DIPLOMATICS, the science of diplomas, or of ancient literary monuments, public documents, and the like. It does not, however, nor can it, absolutely extend its researches to antiquity, but is chiefly confined to the middle age and the first centuries of modern times. For although the ancients were accustomed to reduce their contracts [7:8:37]and treaties into writing, yet they engraved them on tablets of brass, copper, stone, or wood; and all that in the first ages were not traced on brass or marble has perished by the length of time and the number of destructive events.

1. The word diploma signifies properly a letter or epistle which is folded in the middle, and which consequently is not open. But in more modern times the title has been given to all ancient epistles, letters, literary monuments, and public documents, and to all those pieces of writing which the ancients called Syngrapha, Chirographa, Codicilli, and the like. In the middle ages, and in the diplomas themselves, these writings are called Litterae, Proe-cepta, Placita, Chartae indiculoe, Sigilla, and Bullae ; as also Panchartae, Pantochartae, Tractoriae, Descriptiones, and so forth. The originals of these pieces are named Examplaria or Autographa, Chartae autlienticae, Originalia, &c. and the copies, Apographa, Copiae, Particulae, and so on. The collections which have been made of them are called Chartaria and Chartulia. The place where these papers and documents were kept the ancients named Scrinia, Tabularium, or Aerarium, words which were derived from the tablets of brass, and, according to the Greek idiom, Archcium or Archivum.

2. In order to understand the nature of these ancient papers, diplomas, and manuscripts, and to distinguish the authentic from the counterfeit, it is necessary to know that the paper of the ancients came from Egypt, and was formed of thin leaves or membranes taken from the branches of a tree named Papyrus Biblum, or Aegyptiacum, and which were pasted one over the other with the slime of the Nile, and pressed and polished with a pumice stone. This paper was very scarce, and it was of various qualities, forms, and prices, which they distinguished by the name of charta hieratica, luria, augusta, amphitheatrica, saitica, taìiirica, emporetica. They cut this paper into square leaves, which they pasted one to the other in order to make rolls of them, whence an entire book was called volumen, from volvere, to roll, and the leaves of which it consisted paginae. Sometimes, also, they pasted the leaves all together by one of their extremities, as is now practised in binding; by this method they formed the back of a book, and these the learned called codices. They rolled the volume round a stick, which they named umbilicus, and the two ends which protruded beyond the paper were called cornua. The title, written on parchment in purple characters, was joined to the last sheet, and served it as a cover. They made use of all sorts of strings or ribands, and even sometimes of locks, to close the book; and sometimes also it was put into a case. But there is not now to be found, in any library or cabinet whatsoever, any one of these volumes. We have been assured, however, by a traveller, that he had seen several of them in the ruins of Herculaneum, but so damaged, and the paper so stiff and brittle, by length of time, that it was impossib⅛Γ to unrol them, and, consequently, to make use of any of them; for on the first touch they fell into tatters.

3. We are ignorant of the precise time when our modern paper was invented, and when people began to make use of pens in writing instead of the stalks of reeds. The ink which the ancients used was not made of vitriol and galls, like the modern, but of soot. Sometimes also they wrote with red ink made of vermilion, or in letters of gold on purple or violet parchment. It is not difficult for those who apply themselves to this study, to distinguish the parchment of the ancients from that of the moderns, as well as the ink; but that which best distinguishes the original from the counterfeit is the writing or character itself, which is so different in different centuries, that we may tell with certainty, within about forty or fifty years, when any diploma was written. There are two works which furnish the clearest lights on this matter, and which may serve as sure guides in the judgments we may have occasion to form as to what are called ancient diplomas. The one is the celebrated treatise on Diplomatics, by Mabillon, and the other the first volume of the Chronico Got-vicense. We there find specimens of all the characters, the flourishes, and different methods of writing, of every age. For these matters, therefore, we must refer our readers to the works just mentioned.

4. All the diplomas are written in Latin, and consequently the letters and characters have a resemblance to each other; but there are certain strokes of the pen which distinguish not only the ages, but also the different nations, as the writings of the Lombards, French, Saxons, and so on. The letters in the diplomas also are usually longer and less decided than those of manuscripts. There has also been introduced a kind of court hand, of a very disproportionate length, and the letters of which are called exiles litterae crispae, ac protractiores. The first line of the diploma, the signature of the sovereign, that of the chancellor, notary, &c. are usually written in this character.

5. The signature of a diploma consists either of the sign of the cross, or of a monogram or cipher, composed of the letters of the names of those who subscribed it. The initial letters of the name, and sometimes also the titles, were placed about this cross. By degrees the custom changed, and they invented other marks, as, for example, the sign of Charlemagne, which was thus written:

R

K_A_S

L

They sometimes also added the dates and epoch of the signature, the feasts of the church, the days of the calendar, and other like matters. The successive corruption of the Latin language; the style and orthography of each age, as well as their different titles and forms; the abbreviations, accentuation, and punctuation, and the various methods of writing the diphthongs; all these matters united form so many characters and marks by which the authenticity of a diploma may be known.

6. The seal annexed to a diploma was anciently of white wax, and was artfully imprinted on the parchment itself. It was afterwards pendant from the paper, and inclosed in a box or case, which was called bulla. There are also some which have been stamped on metal, and even on pure gold. When a diploma bears all the characters which are requisite to the time and place where it is supposed to be written, its authenticity is not to be doubted; but at the same time we cannot examine these too scrupulously, seeing that the monks and priests of former ages were very adroit in making counterfeits, the more so as they enjoyed the confidence of princes and statesmen, and were even sometimes in possession of their rings or seals.

7. With regard to manuscripts which were written before the invention of printing, it is necessary to know their nature, their essential qualities, and matter; to be able to read them freely, and without error; to judge of their antiquity by those characters which we have just mentioned with reference to the diplomas; and to render them of use in the sciences. As there are scarcely any of the ancient codes now remaining written on the Egyptian paper, or on wood, ivory, &c. we have only to consider those which are written on parchment or vellum (membraneos'), and such as are written on our paper (chartaccos). The former of these are in most esteem. With regard [7:8:38]to the character, these codices are written either in square and capital letters, or in half square or round and small letters. Those of the first kind are the most ancient. There are no intervals between the words, no letters different from the others at the beginning of any word, no points, nor any other distinction. The codices which are written in half square letters resemble those we have in Gothic characters, as well for the age as the form of the letters. Such as are written in round letters are not so ancient as the former, and do not go higher than the ninth or tenth century. These have spaces between the words, and some punctuation; but they are not so well written as the preceding, and are frequently disfigured with comments. The codices are divided, according to the country, into Lombard, Italian, Gaelic, Franco-Gaelic, Saxon, Anglo-Saxon, and so forth.

8. In the ancient Greek books they frequently terminated the periods of a discourse, instead of all other divisions, by lines, and these divisions were called, in Latin, versus, a vertendo; for which reason these lines arc still more properly named versus than lineoe. At the end of a work the number of verses of which it consisted was put down, in order that the copies might be more easily collated; and it is in this sense that we are to understand Tribonius, when he says that the Pandects contain 150,000 paene versuum. These codices were likewise vel probae vel deterioris notae, more or less perfect, not only with regard to the calligraphy or beauty of the character, but also with reference to the correctness of the text.

9. It is likewise necessary to observe, in ancient codices, the abbreviations as they have been used in different centuries. Thus, for example, A. C. D. signifies Aulus Caius Decimus; Ap. Cn. Appius Cneius; Aug. Imp. Augustus Imperator. The characters which are called notae are such as are not to be found in the alphabet; but which, notwithstanding, signify certain words. Lastly, the learned divide all the ancient codices into codives minus raros, rariores, editos, et anecdotos. The critical art is here indispensably necessary; its researches, moreover, have no bounds, and the more as the use of it augments qvery day, by the discoveries which are made in languages, and by the increase of erudition. The curious reader will find much learned and valuable information on all these matters in the work entitled Nouveau Traite de Diplomatique, par deux Religieux de la Congrégation de Saint Maur, 6 tom. 4to, Paris, 1750-1765.