Diplomatics is the study of historical documents in order to establish their reliability and authenticity. The notion of reliability refers to the trustworthiness of the content of a document, while the notion of authenticity refers to the trustworthiness of the context of a document (its physical being and the manner of its production).
Diplomatics is often associated with two other aspects of the study of documents, namely, paleography and sigillography. The first of these is the study of writing forms, which may include the way that certain words are spelled as well as the particulars of calligraphic and printing styles. The second comprises the study of seals, often used to confer authority, as in the case of a royal seal, and sometimes used to secure the content of a rolled or folded document, or an envelope containing a document, until opened by the intended recipient.
A well-known example of the application of diplomatics is the case of some diaries attributed to Adolf Hitler, discovered in the late 1970's, and supposedly written by Hitler before 1940. In 1983, the German state archive declared these to be fakes. Among the evidence presented to show why the diaries failed the reliability test was the finding that two laws referred to in the diaries were not passed on the dates given in the diaries. With respect to the authenticity test, the paper, along with the glue and thread used in binding the diaries, were all found to be of post-war manufacture.
Looking to another example that is more recent and more personal, the parchment for the graduate degree qualifying me as a librarian would cause some concern for a diplomatics expert. With respect to authenticity, the document is furnished with the electronically reproduced signatures of the President of the University, the Dean of the School of Information Studies and the Chairman of the University's Board of Trustees, all of which could be faked by someone with access to the appropriate computer files.
However, the University seal is embossed into the parchment, richly colored in blue and gold, and would present a significant challenge to any forger. Even if the authenticity of the signatures is questionable, the seal attests to the authenticity of the document in look and feel. However, when it comes to reliability, the diploma clearly fails. The degree obtained is simply stated as Master of Science.
The problem this presents is that in order to verify that my degree is in the area of Library and Information Science, it is necessary to refer to another document, namely, the official transcript of my degree program, which not only identifies my major, but also lists the courses I studied and the grades I obtained in those courses. In the absence of the transcript, I cannot present my degree parchment as evidence that I have completed an accredited degree program qualifying me as a librarian. This situation can be explained as a matter of bureaucratic efficiency, as it is more cost effective to produce a large number of generic Master of Science parchments, than it is produce separate documents for all of the possible discipline-specific degrees that would fall under this rubric.
Unfortunately, it can place graduates in a difficult position.
Looking to the future, and considering the vast files being produced, stored and shared via computers, a major challenge for diplomatics is the establishment of effective criteria to allow for the assessment of the reliability and authenticity of electronic documents.
Robert A. Campbell, Ph.D. writes about religion, science, global ethics and the knowledge economy. For more information about his research and writing, particularly his work on the Qur'an, visit Robert Campbell. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_A._Campbell,_Ph.D. |
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