Laymen, Clerics, and Documentary Practices in the Early Middle Ages: The Example of Catalonia

Towards a trans‐regional approach to early medieval Iberia

“…Notwithstanding the ecclesiastical bias of the corpus, lay charters – recording transfers and disputes between lay parties – and a number of lay archives have been preserved in the collections of cathedrals, monasteries, and churches (Kosto, 2013). In Catalonia, they probably constitute a third of most of the ecclesiastical archives (Kosto, 2005, pp. 51–55).…”

“…Similarly, original single‐sheet documents make up approximately half of what survives from Catalonia (Kosto, 2005, p. 52), though some areas are less fortunate, in particular Girona, where the cathedral retains only a highly selective cartulary (Sobrequés i Vidal et al., 2003, i, pp. 29–43).…”

“…Half of the charters from Galicia have been preserved in the Tumbos (cartularies) of the cathedrals of Santiago (Lucas Álvarez, 1997) and Lugo (López Sangil & Vidán Torreira, 2011) and monasteries of Sobrado de los Monjes (Loscertales, 1976), San Julián de Samos (Lucas Álvarez, 1986), and most notably San Salvador de Celanova (Andrade Cernadas et al, 1995). 8 Similarly, original single-sheet documents make up approximately half of what survives from Catalonia (Kosto, 2005, p. 52), though some areas are less fortunate, in particular Girona, where the cathedral retains only a highly selective cartulary (Sobrequés i Vidal et al, 2003, i, pp. 29-43).…”