ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES

Techniques and tools used in archive work applicable to the teaching process MARIANA BORCOMAN University of Brasov ROMANIA [email protected], [email protected]

Abstract: The study of archives derives from the larger field of history. Archives comprise documents with an official character, and accompanied by personal documents and papers: letters, pictures, memoirs. Data regarding Transylvania and some episodes of its history can only be gathered by accessing these invaluable resources in order to complete the understanding of this historical province. The examination of documents within the educational process helps students familiarize with a different world, whose coordinates can only be grasped by using documents.

Key words: archives, documents, librars, miniatures.

I. Introductory terms II. Archives history in History is a complex science based on the Romania information gathered from various sources. In Romanian areas, the first archive Thus, the oldest sources are those dating from organization took place in the Roman province the classical ancient times. Once writing was of (the 24 wax tables of Rosia Montana), invented, the written sources contribute to and represented financial lists of the Roman describing a particular area at a certain administration. “That was also the time when moment in time. Also, the written data come an inscription mentioned the term libras, as from documents and papers issued by various well as the term scibus tabulari, which means authorities or individuals (royal or imperial archive worker. Libras refers to the person chancellor, monasteries, or abbeys). These who copied manuscripts, but also the person documents had an official character, and were who sells them” [1]. In royal chancelleries accompanied by personal documents and there were archives in the 14th century, papers: letters, pictures, memoirs. Such maintained by the chancellor, but most of them documents form archives which, alongside have been lost in time. “The logofetia, which libraries, store written information. issued property documents, did not keep The oldest information regarding the copies, neither did it keep records concerning archive organization comes from the Persians those who were issued the papers. The and Romans. Both the Persian and the Roman document became the property of the recipient, Empires covered large areas controlled by who took good care of it. If the papers were means of well-organized bureaucratic systems. lost, the beneficiaries brought witnesses in Its activity was sustained by thorough fiscal front of the authorities, and obtained new records. papers” [2]. The study of archives derives from the th The treasury may have been the only one larger field of history at the end of the 18 preserving an accurate record, due to the taxes. century, and it has been a constant This is why some Romanian kings of the 17th preoccupation ever since all over Europe. century adopted some laws of document regulations (a copy of which had to be entrusted to the laic or ecclesiastic authorities that issued them). During the Phanariot period, in the Romanian provinces official records

ISSN: 1790-5109 98 ISBN: 978-960-474-186-1 ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES

were introduced as “a type of register The education system in the field of containing copies of documents from Moldavia auxiliary sciences that developed in Romania and Walachia starting with the 18th century” started in 1862, when the Insitute of [3]. In 1741, prince Constantin Mavrocordat Paleography was set up, and specialized introduced the system of partial preservation of courses were taught in every history documents. After 1780, Pravilniceasca departments. Among the first history condica decided that private individuals could professors one can mention: V. A. Urechia, Al. submit their documents for preservation at the Odobescu, Gr. Tocilescu, V. Parvan, D. Onciu. Metropolitan church, and received a receipt in “In 1924, affiliated to the General Directorate exchange. The Metropolitan churches of of the State’s Archives, a school of archive Walachia and Moldavia kept all the official workers was established, where and private documents until 1838. Dimitrie would teach for two years” [4]. In 1931 it Onciul is the one who established the national becomes a graduate establishment, and, after archives in 1925. the reform of 1948, it becomes the Institute of In the provinces under the Habsburgs Archive, Library, and Museum Sciences. It domination, i.e., Transylvania, Banat, and will be dissolved two years later, and only a Bucovina, the situation was different. At the section of archive science will survive within court of Transylvania, the copies of issued the History Department of . Since documents were all taken care of. Also, there 1992 it has developed and survived. were other authentication bodies (monasteries Nowadays, there are such sections as parts of of Alba Iulia, and Cluj – Manastur). Then, the the History and Letters Departments in Cluj, Hungarian royal authorities interfered and Bucharest, and Iasi. many Transylvanian documents were sent to Budapest in 1875, and not even after 1918 did III. The archive research they return to Transylvania. Today, they can be The archive science is defined as “the examined at the Budapest archives. Between science which studies aspects of collecting, 1691 and 1867, the Habsburg authorities preserving and using written testimonies interfered in the Transylvanian documents, and known as archives”[5]. four official bodies were established to edict In archives, there are several types of documents for the imperial provinces of documents: Transylvania, Banat, and Bucovina, as follows: - papers such as plans or maps; a. Transylvania’s aulic chancellery - photographic documents; established in Vienna; - graphic documents: drawings, b. Transylvania’s royal government engravings, miniatures; established in Sibiu; - seal documents and matrixes: sealed c. The royal table, which functioned Middle Ages documents. in Sibiu, in 1786; For their better preservation, documents d. The treasury for economic- are kept in roll-type boxes made of metal, financial documents. whereas the seal is kept in small carton boxes Apart from these official institutions, in attached to the document. To ensure their time Transylvania existed some documents issuing continuity, documents are microfilmed and and authentication bodies. They were both laic then examined. and ecclesiastic: The documents preservation conditions - the Germans’ Evangelic church, by must meet certain standards: no excessive means of the Germans’ University of humidity or dryness (temperature and humidity Sibiu and archives of the German are controlled by means of special devices), the towns (Brasov, Bistrita, Alba Iulia, storage space must be aired (artificially, not Sighisoara, Dej, Aiud, Sighed); naturally), free of hazardous agents, and water - the Szeklers’ Reformed church of and fire-proof. Transylvania (in St. Gheorghe and Every archive institute in the world also Odorheiu Secuiesc); has a library of ancient books for research - the archive of counties and Unitarian purposes. church (in Blaj, Oradea, the orthodox Then, such institutes have personnel metropolitan church of Sebes and specialized in studying ancient languages Targu Mures).

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(Latin, Greek, Gothic, medieval Hungarian, 2. The archive of Vienna Slavic, Cyrillic, etc.), whose duty is to edit the Here, Transylvania-related documents are archived volumes and process the archive data. grouped into several funds in two head offices: At the same time, archive institutes have Haus, Hof und Statsarchiv and web pages, contact information, schedules of Hofkamerarchiv. events, and available archive lists. The archive of the imperial court and state is These developments have taken place for made of: 30-35 years in Austria, 15 years in Hungary, a. Ungaria Specialia consisting of and 5-7 years in Romania. Te study of Transylvania Separata (Maria archives can thus be made online, and pre- Theresa’s documents, resolutions, booking is available, which considerably correspondence with the bishops of reduces the time involved in the process. Vienna churches, and papers regarding the treasury); IV. The research funds of b. Comitialia-Ungarischen Akten, which comprises documents older than Vienna and Budapest Ferdinand of Habsburg (1563) 1. The state archive of Budapest concerning Hungary’s and Here, the Transylvanian documents fall Transylvania’s problems (financial into two categories: Transylvanian chancellery contributions of the counties, archive and Transylvanian state governmental administrative documents, etc.); archive. c. Ungarn Miscellanum made of The chancellery archive encompasses: the documents of the autonomous court agents’ documents, clerks’ literary kingdom during Rackozy the 2nd annotations and notes made by the two royal reign. commissaries: Vlasitis and Ester Ferdinand. The most numerous documents referring to The governmental archive is more Transylvania can be found in the section of the complex and covers several centuries. It aulic chancellery of Siebenbürgen Akten- consists of two secondary funds, as follows: Urkunden. Here, one may find documents of - the archive of the state clerical body the underground resources (gold, silver, salt, of Alba Iulia; and copper), as well as decreed and legal - the archive of the reformed clerical documents of the German Nation’s fund. There body of Cluj-Manastur. are more than 22 funds with various These two funds are accompanied by the information: Transylvanian official papers, imperial papers of the Habsburg period (1691- documents since Mihael Apafy’s period, 1872). The imperial period also provides us administration clerks’ lists, Leopold the 1st’s with many documents. This is when oath taken in 1700, projects regarding the Transylvania was ruled by Haller, and the condition of silver in Transylvania, justice following funds were constituted: administration in the counties of Tarnava, - Cameralia Comissio; Turda, Dabaca, Odorhei, Aries, and Szolnok, - Thesauriatul, and etc. - The supreme commissary of the These funds can be easily accessed by province. anyone interested in doing so by means of a Empress Maria Theresa makes a reform permit. They can be examined in the microfilm (1740-1750) of the institutions, and edicts format in Budapest, and in the original format numerous regulations related to the functioning in Vienna. Any number of copies can be made, of the new structures. These documents as well and the customer service in the two archive as other territorial reports form a special fund institutions is excellent. of the Hungarian archive. The movements of th In conclusion, data regarding Transylvania the 19 century and the European revolution of and some episodes of its history can only be 1848 created new structures in Transylvania. gathered by accessing these invaluable Thus, in 1848-1849, in Transylvania resources in order to complete the functioned new Hungarian bodies alongside understanding of this historical province. with the previous imperial bodies, each of them with its own fund of archives.

ISSN: 1790-5109 100 ISBN: 978-960-474-186-1 ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES

V. The research activity in institutions spread all over the country do not have such a thing, therefore the fund access is Romanian archives made with difficulty and only on the premises. Until 1955, this activity was restricted, The archives data can be gathered with both in terms of the political and communist much effort, some of it has been published, archives, and in terms of the medieval some other are still to be discovered, and archives, although the contents of the latter finally some data will be forgotten. were not a secret any longer. Photocopying the archived documents was difficult due to the legal constraints in force. After 1955, the VI. Archives and the system became more relaxed, but most of the corresponding teaching information was not microfilmed; even today activity done in copying the documents is not easily done for one need the institution director’s approval, universities and the activity itself can take days or weeks. The importance of historical data is As far as the funds of Transylvania are complex, and it is studied in departments of history, letters, archive science, and library concerned, there are four main archive centers: nd Brasov, Sibiu, Cluj, and Sf. Gheorghe. science, mostly in the 2 academic year. At In Sf. Gheorghe, the documents refer to the the same time, students undergo practice Szeklers’ territory and their relationships with sessions at the archive institutions, where they the Germans and Romanians in Transylvania. make direct contact with the matters taught, In Brasov, some of the medieval funds have and also do intensive paleography courses. The not been processed yet, and are in a precarious university management’s priority is to educate state of preservation. Moreover, there is no new generations of experts, and many of them specialized personnel to process the funds, are hired here upon the completion of their which requires knowledge of Latin, German, education. medieval Hungarian, etc. ,,Archives are also used as research aids Romania’s archive funds are organized for various projects and seminar assignments. according to different criteria in every Some seminar sessions require the use of institution. Thus, we have administrative document files, which facilitate text analysis in archives (created by the administrative bodies terms of writing techniques, text development, of the counties, boroughs, towns and cities), subject approach, and conclusion”[6]. Every archives of the central institutions (ministries, document, whether written or printed, was government, parliament, and presidency), “authenticated” by means of a seal. At the end archives of the judicial courts, economic of the seminar training, which lasts for a year, archives (of various bank and trade the students will be able to decipher various institutions), archives of educational and types of texts. cultural institutions (museums, libraries, Text annotations are also important, for schools, Romanian Athenaeum), military they provide us with information concerning archives, and church archives. Every the text beneficiary, the one who wrote it, etc. institution organized them according to certain As far as I am concerned, I use the indexes and numbers. information gathered from Romanian and After 50 years, every Romanian institution foreign archives in my research activity (some that issues documents has the legal obligation of it materialized with my doctorate thesis) in to file them in the county archive. Here, all the the field of European and Transylvanian information is stored and accessed. In some medieval history, as well as in my teaching circumstance, in an archive one may find both activity. In the absence of historical resources the original document and a copy of it. and documentation sources, history cannot Every document stored in an archive exist. The knowledge gained during the institution is taken over on the ground of a academic years is consolidated by means of the practice sessions which the students undergo at minute, and when a copy of it is issued for a st nd user an annotation is made in a register. the end of the 1 and 2 academic years. At The General Directorate of the State the same time, these sessions contribute to Archives of Bucharest is one of the few their future employment, after graduation. institutions that have a web page. The

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Archives can provide useful information (History‘sauxiliary sciences. Practice for other fields of study such as sociology, courseand seminar), ,,Transilvania” geography, and demography. Universityp. Publishing House, Finally, archives may be accessed by those Brașov, 2001, p 5. who lost documents or rights during the communist regime in Romania. [6] Repanovici Angela, Information tehnology implication in student VII. Conclusions behavior for information literacy The study of historical sources and shills, Plenary lectures- Procedings of artifacts play an important role in the field of the WSEAS/IASME International history, but also anthropology and urban Conference on Education Tehnologins sociology. These sources and resources offer (EDUTE 08), Corfu, Grece: WSEAS, sound arguments in favor of examining aspects 2008, 9/10, 81/86. of mundane or private life. The collective mind and its various facets is completed by means of artifacts. The written resources from archives delineate the image of an era, of the written rules in official documents, as well as in private papers. The examination of documents within the educational process helps students familiarize with a different world, whose coordinates can only be grasped by using documents. Easy access to these funds and their replication should be constant preoccupations of Romanian archives. Last but not least, updating the institutions’ web pages would enhance the information flow and exchange in the academic environment.

References:

[1] Berciu-Draghicescu Adina, Arhivistica – curs general (Archive science – general course), Universitatii Publishing House, Bucharest, 1997, p. 30.

[2] Din istoria arhivelor (Of the history of archives), 1980, p. 4.

[3] Berciu-Draghicescu Adina, as cited, p. 31.

[4] Borcoman Mariana, Stiintele auxiliare ale istoriei. Curs practice si seminar (History’s auxiliary sciences. Practice course and seminar), “Transilvania” University Publishing House, Brasov, 2001, p. 4.

[5] Borcoman Mariana, Științele auxiliare ale istoriei. Curs practice și seminar

ISSN: 1790-5109 102 ISBN: 978-960-474-186-1