“Reading Archival Latin”
Mediterranean Studies Summer Skills Seminar
23—26 May 2022 • Remote

Date & Location: 27 & 31 May - 2 June 2022 • remote

This four-day intensive skills seminar was intended to provide participants with an overview of the collections of the Archive of the Crown of Aragon, including access to online resources and reproductions, and focus on a hands-on introduction to reading unedited documents from a variety of the archive’s fonds. Other topics included: manuscript abbreviations, dating systems, place and personal names, and research resources and techniques. As much as possible the content was catered to participants’ interests and needs. The goal was to provides participants with a solid preparation in paleography and diplomatics, as well as on the organization of the ACA so that they could move straight to conducting work remotely via the PARES web portal or on-site at the ACA — skills and techniques useful not only at the Archive of the Crown but at other medieval archives across Spain and Europe.

Faculty

The course was conducted by Prof. Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies, CU Boulder). A graduate of the University of Toronto’s Centre for Medieval Studies (Phd, 2000) and now a historian of pre-Modern Spain and the Mediterranean, Catlos has been using the collections of the ACA since 1995, primarily for research into the social and economic history of the Crown of Aragon and Muslim-Christian-Jewish relations.



Program

Monday, 23 May 2022
10am-noon; 1:00-3:00pm
1.     The History & Structure of the Archive of the Crown of Aragon
2.     Pergaminos/Pergamins

Tuesday, 24 May 2022
10am-noon; 1:00-3:00pm
1.     The Royal Chancery: The Registers
2.     Reading the Registers

Wednesday, 25 May 2022
10am-noon; 1:00-3:00pm
1.     Royal Letters
2.     Using Royal Letters 

Thursday, 26 May 2022
10am-noon; 1:00-3:00pm
1.     Beyond the Chancery
2.     Research techniques

Participants

  • Sherif Abdelkarim (English: Grinnell College)

  • Harry Anderson (Religious Studies: University of Colorado Boulder)

  • Tracey L. Billado (History, Queens College, CUNY)

  • Gabriela Chitwood (History of Art and Architecture: University of Oregon)

  • Karen Frank (History: University of the Ozarks)

  • Leslie S. Jacoby (English & Celtic Studies: UC Berkeley)

  • Jane Maschue (History: The Catholic University of America)

  • Katherine Pierpont (History: University of Minnesota)

  • Kira Robison (History: University of Tennessee, Chattanooga)

  • Ryan Sheehan (History: Ohio University)

  • Anna Maria Wiljer (Library and Information Science, History: Catholic University of America)

  • Sam Zeigler (Classics and English Literature: University of Miami)

Some comments from participants:
“Dr. Catlos is a very patient instructor who knows the ACA and Latin very well. He understands that the subject matter is difficult to grasp, and he is always willing to help out the class and take lots of time on difficult words.”

“Excellent combination of patience, humor, and encouragement. Dr. Catlos made this intensive process very enjoyable.”

“Brian was kind and beyond patient as an instructor. I really appreciated the background information re: ACA, diplomatic, and archival research strategies.”

“The seminar was a very good and intensive look into archival Latin. It gave me a good foundation for archival Latin, and it is probably a good way for others to learn it as well.”

“I really have to recommend this especially for grad students, whether or not they are able to travel to state or municipal archives abroad. Both the paleography instruction and the discussions of archives are something I wish I had in grad school, myself, and are extremely translatable to different contexts (although they may not know it beforehand). I will be sending the announcement for the next one to all my networks, because it really is worth it.”

“I think this is a great introduction to paleography but also to archives and how they work. I wish I had taken this class BEFORE I wen to “the archive for the first time.”

I would recommend this course to anyone who does archival research and needs a refresher, and highly recommend to all medieval graduate students.”