When documents are destroyed or lost: lay people and archives in the early Middle Ages
Warren Brown
In this paper, I discuss some largely unexplored evidence about lay archives in early medieval Europe. This consists of a set formulae from late Roman, Merovingian, and Carolingian Gaul, Bavaria. According to these formulae, men women regions the sixth ninth centuries kept documents private archivesbecause they regarded as vital security their property holdings. The manuscripts which survive indicate that people continued keep throughout century into tenth. They also suggest, however, by end eighth traditions how used stored were being preserved maintained large degree churches monasteries.
Early Medieval Europe