| Abstrakt: |
Three twelfth- and thirteenth-century ecclesiastical cartularies from Angoumois contain original charters with cross-signs made by their actors and witnesses. Two charters dating from between 1171 and 1218 found in the monastery of Saint-Cybard’s cartulary have autographed subscriptions; the cartulary of the cathedral church of Angoulême contains over twenty dating from between 1138 and 1177; and the roll-cartulary of the canonry of Cellefrouin has two from between 1130 and 1220. This practice goes against the traditional scholarly definition of cartularies as a genre that contains only copies written entirely by scribes after the actions described in their charters had been completed. This paper explores the evidence for autographed subscriptions in these cartularies and argues that the signatories of the acts themselves drew their own cross-signs instead of scribes doing so in emulation of the originals. The subscribed charters are placed into the context of the growth of the cartularies, as the compilations were not monolithic works with a single aim written all at once, but rather multi-scribe projects whose purpose continued to be updated. The use of these cartularies as repositories for charters with autographed subscriptions demonstrates both the flexibility of their construction and that they were objects with significance beyond the religious communities that created them. Subscribing to an agreement in a large book or long roll instead of, or in addition to, a single sheet of parchment had the potential to further strengthen and reconfirm agreements. |
