Brief introduction
Texte intégral
1The history of writing in the world is a fascinating journey that goes back thousands of years.
2This book examines the depths of Information and Documentation Science, exploring various aspects of History through written records and notary marks. In Between Lines and Notarial Marks: Documentation Sciences in rebuilding the past, we have tried, with the help of specialists in the various areas of documentation sciences, to delve into the essence of each of the disciplines covered: Palaeography, Diplomatics, Sigillography, Codicology, Archives, and their relationship with Digital Humanities, a topic we have previously published on.1 The main aim of this publication is to demonstrate how interdisciplinary studies benefit knowledge of History, providing greater precision in analysing and understanding the past. In this way, the research presented here is pioneering.
3Palaeography, as a science that analyses writing and its characteristics, allows us to discern social and cultural transformations, to learn about institutions, agents, procedures, and mentalities. In its sphere of action, there is also room for the advent of Digital Humanities. Hervé Baudry, from the NOVA University of Lisbon (Portugal), takes us on an innovative digital palaeography project, revealing the challenges and motivations behind the transcription of the Portuguese Inquisition’s files from 1536 to 1821. Using digitized criminal files from the Lisbon Inquisition, the team created the first Portuguese model for automatic transcription of manuscripts, capable of obtaining results for documents produced between the 16th and 19th centuries. By digitizing and transcribing documents, historians and archivists guarantee the preservation of the original – which is often already weak – and access to it for future generations, so that it can be the subject of new interpretations and analyses. Still within the scope of Palaeography and its interdisciplinary nature, the relationship with Chemistry, Art History, Archaeology, and other sciences is evident in the contribution made by several researchers from University of Évora (Portugal): Fernanda Olival, Margarida Nunes, Gláucia Wanzeller, Teresa Ferreira, Ana Claro, and Patrícia Moita analyse writing sand in the materiality of writing, examining ink drying processes and their implications for the practice of scriptoria.
4With a different purpose, Diplomatics seeks to understand the authenticity, origin and context of documentation. It is by analysing notarial formulas or documentary protocols that historians are often able to understand power relations and the social and political contexts underlying the written act. It is this reflection that Ana Catarina Soares and Jordi Saura‑Nadal bring us. The first author, from the University of Porto (Portugal), transports us to medieval Portugal, where she examines the “Arengas como espelho da filosofia política do Portugal medievo: as Ordenações Afonsinas” (“Arengas as a mirror of the political philosophy of Medieval Portugal: the Afonsinas Ordinances”), revealing how these documents reflect the political philosophy of the time. In his turn, Jordi Saura‑Nadal, from the University of Barcelona (Spain), brings us a detailed analysis of the appointment of royal notaries during the reign of John I the Hunter in Catalonia, between 1387 and 1396. The author does not just narrate events, but offers us a glimpse into the bureaucratic organizations of a kingdom in complete political turmoil.
5The fields of Sigillography and Codicology allow us to utilize the physical characteristics of writing media, revealing authorities and methods. Rosário Morujão, from the University of Coimbra (Portugal), guides us through the new paths and challenges of Sigillography, emphasizing the importance of these studies for the future of documentary research.
6Cristina Mantegna, from the “La Sapienza” University of Rome (Italy), invites us to reflect on Codicology and the history of the book, offering insightful observations on these fundamental disciplines. Both authors allow us to understand how, by analysing a stamp or the binding of a book, we can reach significant conclusions about people and institutions of the past. Still within the scope of Codicology, Gavino Scala, from the University of Geneva (Switzerland), presents a case study involving the “Codices descripti”, emphasizing the importance of managing these documents for the preservation of History.
7And finally, Diego Belmonte Fernandez, from the University of Seville (Spain), reveals “El património escondido das collaciones sevillanas” (“The hidden heritage of the collaciones sevillanas”), delving into the deeds, documents, and books that make up this cultural treasure that is constantly being discovered.
8This book is therefore an unmissable journey for any scholar interested in the intersection between documentary science and the reconstruction of the past. Each contribution offers a unique and valuable perspective, enriching the understanding of history through the lines and marks that make it up.
9Thomas Astle (1735–1803), an English palaeographer, wrote in “The Origin and Progress of Writing” (1784) that writing is mankind’s most useful art. In the 18th century, he was trying to differentiate “civilized beings” from “savages” through writing.
10Between Lines and Notarial Marks thus makes important contributions to the field of documentation science, inviting us to reflect on and engage in a continuous dialogue between the past and the present.
11With this book, we hope that the discussions raised around documentation sciences can encourage and promote, even if little by little, further discussions in the field.
Notes de bas de page
Auteurs
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Ana Pereira Ferreira
CIDEHUS‑UÉ, CH‑UL
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Leonor Dias Garcia
CIDEHUS‑UÉ
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Marcus Dores
CIDEHUS‑UÉ
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Ofélia Sequeira
CIDEHUS‑UÉ

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