MEMORY OF THE WORLD REGISTER – NOMINATION FORM
France – The Cartulary of the Saint-Sauveur de Redon Abbey
PART A – ESSENTIAL INFORMATION
The CARTULARY of the SAINT-SAUVEUR de REDON ABBEY is an invaluable
document for the study of the medieval period from the ninth to the twelfth century. It has
just been released in a facsimile edition.
The CARTULARY has been preserved at the Archbishopric of RENNES since the middle
of the nineteenth century. It comprises 391 charters, which cover the history of the Abbey
since its foundation in 832 until the beginning of the twelfth century.
Its calligraphy in carefully drawn Carolingian letters is remarkable. Each one of the acts
begins with a finely decorated and coloured initial.
These texts concern primarily the vast Region of Vilaine, where Celtic traditions, Frankish
customs and memories from the Roman period mingled at the time. However, they also
offer a priceless opportunity to learn more about medieval society and the economy of
that time, both in the Carolingian and the feudal era.
The Cartulary is internationally renowned. It has been, and still is, the subject of
scholarship. Numerous articles have underscored the significance of this edition, which
allows the reader to view the original text, known until now only through a Latin
transcription dating from 1863.
Display on the INTERNET: http://www.unesco.org/webword
which refers to: http://www.france-ouest.com/cartulaire
1.
Identity and Location
1.1 Name of documentary heritage
CARTULARY of the SAINT-SAUVEUR de REDON ABBEY
1.2 Country
France
1.3 State, province or region
Brittany
1.4 Address
rue de Brest
35042 RENNES CEDEX
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1.5
Name of organization or institution (if appropriate)
Association des Amis des Archives Historiques du Diocèse de RENNES, DOL et SAINT
MALO. [Society of the Friends of the Historical Archives of the Rennes, Dol and SaintMalo Diocese]. Acronym: A.H.I.D.
2.
Legal Information
2.1 Owner (name and contact details)
Association Diocésaine de RENNES
2.2 Custodian (name and contact details)
Archevêché de RENNES, DOL et SAINT MALO
CS 34210 – 45 rue de Brest – 35042 RENNES CEDEX
Telephone : 02 99 14 35 35 - Fax : 02 99 33 99 93
2.3
Legal status ( if different from 2.1)
(a)
category of ownership (e.g. public, corporate or private)
Corporation : Archevêché de RENNES
Legal name in French law: Association Diocésaine de RENNES
(same contact details as the Archevêché)
The Association is registered in the Journal Officiel of 5 March 1926.
(b)
details of legal and administrative provisions for the preservation of the documentary
heritage
Preservation of the Cartulary (see 4): under the aegis of the Archbishopric, the
AHID Society (see above) was created. It is registered in the Journal Officiel of
9 August 1997. Its purpose is defined in Article 2: “assist in the preservation,
development and financing of the historical archives of the RENNES, DOL and
SAINT MALO Diocese, as well as in the publication of works dealing with the
archives.”
(c)
accessibility
The original is preserved in a vault and is displayed only on special occasions.
A microfilm, a CD-ROM and, in particular, the four-colour edition of the
facsimile enable any interested party to work on good copies of the original.
(see 3.3)
(d)
copyright status
The copyright © belongs to the AHID publisher. It is mentioned on the last page
of the volume together with the details on credit titles for the photography,
graphic design, photo engraving, digital flashing and the printer.
Permission for reproduction must be requested from AHID.
2.4
Responsible administration
The Archbishopric of RENNES, legally represented by the Association Diocésaine de
Rennes since 1926, ensures the proper management of the Cartulary (see below), with
the assistance of AHID since 1997 (see above 2.3, (a) and (b)).
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3.
Identification
3.1
Description and inventory
In its current
approximately
archiepiscopal
146 parchment
wide.
form, the REDON CARTULARY has been bound in morocco since
1860. Its covers display cold-processed ornamentation with the
arms of Monseigneur BROSSAYS–SAINT MARC. It includes
folios written in long-line Latin. The folios are 375 mm high and 275 mm
The first part of the introduction in the facsimile edition is entitled “le manuscrit”. It details
the physical layout of the Cartulary, as well as the paleographic elements: writing, initials,
copyists, etc.
3.2
Bibliographic/Registration details
(a)
The only edition of the Cartulary was published in 1863 by Aurélien de Courson in
the “Collection des documents inédits sur l’histoire de France” (“Collection of
Unpublished Documents on French History”): “Chartularium abbatiae Sancti
Salvatoris rotonensis, in Britannia Armorica”.
It displays a Latin transcription of the charters with indexes: names of places and
persons, and a chronology of the acts.
(b)
The following year, in 1864, Arthur de la Borderie published a study entitled
“Examen chronologique des chartes du Cartulaire de REDON antérieures au
XI° siècle” (“A Chronological Examination of the Redon Cartulary Charters up
to the Eleventh Century”), and in 1901 “La Chronologie du Cartulaire de
REDON” (“The Chronology of the Redon Cartulary”).
(c)
In 1990, Wendy Davies proposed a new chronology in the Francia review: “The
composition of the Redon Cartulary”.
(d)
Lastly, the 1998 edition makes the facsimile of the parchments available to all. It
presents a new chronological index by Hubert Guillotel .
Each one of the three parts in the introduction comes with a bibliography.
3.3
Visual documentation, if appropriate (for example, photographs or a video of the
documentary heritage)
(a)
A black and white microfilm (one of the first of its kind), produced in 1957, adapted
in 1980 in negative and positive, and measuring 9 linear metres. It exists in three
copies, each one stored at a different location.
(b)
292 ektachromes numbered according to the folio order, plus 7 on the nineteenthcentury binding – 299 ektachromes in total. Two complete series are preserved in
two different locations.
(c)
A recording on 3 CD-ROMs in Kodak YCC format with low-definition digitization of
ektachromes. The CD ROMs allow the viewing of the Cartulary on a PC or Macintosh
computer equipped with a CD player. They exist in two basic series.
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A visualization program is inlcuded in each CD. The pictures can also be copied on a
hard disk, and then inserted in a layout or printed out.
(d)
A high-definition digital file that has ensured the very high quality of the printed
reproductions and is preserved at the photoengraving and printing shops.
3.4
History
The Redon Abbey was founded in 832. The acts were probably transcribed on
parchments between 1080 and 1150. The abundance and quality of sources from the
Carolingian period show that the Abbey’s archives had escaped destruction at the hands
of the Scandinavians. From the end of the eighteenth century, the exact fate of the
manuscript can no longer be determined.
During the Revolution, the manuscript passed into the possession of a Benedictine monk,
who later handed it over to Monseigneur Godefroy BROSSAYS-SAINT MARC. The latter
had held the seat of RENNES since 1841 and became Archbishop in 1859. The
manuscript is handed over “so that the Cartulary can become the property of the
Bishopric.”
The Archbishop, who became Cardinal in 1875, died in 1878 and bequeathed his library to
the Grand Séminaire. Since then, the Cartulary has been preserved in the historical
archives of the Diocese and has been placed in a vault for better protection.
3.5
Bibliography: Please indicate up to three published sources describing the proposed
documentary heritage.
(addition to 3.2)
The bibliographies that were established by the three authors of the introductions
are appended.
3.6
Names, qualifications and contact details of up to three independent people or
organizations with expert knowledge about the values and provenance of the
documentary heritage
Specialized experts
Jean-Pierre BRUNTEC’H
Conservateur en chef des Archives Nationales chargé du Centre d’Onomastique
60 rue des Francs Bourgeois
75141 PARIS CEDEX 03
Tel : 01 40 27 64 53
Fax : 01 40 27 66 28
Olivier GUYOT JEANNIN
Professeur à l’Ecole Nationale des Chartes
19 rue de la Sorbonne
75005 PARIS
Tel : 01 46 33 41 82
Bernard MERDRIGNAC
Professeur d’histoire médiévale
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Université de Haute Bretagne – Rennes II
6 avenue Gaston Berger
35043 RENNES CEDEX
Tel : 02 99 14 18 79
Fax : 02 99 14 10 15
Wendy DAVIES
Pro-provost
Professor at University College London
Department of History
Gower Street – London WC1E 6 BT
Tel: 0171-391 1337
Fax: 0171-413 8394
PRESERVATION
Every effort is made to preserve the Cartulary in the best possible conditions.
Physical environment
(a)
The Cartulary is preserved in a vault in the basement of a building that was
completely renovated and refurbished in 1982. It is protected from theft and fire.
The vault is a cubical room made of reinforced concrete with a steel-lined door. There
is no space between the door and the ground. There are only two small ventilation
openings that were installed by the supplier of the vault. The openings are at different
heights in the depth of the concrete and are fitted with fine netting to prevent any insects
from entering.
In the vault, the Cartulary has been laid in a velvet-lined wooden box and stored on the
higher shelf of a fireproof cabinet to guard against potential flooding.
(b)
(c)
Thermal and hygrometric conditions are excellent and constant. No trace of
alteration appears on the parchments.
Handling and display:
Handling occurs most exceptionally. The publication of the facsimile edition will limit such
occurrences even further. The Chancellor of the Archbishopric is the custodian of the
archives and is the only person who has authority to remove the Cartulary from its vault.
Displays have been very rare in the twentieth century. The only known occurrences are:
On 15 June 1989, at the Château des Rohan in PONTIVY, during an exhibition on the
Treasures of Brittany’s libraries, under the aegis of the Conseil Régional de Bretagne
(Regional Council of Brittany) and after the latter had taken out the necessary insurance.
The Cartulary was displayed for only one day behind a reinforced window and under
security surveillance.
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
On 18 November 1995, at the Ancient Book Fair in REDON, with the
responsibility of APPHR (see 3.6, a) regarding insurance, and security surveillance in a
reinforced glass case.

On 10 May 1999, also in a glass case, at the Maison Diocésaine Archbishopric of RENNES, during a lecture on the Cartulary.
The Cartulary is the main item in the Historical Archives of the Archbishopric of RENNES.
Its “commercial value” cannot be estimated, since it is a unique object, which prompted
the decision to produce a facsimile edition so as to make it accessible to researchers and
specialists of the Middle Ages – in particular of the Carolingian period.
The parchments are in excellent condition. The conditions of preservation described
above ensure a proper ageing process.
As a precaution, the various parts that are indispensable to a new edition have been
made available at different locations, as mentioned in 3.3.
ACCESS and CIRCULATION
The original of the Cartulary can be made available to an expert only as an exceptional
measure and only in situ, but this can indeed be done, and without discrimination.
A request must, however, be sent to the Chancellor of the Archbishopric, or to the
President of the AHID Association, who then passes it on.
When accepted, a request to view the Cartulary is granted free of charge.
AHID’s main expectation is that the Cartulary and its facsimile edition will become
renowned throughout the world.
The facsimile edition is accessible to all in the archive room. The quality of the
reproductions, including the marginal notes, is quite sufficient for students and
researchers.
The other visual supports (detailed in 3.3) can also be made available to those who
are interested after the necessary arrangements have been made with the Chancellor
of the Archbishopric and AHID.
4.
Management plan – see below Annex 1
5.
Assessment against the Selection Criteria
The cultural value of the Cartulary of the REDON Abbey has already been emphasized in
the introduction summary.
5.1
Assessment of the documentary heritage against each criterion described in Annex 2.
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The REDON Abbey’s influence has extended beyond the Region of Vilaine, which is why
researchers are involved in studies on the subject not only in Europe but also in Japan, in
the United States and elsewhere.
Time: between the ninth and the twelfth century. The charters enrich the store of
information about both the Carolingian and the feudal period, the two eras of the Middle
Ages, which were characterized by extensive changes; 280 documents relate to the ninth
century and the first quarter of the tenth, while only about a hundred deal with the feudal
period. The REDON Cartulary is one of the rare documents that provide an understanding
of the West during that period of history.
The second introduction in particular details the institutional makeup, the human and
economic factors, and the encounters between various cultures (Frankish, Celtic, Roman,
etc.).
Place: The Abbey is located on the marches of Brittany and had a wide influence that is
described in the second part of the first introduction.
The people who are mentioned throughout the acts are, of course, the monks, with their
communal lifestyle, the machtierns, the chieftains typical of Brittany, the dukes as well as
the peasants … Anthroponymy and toponymy are particularly enlightening in the
framework of the period.
The main theme remains the creation and development of a great Benedictine abbey.
The form and style of the document have already been described: the carefully prepared
parchments are methodically arranged in booklets; they are written in eleventh-century
Carolingian letters and decorated with coloured initial capitals – all of which constitutes a
testimony to the techniques in use at the time.
The use of Latin mingled with old Breton expressions in the document is a rare example of
the kind.
5.3
An evaluation of the authenticity
Authenticity: The internal and external critique that is developed in the introductions
highlights the authenticity of the documents, in particular those from the Carolingian
period.
The document was put to use as early as in the last quarter of the fifteenth century in
the “vetus collectio manuscripta de rebus Britanniae” (Archives Départementales
d’Ille-et-Vilaine 1.F. 1003).
5.4
An assessment of rarity (if appropriate)
Rarity: The document is essential to Brittany and may even be unique with respect
to the Carolingian period. It is also an exceptional document in the context of Western
Europe.
6.
Consultation
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6.1
Details of consultation about the nomination with the:
(a)
7.
Owner
The owner is also the custodian, as mentioned in 2.1 and 2.2.
Nominator
7.1 Name
L’Association des Amis des Archives Historiques du Diocèse de RENNES, DOL
et SAINT MALO, AHID.
7.2 Relationship to documentary heritage
In agreement with the Association Diocésaine de RENNES, a body that is the legal
representative of the Archbishopric of RENNES.
7.3 Contact person (if appropriate)
Abbé (Abbot) Raymond LETERTRE, Vicaire Episcopal, Chancelier (Episcopal Vicar,
Chancellor)
7.4 Contact details
Contact details are identical with those of the Archbishopric and AHID:
45 rue de Brest – CS 34210 – 35042 RENNES CEDEX
Tel : 02 99 14 35 35
Fax : 02 99 33 99 93