Imperial and royal charters before Ludwig the Bavarian

The most important legal instrument of the Middle Ages was the charter. In the societies of the early and high Middle Ages, which predominantly communicated orally, there were only a few occasions for them to be produced. The oldest pieces were handed down in the mostly ecclesiastical treasuries, which were also able to archive them. The issuing chanceries used a variety of graphic symbols to protect them from forgery. These became more complicated until the 12th century, before the need for more writing made charters an everyday and therefore simple medium of law.

We can trace how the external style developed through the exemplary comparison of one Carolingian (Louis the Pious from 815), one Salian (Konrad II from 1033) and one Hohenstaufen (Konradin from 1266) charter. The solemn and authority-demanding role of the older two diplomas is visible in their size and the symbols used. The ascenders and, in the case of Konrad II (born around 990, ruled 1024-1039), also descenders of the letters, which fill the space between the lines and visually connect them, are striking. The "littera elongata" (Gothic script) in the first line, the signum line (signature of the ruler) and the recognition line (signature of the chancellor), which sets the introductory protocol and concluding eschatocol apart from the context, are characteristic of the early charters.

The legal transaction was moved into the sacred sphere by the chrismon. This symbolic invocation of Christ is in the form of a capital "C" at the beginning of the first line. With Louis the Pious (born 778, ruled 814-840) it is even stretched over three lines. The diplomas were given legal force by the ruler’s seal and his monogram (= signature). Such forms of solemnity or additional authority are absent from the Konradin (1252-1268) charter. The seals alone were sufficient to authorise the legal act.

Johannes Kroh