SOURCE: “The Use of the Written Word in Charlemagne’s Administration” in The Carolingians and the Frankish Monarchy: Studies in Carolingian History, translated by Janet Sondheimer, Cornell University Press, 1971, pp. 125-42.

In the following essay, first published in French in 1951, Ganshof describes some of the types of written documents that Charlemagne caused to be used—including agendas, minutes, instructions, authorizations, circulars, mobilization orders, reports, and descriptions—in order to foster clarity and efficiency in his realm.

It is known that the use of the written word for administrative purposes survived, in at least some parts of the territory ruled by the Frankish monarch, as a debased legacy from the Later Empire. In the formulary of Marculf, which was compiled in the Paris region during the first half of the seventh century, documents used in administrative practice are given some prominence.¹ If we turn to the Lex Ribuaria, we...