Parchments on the move. Removed archives and documentary culture in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Italy

IF 2.1 Q2 INFORMATION SCIENCE & LIBRARY SCIENCE

ARCHIVAL SCIENCE Pub Date : 2025-07-02 DOI:10.1007/s10502-025-09489-7

Maria Pia Donato

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars witnessed momentous changes in European archives. Archives were moved, confiscated, looted, destroyed, and rearranged on an unprecedented scale. In addition, large portions of Europe’s archives were transported to Paris to form a central imperial repository during the period 1809–1814. What kinds of written artifacts were confiscated and why? To whom did the displaced documents actually belong? What does the removal of archives reveal of Western European documentary culture? The article focuses on collections of loose charters and deeds, particularly in Italy. Traditionally considered among most the valuable objects for their legal, political, and historical value, collections of parchments were reorganised or created ex nihilo in several countries in the eighteenth century. Their displacement raised questions about the definition, significance, potential uses, and proper preservation of documents and the meaning and functions of archives. French confiscations exacerbated such disputes, mixing them with (proto) national arguments about ownership and identity. The archival wars under Napoleon are, thus, a perfect example of the heuristic potential of removal in studying the longue durée history of archives and archival cultures.

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羊皮纸在移动。移除了18世纪末和19世纪初意大利的档案和纪录片文化

法国大革命和拿破仑战争见证了欧洲档案的重大变化。档案以前所未有的规模被转移、没收、掠夺、破坏和重新整理。此外，在1809年至1814年期间，欧洲的大部分档案被运送到巴黎，形成了一个中央皇家资料库。哪些书面文物被没收，为什么？这些流离失所的文件实际上属于谁？档案的移除揭示了西欧纪录片文化的什么？本文的重点是收集松散的宪章和契约，特别是在意大利。由于其法律、政治和历史价值，羊皮纸历来被认为是最有价值的物品之一，在18世纪的几个国家，羊皮纸的收藏被重新组织或凭空创造出来。它们的迁移引起了关于文件的定义、意义、潜在用途和适当保存以及档案的意义和功能的问题。法国的没收加剧了这种争端，将它们与关于所有权和身份的（原型）国家争论混合在一起。因此，拿破仑统治下的档案战争是研究档案和档案文化的漫长历史时，启发式移除潜力的一个完美例子。

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来源期刊

ARCHIVAL SCIENCE INFORMATION SCIENCE & LIBRARY SCIENCE-

CiteScore

2.70

自引率

18.20%

发文量

期刊介绍： Archival Science promotes the development of archival science as an autonomous scientific discipline. The journal covers all aspects of archival science theory, methodology, and practice. Moreover, it investigates different cultural approaches to creation, management and provision of access to archives, records, and data. It also seeks to promote the exchange and comparison of concepts, views and attitudes related to recordkeeping issues around the world.Archival Science''s approach is integrated, interdisciplinary, and intercultural. Its scope encompasses the entire field of recorded process-related information, analyzed in terms of form, structure, and context. To meet its objectives, the journal draws from scientific disciplines that deal with the function of records and the way they are created, preserved, and retrieved; the context in which information is generated, managed, and used; and the social and cultural environment of records creation at different times and places.Covers all aspects of archival science theory, methodology, and practiceInvestigates different cultural approaches to creation, management and provision of access to archives, records, and dataPromotes the exchange and comparison of concepts, views, and attitudes related to recordkeeping issues around the worldAddresses the entire field of recorded process-related information, analyzed in terms of form, structure, and context