Studies in English Official Historical Documents

This 1908 book attempts to give historians the skills necessary to understand and interpret the large body of official documentation in English public and private archives. Hall deals with archival collections, the many different categories of official documents to be met with, and how to read them.

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This 1908 book was a ground-breaking guide for historians in the use and interpretation of official documentary sources. Hubert Hall examines the topic under three headings – archives, diplomatics, and palaeography. In the first part he treats the history, classification and analysis of English archives. He argues that the user should take into account what once existed as well as what survives. The second part deals with diplomatics, from Anglo-Saxon to the sixteenth century. He calls for greater critical analysis of the different types of official documents, something lacking in England when compared to European scholarship. The final part introduces the student to palaeography, and the different kinds of handwriting and contractions met with in official documents. While the book makes no claim to be the definitive work on the subject, it raised the profile of a neglected tool of scholarship, and offers a starting point for further research.