrismon_, or monogram
composed of the Greek initials [Chi][Rho] of the name of Christ. In
the course of the 10th and 11th centuries this symbol came to be so
scrawled that it had probably lost all meaning with the scribes. From
the 9th century the letter C (initial of _Christus_) came gradually
into use, and in German imperial diplomas it superseded the
_chrismon_. Stenographic signs of the system known as Tironian notes
were also sometimes added to this symbol down to the end of the 10th
century, expressing such a phrase as _Ante omnia Christus_, or
_Christus_, or _Amen_. From the Merovingian period, too, a cross was
often used. The symbol gradually died out after the 12th century for
general use, surviving only in notarial instruments and wills. 2. The
SUPERSCRIPTION (_superscriptio, intitulatio_) expressed the name and
titles of the grantor or person issuing the deed. 3. The ADDRESS. As
diplomas were originally in epistolary form the address was then a
necessity. While in Merovingian deeds the old pattern was adhered to,
in the Carolingian period the address was sometimes omitted. From the
8th century it was not considered necessary, and a distinction arose
in the case of royal acts, those having the address being styled
letters, and those omitting it, charters. The general form of address
ran in phrase as _Omnibus_ (or _Universis_) _Christi fidelibus
presentes litteras inspecturis_. 4. The SALUTATION was expressed in
such words as _Salutem_; _Salutem et dilectionem_; _Salutem et
apostolicam benedictionem_, but it was not essential.
The Preamble.
The Notification.
The Exposition.
The Disposition.
The Final Clauses.
Then follows the text in five sections: the Preamble, the
Notification, the Exposition, the Disposition and the Final Clauses.
5. The PREAMBLE (_prologus_, _arenga_): an ornamental introduction
generally composed of pious or moral sentiments, a _prefatio ad
captandam benevolentiam_ which _facit ad ornamentum_, degenerating
into tiresome platitudes. It became stereotyped at an early age: in
the 10th and 11th centuries it was a most ornate performance; in the
12th century it was cut short; in the 13th century it died out. 6. The
NOTIFICATION (_notificatio_, _promulgatio_) was the publication of the
purport of the deed introduced by such a phrase as _notum sit_, &c. 7.
The EXPOSITION set out the motives influencing the issue of the deed.
8. The DISPOSITION described the object of the deed and the will and
intention of the grantor. 9. The FINAL CLAUSES ensured the fulfilment
of the terms of the deed; guarded against infringement, by comminatory
anathemas and imprecations, not infrequently of a vehement
description, or by penalties; guaranteed the validity of the deed;
enumerated the formalities of subscription and execution; reserved
rights, &c.
The Date.
The Appreciation.
The Authentication.
Next comes the final protocol or eschatocol comprising: the Date, the
Appreciation, the Authentication. It was particularly in this portion
of the deed that the varying practices of the several chanceries led
to minute and intricate distinctions at different periods. 10. The
DATE. By the Roman law every act must be dated by the day and the year
of execution. Yet in the middle ages, from the 9th to the 12th
century, a large proportion of deeds bears no date. In the most
ancient charters the date clause was frequently separated from the
body of the deed and placed in an isolated position at the foot of the
sheet. From the 12th century it commonly followed the text
immediately. Certain classes of documents, such as decrees of
councils, notarial deeds, &c., began with the date. The usual formula
was _data, datum, actum, factum, scriptum_. In the Carolingian period
a distinction grew up between _datum_ and _actum_, the former applying
to the time, the latter to the place, of date. In the papal chancery
from an early period down to the 12th century the use of a double date
prevailed, the first following the text and being inserted by the
scribe when the deed was written (_scriptum_), the second being added
at the foot of the deed on its execution (_actum_), by the chancellor
or other high functionary. From the Roman custom of dating by the
consular year arose the medieval practice of dating by the regnal year
of emperor, king or pope. Special dates were sometimes employed, such
as the year of some great historical event, battle, siege, pestilence,
&c. 11. The APPRECIATION. The _feliciter_ of the Romans became the
medieval _feliciter in Domino_, or _In Dei nomine feliciter_, or the
more simple _Deo gratias_ or the still more simple _Amen_, for the
auspicious closing of a deed. In Merovingian and Carolingian diplomas
it follows the date; in other cases it closes the text. In the greater
papal bulls it appears in the form of a triple _Amen_. _Benevalete_
was also employed as the appreciation in early deeds; but in
Merovingian diplomas and in papal bulls this valedictory salutation
becomes a mark of authentication, as will be noticed below. 12. The
AUTHENTICATION was a solemn proceeding which was discharged by more
than one act. The most important was the subscription or subscriptions
of the person or persons from whom the deed emanated. The laws of the
late Roman empire required the subscriptions and the impressions of
the signet seals of the parties and of the witnesses to the deed. The
subscription (_subscriptio_) comprised the name, signature and
description of the person signing. The impression of the signet (not
the signature) was the _signum_, sometimes _signaculum_, rarely
_sigillum_. The practice of subscribing with the autograph signature
obtained in the early middle ages, as appears from early documents
such as those of Ravenna. But from the 7th century it began to
decline, and by the 12th century it had practically ceased. In Roman
deeds an illiterate person affixed his mark, or _signum manuale_,
which was attested. The cross being an easy form for a mark, it was
very commonly used and naturally became connected with the Christian
symbol. Hence, in course of time, it came to be attached very
generally to subscriptions, autograph or otherwise. Great personages
who were illiterate required something more elaborate than a common
mark. Hence arose the use of the monogram, the _caracter nominis_,
composed of the letters of the name. The emperor Justin, who could not
write, made use of a monogram, as did also Theodoric, king of the
Ostrogoths. Those Merovingian kings, likewise, who were illiterate,
had their individual monograms; and at length Charlemagne adopted the
monogram as his regular form of signature. From his reign down to that
of Philip the Fair the monogram was the recognized sign manual of the
sovereigns of France (see AUTOGRAPHS). It was employed by the German
emperors down to the reign of Maximilian I. The royal use of the
monogram was naturally imitated by great officers and ecclesiastics.
But another form of sign manual also arose out of the subscription.
The closing word (usually _subscripsi_), written or abbreviated as
_sub._, or _ss._ or _s._, was often finished off with flourishes and
interlacings, sometimes accompanied with Tironian notes, the whole
taking the shape of a domed structure to which the French have given
the name of _ruche_ or bee-hive. Thus in the early middle ages we have
deeds authenticated by the subscription, usually autograph, giving the
name and titles of the person executing, and stating the part taken by
him in the deed, and closing with the _subscripsi_, often in shape of
the ruche and constituting the _signum manuale_. If not autograph, the
subscription might be impersonal in such form as _signum_ (or _signum
manus_) + N. In the Carolingian period, while phrases were constantly
used in the body of the deed implying that it was executed by
autograph subscription, it did not necessarily follow that such
subscription was actually written in person. The ruche was also
adopted by chancellors, notaries and scribes as their official mark.
While autograph subscriptions continued to be employed, chiefly by
ecclesiastics, down to the beginning of the 12th century, the monogram
was perpetuated from the 10th century by the notaries. Their marks,
simple at first, became so elaborate from the end of the 13th century
that they found it necessary to add their names in ordinary writing,
or also to employ a less complicated design. This was the commencement
of the modern practice of writing the signature which first came into
vogue in the 14th century.
The Benevalete.
The Rota.
To lend further weight and authority to the subscription, certain
symbols and forms were added at different periods. Imitating, the
corroborative _Legi_ of the Byzantine quaestor and the _Legimus_ of
the Eastern emperors, the Frankish chancery in the West made use of
the same form, notably in the reign of Charles the Bald, in some of
whose diplomas the _Legimus_ appears written in larger letters in red.
The valedictory _Benevalete_, employed in early deeds as a form of
appreciation (see above), appears in Merovingian and in early
Carolingian royal diplomas, and also in papal bulls, as an
authenticating addition to the subscription. In the diplomas it was
written in cursive letters in two lines, _Bene valete_, just to the
right of the incision cut in the sheet to hold fast the seal, which
sometimes even covered part of the word. In the most ancient papal
bulls it was written by the pope himself at the foot of the deed. in
two lines, generally in larger capital or uncial characters, placed
between two crosses. From the beginning of the 11th century it became
the fashion to link the letters; and, dating from the time of Leo IX.,
A.D. 1048-1054, the _Benevalete_ was inscribed in form of a monogram.
During Leo's pontificate it was also accompanied with a flourish
called the _Komma_, which was only an exaggeration of the mark of
punctuation (_periodus_) which from the 9th to the 11th century closed
the subscription and generally resembled the modern semicolon. Leo's
successors abandoned the _Komma_, but the monogrammatic _Benevalete_
continued, invariable in form, but from time to time varying in size.
In Leo IX.'s pontificate also was introduced the _Rota_. This sign,
when it had received its final shape in the 11th century, was in form
of a wheel, composed of two concentric circles, in the space between
which was written the motto or device of the pope (_signum papae_),
usually a short sentence from one of the Psalms or some other portion
of Scripture; preceded by a small cross, which the pontiff himself
sometimes inscribed. The central space within the wheel was divided
(by cross lines) into four quarters, the two upper ones being occupied
by the names of the apostles St Peter and St Paul, and the two lower
ones by the name of the pope. The _Rota_ was placed on the left of the
subscription, the monogrammatic _Benevalete_ on the right. The two
signs were likewise adopted by certain ecclesiastical chanceries and
by feudal lords, particularly in the 12th century. From the same
period also the Spanish and Portuguese monarchs adopted the _Rota_,
the _signo rodado_, which is so conspicuous in the royal charters of
the Peninsula.
Sealing.
Besides the subscription, an early auxiliary method of authentication
was by the impression of the seal which, as noticed above, was
required by the Roman law. But the general use of the signet gradually
failed, and by the 7th century it had ceased. Still it survived in the
royal chanceries, and the sovereigns both of the Merovingian and of
the Carolingian lines had their seals; and, in the 8th century, the
mayors of the palace likewise. It is interesting to find instances of
the use of antique intaglios for the purpose by some of them. In
England too there is proof that the Mercian kings Offa and Coenwulf
used seals, in imitation of the Frankish monarchs. In the 7th century,
and still more so in the 8th and 9th centuries, the royal seals were
of exaggerated size: the precursors of the great seals of the later
sovereigns of western Europe. The waxen seals of the early diplomas
were in all cases _en placard_: that is, they were attached to the
face of the document and not suspended from it, being held in position
by a cross-cut incision in the material, through which the wax was
pressed and then flattened at the back. On the cessation of autograph
signatures in subscriptions, the general use of seals revived,
beginning in the 10th century and becoming the ordinary method of
authentication from the 12th to the 15th century inclusive. Even when
signatures had once again become universal, the seal continued to hold
its place; and thus sealing is, to the present day, required for the
legal execution of a deed. The attachment _en placard_ was
discontinued, as a general practice, in the middle of the 11th
century; and seals thenceforward were, for the most part, suspended,
leathern thongs being used at first, and afterwards silken and hempen
cords or parchment labels. In documents of minor importance it was
sometimes the custom to impress the seal or seals on one or more
strips of the parchment of the deed itself, cut, but not entirely
detached, from the lower margin, and left to hang loose. Besides waxen
impressions of seals, impressions in metal, bearing a device on both
faces, after the fashion of a coin, and suspended, were employed from
an early period. The most widely known instances are the _bullae_
attached to papal documents, generally of lead. The earliest surviving
papal _bulla_ is one of Pope Zacharias, A.D. 746, but earlier examples
are known from drawings. The papal _bulla_ was a disk of metal stamped
on both sides. From the time of Boniface V. to Leo IV., A.D. 617-855,
the name of the pontiff, in the genitive case, was impressed on the
obverse, and his title as pope on the reverse, e.g. _Bonifati/ papae_.
After that period, for some time, the name was inscribed in a circle
round a central ornament. Other variations followed; but at length in
the pontificate of Paschal II., A.D. 1099, the _bulla_ took the form
which it afterwards retained: on the obverse, the heads of the
apostles St Peter and St Paul; on the reverse, the pope's name, title
and number in succession. In the period of time between his election
and consecration, the pope made use of the half-bull, that is, the
obverse only was impressed. It should be mentioned that, in order to
conform to modern conditions and for convenience of despatch through
the post, Leo XII., in 1878, substituted for the leaden _bulla_ a red
ink stamp bearing the heads of the two apostles with the name of the
pope inscribed as a legend.
The Carolingian monarchs also used metal _bullae_. None of
Charlemagne's have survived, but there are still extant leaden
examples of Charles the Bald. The use of lead was not persisted in
either in the chancery of France or in that of Germany. Golden
_bullae_ were employed on special occasions by both popes and temporal
monarchs; for example, they were attached to the confirmations of the
elections of the emperors in the 12th and 13th centuries; the bull of
Leo X. conferring the title of Defender of the Faith on Henry VIII. in
1524, and the deed of alliance between Henry and Francis I. in 1527,
had golden _bullae_; and other examples could be cited. But lead has
always been the common metal to be thus employed. In the southern
countries of Europe, where the warmth of the climate renders wax an
undesirable material, leaden _bullae_ have been in ordinary use, not
only in Italy but also in the Peninsula, in southern France, and in
the Latin East (see SEALS).
Formularies.
The necessity of conforming to exact phraseology in diplomas and of
observing regularity in expressing formulas naturally led to the
compilation of formularies. From the early middle ages the art of
composition, not only of charters but also of general correspondence,
was commonly taught in the monasteries. The teacher was the
_dictator_, his method of teaching was described by the verb
_dictare_, and his teaching was _dictamen_ or the _ars dictaminis_.
For the use of these monastic schools, formularies and manuals
comprising formulas and models for the composition of the various acts
and documents soon became indispensable. At a later stage such
formularies developed into the models and treatises for epistolary
style which have had their imitations even in modern times. The
widespread use of the formularies had the advantage of imposing a
certain degree of uniformity on the phrasing of documents of the
western nations of Europe. Those compilations which are of an earlier
period than the 11th century have been systematically examined and are
published; those of more recent date still remain to be thoroughly
edited. The early formularies are of the simpler kind, being
collections of formulas without dissertation. The _Formulae Marculfi_,
compiled by the monk Marculf about the year 650, was the most
important work of this nature of the Merovingian period and became the
official formulary of the time; and it continued in use in a revised
edition in the early Carolingian chancery. Of the same period there
are extant formularies compiled at various centres, such as Angers,
Tours, Bourges, Sens, Reichenau, St Gall, Salzburg, Passau,
Regensburg, Cordova, &c. (see Giry, _Manuel de diplomatique_, pp.
482-488). The _Liber diurnus Romanorum Pontificum_ was compiled in the
7th and 8th centuries, and was employed in the papal chancery to the
end of the 11th century. Of the more developed treatises and manuals
of epistolary rhetoric which succeeded, and which originated in Italy,
the earliest example was the _Breviarium de dictamine_ of the monk
Alberic of Monte Cassino, compiled about the year 1075. Another
well-known work, the _Rationes dictandi_, is also attributed to the
same author. Of later date was the _Ars dictaminis_ of Bernard of
Chartres of the 12th century. Among special works on formularies are:
E. de Roziere, _Recueil general des formules usitees dans l'empire des
Francs_ (3 vols., Paris, 1861-1871); K. Zeumer, _Formulae Merovingici
et Karolini aevi_ (Hanover, 1886); and L. Rockinger, _Briefsteller und
Formelbucher des 11 bis. 14 Jahrhunderts_ (Munich, 1863-1864).
_Organization._--The formalities observed by the different chanceries of
medieval Europe, which are to be learned from a study of the documents
issued by them, are so varied and often so minute, that it is impossible
to give a full account of them within the limits of the present article.
We can only state some of the results of the investigations of students
of diplomatic.
Papal Chancery.
The chancery which stands first and foremost is the papal chancery. On
account of its antiquity and of its steady development, it has served as
a model for the other chanceries of Europe. Organized in remote times,
it adopted for the structure of its letters a number of formulas and
rules which developed and became more and more fixed and precise from
century to century. The Apostolic court being organized from the first
on the model of the Roman imperial court, the early pontiffs would
naturally have collected their archives, as the emperors had done, into
_scrinia_. Pope Julius I., A.D. 337-353, reorganized the papal archives
under an official _schola notariorum_, at the head of which was a
_primicerius notariorum_. Pope Damasus, A.D. 366-384, built a record
office at the Lateran, _archivium sanctae Romanae ecclesiae_, where the
archives were kept and registers of them compiled. The collection and
orderly arrangement of the archives provided material for the
establishment of regular diplomatic usages, and the science of formulae
naturally followed.
For the study of papal documents four periods have been defined, each
successive period being distinguished from its predecessor by some
particular development of forms and procedure. The first period is
reckoned from the earliest times to the accession of Leo IX., A.D. 1048.
For almost the whole of the first eight centuries no original papal
documents have survived. But copies are found in canonical works and
registers, many of them false, and others probably not transcribed in
full or in the original words; but still of use, as showing the growth
of formulas. The earliest original document is a fragment of a letter of
Adrian I., A.D. 788. From that date there is a series, but the documents
are rare to the beginning of the 11th century, all down to that period
being written on papyrus. The latest existing papyrus document in
France is one of Sergius IV., A.D. 1011; in Germany, one of Benedict
VIII., A.D. 1022. The earliest document on vellum is one of John XVIII.,
A.D. 1005. The nomenclature of papal documents even at an early period
is rather wide. In their earliest form they are Letters, called in the
documents themselves, _litterae_, _epistola_, _pagina_, _scriptum_,
sometimes _decretum_. A classification, generally accepted, divides them
into: 1. Letters or Epistles: the ordinary acts of correspondence with
persons of all ranks and orders; including constitutions (a later term)
or decisions in matters of faith and discipline, and encyclicals giving
directions to bishops of the whole church or of individual countries. 2.
Decrees, being letters promulgated by the popes of their own motion. 3.
Decretals, decisions on points of ecclesiastical administration or
discipline. 4. Rescripts (called in the originals _preceptum_,
_auctoritas_, _privilegium_), granting requests to petitioners. But
writers differ in their terms, and such subdivisions must be more or
less arbitrary. The comprehensive term "bull" (the name of the leaden
papal seal, _bulla_, being transferred to the document) did not come
into use until the 13th century.
Copies of papal deeds were collected into registers or _bullaria_. Lists
showing the chronological sequence of documents are catalogues of acts.
When into such lists indications from narrative sources are introduced
they become _regesta_ (_res gestae_): a term not to be confused with
"register."
Clearness and conciseness have been recognized as attributes of early
papal letters; but even in those of the 4th century certain rhythmical
periods have been detected in their composition which became more marked
under Leo the Great, A.D. 440-461, and which developed into the _cursus_
or prose rhythm of the pontifical chancery of the 11th and 12th
centuries.
In the most ancient deeds the pope styles himself _Episcopus_, sometimes
_Episcopus Catholicae Ecclesiae_, or _Episcopus Romanae Ecclesiae_,
rarely _Papa_. Gregory I, A.D. 590, was the first to adopt the form
_Episcopus, servus servorum Dei_, which became general in the 9th
century, and thenceforth was invariable.
The second period of papal documents extends from Leo IX. to the
accession of Innocent III., A.D. 1048-1198. At the beginning of the
period formulae tended to take more definite shape and to become fixed.
In the superscription of bulls a distinction arose: those which
conferred lasting privileges employing the words _in perpetuum_ to close
this clause; those whose benefaction was of a transitory character using
the form of salutation, _salutem et apostolicam benedictionem_. But it
was under Urban II., A.D. 1088-1099, that the principal formulae became
stereotyped. Then the distinction between documents of lasting, and
those of transitory, value became more exactly defined; the former class
being known as greater bulls, _bullae majores_ (also called
_privilegia_), the latter lesser bulls, _bullae minores_. The leading
characteristics of the greater bulls were these: The first line
containing the superscription and closing with the words _in perpetuum_
(or, sometimes, _ad perpetuam_, or _aeternam_, _rei memoriam_) was
written in tall and slender ornamental letters, close packed; the final
clauses of the text develop with tendency to fixity; the pope's
subscription is accompanied with the _rota_ on the left and the
_benevalete_ monogram on the right; and certain elaborate forms of
dating are punctiliously observed. The introduction of subscriptions of
cardinals as witnesses had gradually become a practice. Under Victor
II., A.D. 1055-1057, the practice became more confirmed, and after the
time of Innocent II., A.D. 1130-1145, the subscriptions of the three
orders were arranged according to rank, those of the cardinal bishops
being placed in the centre under the papal subscription, those of the
priests under the _rota_ on the left, and those of the deacons under the
_benevalete_ on the right. In the lesser bulls simpler forms were
employed; there was no introductory line of stilted letters; the
salutation, _salutem et apostolicam benedictionem_, closed the
superscription; the final clauses were shortened; there was neither
papal subscription, nor _rota_, nor _benevalete_; the date was simple.
From the time of Adrian I., A.D. 772-795, the system of double dating
was followed in the larger bulls. The first date was written by the
scribe of the document, _scriptum per manum N._ with the month (rarely
the day of the month) and year of the indiction. The second, the actual
date of the execution of the deed, was entered (ostensibly) by some high
official, _data_, or _datum, per manum N._, and contained the day of the
month (according to the Roman calendar), the year of indiction, the year
of pontificate (in some early deeds, also the year of the empire and the
post-consulate year), and the year of the Incarnation, which, however,
was gradually introduced and only became more common in the course of
the 11th century. For example, a common form of a full date would run
thus: _Datum Laterani, per manum N., sanctae Romanae ecclesiae diaconi
cardinalis, xiiii. kl. Maii, indictione V., anno dominicae Incarnationis
mxcvii., pontificatus autem domini papae Urbani secundi X^o_. The simpler
form of the date of a lesser bull might be: _Datum Laterani, iii. non.
Jan., pontificatus nostri anno iiii_.
By degrees the use of the lesser bulls almost entirely superseded that
of the greater bulls, which became exceptional in the 13th century and
almost ceased after the migration to Avignon in 1309. In modern times
the greater bulls occasionally reappear for very solemn acts, as _bullae
consistoriales_, executed in the consistory.
The third period of papal documents extends from Innocent III. to
Eugenius IV., A.D. 1198-1431. The pontificate of Innocent III. was a
most important epoch in the history of the development of the papal
chancery. Formulas became more exactly fixed, definitions more precise,
the observation of rules and precedents more constant. The staff of the
chancery was reorganized. The existing series of registers of papal
documents was then commenced. The growing use of lesser bulls for the
business of the papal court led to a further development in the 13th
century. They were now divided into two classes: _Tituli_ and
_Mandamenta_. The former conferred favours, promulgated precepts,
judgments, decisions, &c. The latter comprised ordinances, commissions,
&c., and were executive documents. There are certain features which
distinguish the two classes. In the _tituli_, the initial letter of the
pope's name is ornamented with openwork and the other letters are
stilted. In the _mandamenta_, the initial is filled in solid and the
other letters are of the same size as the rest of the text. In the
_tituli_, enlarged letters mark the beginnings of the text and of
certain clauses; but not in the _mandamenta_. In the former the mark of
abbreviation is a looped sign; in the latter it is a horizontal stroke.
In the former the old practice of leaving a gap between the letters s
and t, and c and t, whenever they occur together in a word (e.g. _is
te_, _sanc tus_), and linking them by a coupling stroke above the line
is continued; in the latter it disappears. The leaden bulla attached to
a _titulus_ (as a permanent deed) is suspended by cords of red and
yellow silks; while that of a _mandamentum_ (a temporary deed) hangs
from a hempen cord.
In the fourth period, extending from 1431 to the present time, the
_tituli_ and _mandamenta_ have continued to be the ordinary documents in
use; but certain other kinds have also arisen. Briefs (_brevia_), or
apostolic letters, concerning the personal affairs of the pope or the
administration of the temporal dominion, or conceding indulgences, came
into general use in the 13th century in the pontificate of Eugenius IV.
They are written in the italic hand on thin white vellum; and the name
of the pope with his style as _papa_ is written at the head of the
sheet, e.g. _Eugenius papa iiii_. They are closed and sealed with Seal
of the Fisherman, _sub anulo Piscatoris_. Briefs have almost superseded
the _mandamenta_. The documents known as Signatures of the court of Rome
or Latin letters, and used principally for the expedition of
indulgences, were first introduced in the 15th century. They were drawn
in the form of a petition to the pope, which he granted by the words
_fiat ut petatur_ written across the top. They were not sealed; and only
the pontifical year appears in the date. Lastly, the documents to which
the name of _Motu proprio_ is given are also without seal and are used
in the administration of the papal court, the formula _placet et ita
motu proprio mandamus_ being signed by the pope.
The character of the handwriting employed by the papal chancery is
discussed in the article PALAEOGRAPHY. Here it will be enough to state
that the early style was derived from the Lombardic hand, and that it
continued in use down to the beginning of the 12th century; but that,
from the 10th century, owing to the general adoption of the Caroline
minuscule writing, it began to fall and gradually became so unfamiliar
to the uninitiated, that, while it still continued in use for papal
bulls, it was found necessary to accompany them with copies written in
the more intelligible Caroline script. The intricate, fanciful
character, known as the _Litera sancti Petri_, was invented in the time
of Clement VIII., A.D. 1592-1605, was fully developed under Alexander
VIII., 1689-1691, and was only abolished at the end of the year 1878 by
Leo XIII.
Merovingian chancery.
Of the chancery of the Merovingian line of kings as many as ninety
authentic diplomas are known, and, of these, thirty-seven are originals,
the earliest being of the year 625. The most ancient examples were
written on papyrus, vellum superseding that material towards the end of
the 7th century. All these diplomas are technically letters, having the
superscription and address and, at the foot, close to the seal, the
valedictory _benevalete_. They commence with a monogrammatic invocation,
which, together with the superscription and address written in fanciful
elongated letters, occupies the first line. The superscription always
runs in the form, _N. rex Francorum_. The most complete kinds of
diplomas were authenticated by the king's subscription, that of the
_referendarius_ (the official charged with the custody of the royal
seal), the impression of the seal, and exceptionally by subscriptions of
prelates and great personages. The royal subscription was usually
autograph; but, if the sovereign were too young or too illiterate to
write, a monogram was traced by the scribe. The referendary, if he
countersigned the royal subscription, added the word _optulit_ to his
own signature; if he subscribed independently, he wrote _recognovit et
subscripsit_, the end of the last word being usually lost in flourishes
forming a _ruche_. The date gave the place, day, month and year of the
reign. The Merovingian royal diplomas are of two classes: (1) Precepts,
conferring gifts, favours, immunities and confirmations, entitled in the
documents themselves as _praeceptum_, _praeceptio_, _auctoritas_; some
drawn up in full form, with preamble and ample final clauses; others
less precise and formal. (2) Judgments (_judicia_), which required no
preamble or final clauses as they were records of the sovereign's
judicial decisions; they were subscribed by the referendary and were
sealed with the royal seal. Other classes of documents were the _cartae
de mundeburde_, taking persons under the royal protection, and
_indiculi_ or letters transmitting orders or notifying decisions; but no
examples have survived.
Carolingian chancery.
The diplomas of the early Carolingians differed, as was natural, but
little from those of their predecessors. As mayors of the palace,
Charles Martel and Pippin took the style of _vir inluster_. On becoming
king, Pippin retained it; _Pippinus, vir inluster, rex Francorum_, and
it continued to be part of the royal title till Charlemagne became
emperor. The royal subscription was in form of a sign-manual or mark,
but Charlemagne elaborated this into a monogram of the letters of his
name built up on a cross. In 775 the royal title of Charlemagne became
_Carolus, gratia Dei rex Francorum et Langobardorum, ac patricius
Romanorum_, the last words being assumed on his visit to Rome in 774. On
becoming emperor in 800, he was styled _Imperator, Romanum gubernans
imperium, rex Francorum et Langobardorum_. It is to be noticed that
thenceforth his name was spelt with initial K (as it was on the
monogram), having previously been written with C in the deeds. Most of
his diplomas were authenticated by the subscription of the chancellor
and impression of the seal. A novelty in the form of dating was also
introduced, two words, _datum_ (for time) and _actum_ (for place), being
now employed. The character of the writing of the diplomas, founded on
the Roman cursive hand, which had become very intricate under the
Merovingians, improved under their successors, yet the reform which was
introduced into the literary script hardly affected the cursive writing
of diplomatic until the latter part of Charlemagne's reign. The archaic
style was particularly maintained in judgments, which were issued by the
private chancery of the palace, a department more conservative in its
methods than the imperial chancery. It was in the reign of Louis
Debonair, A.D. 814-840, that the Carolingian diploma took its final
shape. A variation now appears in the monogram, that monarch's
sign-manual being built up, not on a cross as previously, but on the
letter H., the initial of his name Hludovicus, and serving as the
pattern for successive monarchs of the name of Louis.
In the Carolingian chancery the staff was exclusively ecclesiastical; at
its head was the chancellor, whose title is traced back to the
_cancellarius_, or petty officer under the Roman empire, stationed at
the bar or lattice (_cancelli_) of the basilica or other law court and
serving as usher. As keeper of the royal archives his subscription was
indispensable for royal acts. The diplomas were drawn up by the
notaries, an important body, upon whom devolved the duty of maintaining
the formulae and traditions of the office. It has been observed that in
the 9th century the documents were drawn carefully, but that in the 10th
century there was a great degeneration in this respect. Under the early
Capetian kings there was great confusion and want of uniformity in their
diplomas; and it was not until the reign of Louis VI., A.D. 1108, that
the formulae were again reduced to rules.
Imperial German chancery.
The acts of the imperial chancery of Germany followed the patterns of
the Carolingian diplomas, with little variation down to the reign of
Frederick Barbarossa, A.D. 1152-1190. The sovereign's style was _N.
divina favente clementia rex_; after coronation at Rome he became
_imperator augustus_. At the end of the 10th century, Otto III.
developed the latter title into _Romanorum imperator augustus_. Under
Henry III., and regularly from the time of Henry V., A.D. 1106-1125, the
title before coronation has been _Romanorum rex_. The royal monogram did
not necessarily contain all the letters of the name; but, on the other
hand, from the year 976, it became more complicated and combined the
imperial title with the name. For example, the monogram of Henry II.
combines the words _Henricus Romanorum imperator augustus_. The
flourished _ruches_ also, as in the Frankish chanceries, were in vogue.
Eventually they were used by certain of the chancellors as a sign-manual
and took fanciful shapes, such as a building with a cupola, or even a
diptych. They disappear early in the 12th century, the period when in
other respects the chancery of the Holy Roman Empire largely adopted a
more simple style in its diplomas. Lists of witnesses, in support of the
royal and official subscriptions, were sometimes added in the course of
the 11th century, and they appear regularly in documents a hundred years
later.
Diplomatic in England.
For the study of diplomatic in England, material exists in two distinct
series of documents, those of the Anglo-Saxon period, and those
subsequent to the Norman Conquest. The Anglo-Saxon kings appear to have
borrowed, partially, the style of their diplomas from the chanceries of
their Frankish neighbours, introducing at the same time modifications
which give those documents a particular character marking their
nationality. In some of the earlier examples we find that the lines of
the foreign style are followed more or less closely; but very soon a
simpler model was adopted which, while it varied in formulas from reign
to reign, lasted in general construction down to the time of the Norman
Conquest. The royal charters were usually drawn up in Latin, sometimes
in Anglo-Saxon, and began with a preamble or exordium (in some instances
preceded by an invocation headed with the chrismon or with a cross), in
the early times of a simple character, but, later, drawn out not
infrequently to great length in involved and bombastic periods. Then
immediately followed the disposing or granting clause, often accompanied
with a few words explaining the motive, such as, for the good of the
soul of the grantor; and the text was closed with final clauses of
varying extent, protecting the deed against infringement, &c. In early
examples the dating clause gave the day and month (often according to
the Roman calendar) and the year of the indiction; but the year of the
Incarnation was also immediately adopted; and, later, the regnal year
also. The position of this clause in the charter was subject to
variation. The subscriptions of the king and of the personages
witnessing the deed, each preceded by a cross, but all written by the
hand of the scribe, usually closed the charter. A peculiarity was the
introduction, in many instances, either in the body of the charter, or
in a separate paragraph at the end, of the boundaries of the land
granted, written in the native tongue. The sovereigns of the several
kingdoms of the Heptarchy, as well as those of the United Kingdom,
usually styled themselves _rex_. But from the time of AEthelstan, A.D.
825-840, they also assumed fantastic titles in the text of their
charters, such as: _rex et primicerius_, _rex et rector_, _gubernator et
rector_, _monarchus_, and particularly the Greek _basileus_, and
_basileus industrius_. At the same time the name of Albion was also
frequently used for Britain.
A large number of documents of the Anglo-Saxon period, dating from the
7th century, has survived, both original and copies entered in
chartularies. Of distinct documents there are nearly two hundred; but a
large proportion of these must be set aside as copies (both contemporary
and later) or as spurious deeds.
Although there is evidence, as above stated, of the use of seals by
certain of the Mercian kings, the method of authentication of diplomas
by seal impression was practically unknown to the Anglo-Saxon
sovereigns, save only to Edward the Confessor, who, copying the custom
which obtained upon the continent, adopted the use of a great seal.
With the Norman Conquest the old tradition of the Anglo-Saxons
disappeared. The Conqueror brought with him the practice of the Roman
chancery, which naturally followed the Capetian model; and his diplomas
of English origin differed only from those of Normandy by the addition
of his new style, _rex Anglorum_, in the superscription. But even from
the first there was a tendency to simplicity in the new English
chancery, not improbably suggested by the brief formalities of
Anglo-Saxon charters, and, side by side with the more formal royal
diplomas, others of shorter form and less ceremony were issued, which by
the reign of Henry II. quite superseded the more solemn documents. These
simpler charters began with the royal superscription, the address, and
the salutation, e.g. _Willelmus, Dei gratia rex Anglorum, N. episcopo et
omnibus baronibus et fidelibus suis Francis et Anglis salutem_. Then
followed the notification and the grant, e.g. _Sciatis me concessisse_,
&c., generally without final clauses, or, if any, brief clauses of
protection and warranty; and, at the end, the list of witnesses and the
date. The regnal year was usually cited; but the year of the Incarnation
was also sometimes given. The great seal was appended. To some of the
Conqueror's charters his subscription and those of his queen and sons
are attached, written by the scribe, but accompanied with crosses which
may or may not be autograph. By the reign of John the simpler form of
royal charters had taken final shape, and from this time the acts of the
kings of England have been classified under three heads: viz. (1)
Charters, generally of the pattern described above; (2) Letters patent,
in which the address is general, _Universis presentes litteras
inspecturis_, &c.; the corroborative clause describes the character of
the document, _In cujus rei testimonium has literas nostras fieri
fecimus patentes_; the king himself is his own witness, _Teste me ipso_;
and the great seal is appended; (3) Close letters, administrative
documents conveying orders, the king witnessing, _Teste me ipso_.
The style of the English kings down to John was, with few exceptions,
_Rex Anglorum_; thenceforward, _Rex Angliae_. Henry II. added the feudal
titles, _dux Normannorum et Aquitanorum et comes Andegavorum_, which
Henry III. curtailed to _dux Aquitaniae_. John added the title _dominus
Hiberniae_; Edward III., on claiming the crown of France, styled himself
rex _Angliae et Franciae_, the same title being borne by successive
kings down to the year 1801; and Henry VIII., in 1521, assumed the title
of _fidei defensor_. The formula _Dei gratia_ does not consistently
accompany the royal title until the reign of Henry II., who adopted it
in 1173 (see L. Delisle, _Memoire sur la chronologie des chartes de
Henri II._, in the _Bibl. de l'Ecole des Chartes_, lxvii. 361-401).
Private deeds.