The History of European Archives and the Development of the Archival Profession in Europe

14 American Archivist / Vol. 55 / Winter 1992

European Archives in an E\ Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/55/1/14/2748349/aarc_55_1_k17n44g856577888.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021

The History of European Archives and the Development of the Archival Profession in Europe

MICHEL DUCHEIN

About the author: Michel Duchein is a former Inspector General of the Archives de France. For an expanded introduction see the Gallery of Contributors at the end of the issue. Abstracts in English, French, German, and Spanish follow the article.

As ANYONE WITH EVEN a superficial notion monize European archival legislation and of European history would easily recognize, practices if not to unify them. Many inter- to speak of the history of "European" ar- national symposia, study sessions, and task chives and of the "European" archival forces have focused on specific problems profession is little more than an illusion and including the professional training of ar- little less than an absurdity. Despite the fact chivists and the conditions for public ac- that Europe (or at least a part of it) has often cess to archives. Despite these efforts, we achieved some kind of cultural homogeneity are still very far from any kind of archival since the Middle Ages, there has never been European Community, even within the EC. any political or legal unity, even to the small- This article will try to shed some light on est degree, between countries whose lan- the genesis and history of the evolution of guage, religion, and other cultural factors have archival theory and practice in the main Eu- much in common. ropean countries. It will also suggest some For this reason, each European country directions towards a certain degree of har- has followed its own path of archival de- monization which can be expected (or at least velopment, linked narrowly to its govern- hoped for) in the not too distant future. mental and bureaucratic system. Due to recent increases in international coopera- The Origins of Archival Practices in tion and awareness of basic similarities in Europe archival problems shared by all countries, there has been a tendency at least to har- As has occurred in all human civiliza- tions, the practice of archival administra- History of European Archives 15

tion grew in Europe as a natural, "organic" had its first archivist, Pierre d'Etampes, in phenomenon as soon as the practice of 1307. The archives of the kingdom of Ar- writing on perishable materials was in- agon were created in 1346. Nearly all the vented. Ancient Greece had archival re- Italian and Flemish towns organized the positories. So did the Roman Empire, which conservation and management of their ar- is the starting point for every study of Eu- chives within the framework of their mu- Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/55/1/14/2748349/aarc_55_1_k17n44g856577888.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 ropean legal, political, and cultural his- nicipal institutions. Archival repositories tory.1 These archives were all destroyed such as these were defined as loci publici during the Great Invasions of the fifth, sixth, in quibus instrumenta deponuntur, i.e. and seventh centuries A.D., however. Only "public places where legal documents are a vague tradition of records-keeping sur- kept."2 This definition demonstrates that vived in the more advanced, or less back- the legal aspect of records-keeping was then ward, of the new kingdoms born on the prevalent. To give just one example from ruins of the Empire. many, private contracts between citizens in These archives were in turn practically Flanders (such as commercial contracts, annihilated later, so that only a very few marriage deeds, last wills, etc.) were kept documents prior to 1000 A.D. survive in in coffers in the town hall. The very fact Europe. Even the Carolingian Empire, which that they were there gave them legal force. purported to be a Christian revival of the For the same reason, public archival re- Roman Empire, disappeared without leav- positories in Hungary were called loci ing any significant number of archives, due credibiles, which could be interpreted as to its economic and political collapse in the "places which give legal credibility to the tenth century. documents kept within them." European archives began to revive only Such a notion had long-lasting conse- in the eleventh and twelfth centuries when quences in many European countries. As a new political and religious organization late as 1937, Hilary Jenkinson stated in his of the continent gradually emerged from famous Manual of Archive Administration the chaos. From that point onward, it is no that a character of authenticity was inherent longer possible to speak of "European" ar- to documents kept in the Public Record Of- chives except in a purely geographical sense. fice, and for that reason a guarantee of un- All the new monarchies (German, French, interrupted transmission was essential for a English, and later Spanish), the great feu- document to be recognized as part of a pub- dal powers, the Church, and the towns or- lic record office.3 However, such a notion ganized their own records-keeping never existed in many other countries, in- independently so that little by little local or cluding France, where the fact of its being national traditions and methods were cre- preserved in a public archival repository does ated, giving birth in modern times to the not give a document any guarantee of au- various archival systems which now exist. thenticity. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centu- Since the beginning, the most common ries, local and national administrations be- kinds of documents in archival repositories gan to emerge out of feudal practices, and were titles of land property and other doc- with them archival repositories began to uments of economic interest. The monas- function. The French Tresor des Chartes

2L. Sandri, "La Storia degli Archivi," Archivum a 18 (1968): 108. See for example Ernst Posner, Archives in the An- 'Hilary Jenkinson, Manual of Archive Administra- cient World (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard tion, 2nd. ed. (London: P. Lund, Humphries, 1937), University Press, 1972). 12. 16 American Archivist / Winter 1992

teries, which until the sixteenth centuiy were rope. As the local and central administra- the greatest landowners in Europe, had well- tions multiplied and became more kept archiva or munimenta, now a first- specialized, their production of records grew class source on European medieval eco- in importance. It became necessary to evolve nomic history. Other well-kept archives were systems for the conservation, arrangement, those of royal chanceries, civil or eccle- description, and general management of Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/55/1/14/2748349/aarc_55_1_k17n44g856577888.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 siastical courts, and municipalities, all of those huge, new masses of parchments and which had a clearly evident character of papers. Gradually, the profession of the ar- utility for their owners. chivist came to be recognized as a distinct activity, requiring a specialized savoir-faire. The Creation of the First Great Archival Repositories The Birth of an Archival Science A decisive step was taken in the six- Despite all these developments, an "ar- teenth century when progress in royal chival science" did not emerge until the administration led to the concentration of seventeenth century. In that era an interest archives in central repositories with spe- in history as a science began to grow out cialized archivists and other staff to help. of the Renaissance "science of the di- The classic example of this prefiguration ploms." (The De Re Diplomatica of the of the modern "national archives" was the French Benedictine monk Dom Mabillon, creation in 1542 of the Archivo de Siman- first published in 1681, was a famous mile- cas in Spain, where little by little all of the stone of that earlier period). After the work records of the councils, courts, chanceries, of Baldassare Bonifacio, who in 1632 wrote secretaries, treasuries, etc. of the Castilian the first known treatise on the management Crown came together until they were con- of archives, several treatises and manuals centrated there by 1567. The 1588 internal appeared on the subject in Italy, France, regulation of Simancas, "Instruccion para Germany, and Spain.5 Already conflicting el Gobierno del Archivo de Simancas," is theories existed about the best methods for perhaps the first known document of its the arrangement and description of ar- kind.4 chives. In France, for example, J. Gode- Another significant date is 1610, when froy and J. de Chevrieres recommended a James I of England appointed Levinus Monk chronological order while archivists else- and Thomas Wilson as "Keepers and Reg- where preferred a methodical arrangement isters of Papers and Records," thus creat- of documents either by place names or ac- ing the famous series of State Papers which cording to the juridical nature of the doc- is now the core of the Public Record Of- uments.6 fice. That same year brought the creation At the end of the eighteenth century, the of the Vatican Archives in their modern whole field of archival theory and practice form. in Europe was being completely renovated. All these creations corresponded to the With the exceptions of Great Britain and political phenomenon known as the birth Russia, the French Revolution and the Na- of the "administrative monarchies" in Eu- poleonic conquests had provoked a com- plete upheaval of all governmental,

Alnstrucci6n para el Gobierno del Archivo de Si- mancas, ed. Jos6 Luis Rodriguez de Diego (Madrid: Ministerio de Culture, 1989). See also R.H. Bautier, 5B. Bonifacio, De Archivis Liber Singularis (Ve- "La Phase Cruciale de l'Histoire des Archives: la nezia, [n.p.] 1632). Constitution des Depots d'Archives et la Naissance de 6R.H. Bautier, "La Phase Cruciale de l'Histoire l'Archivistique," Archivum 18 (1968): 139-151. des Archives," 147. History of European Archives 17

administrative, and legal structures the more because the knowledge of old ad- throughout Europe. By 1815, archival re- ministrative and legal practices was rapidly positories as well had undergone a radical disappearing. The first school to attempt to change, beginning with France in 1789- meet this need was the Scuola del Grande 1790, followed by the Netherlands, Italy, Archivio in Naples, established in 1811. Germany, and Spain. Later came the Archivalische Unterrichts- Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/55/1/14/2748349/aarc_55_1_k17n44g856577888.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 The French law of 7 Messidor Year II institut in Munich, in 1821, and today's (25 June 1794) was indeed "revolution- Ecole des Chartes in Paris, started in 1821 ary," both in the chronological and insti- and revived in 1829 after a brief hiatus. As tutional meanings of that term, in so much the nineteenth century progressed, many as it proclaimed for the first time the right other schools or institutes throughout Eu- of citizens to have access to public ar- rope followed these early models, and were chives.7 Until then, archives had been care- either independent or connected to archival fully closed or at most open only to a few institutions or universities. privileged researchers whose use was gen- It would certainly be erroneous to think 8 erally for official purposes. After the French that this kind of teaching was what we now Revolution, the notion that research in ar- consider "archival science," or archivis- chives was a civic right was increasingly tique, or "archivology" as we call it in recognized, even in such conservative most European languages. It was essen- countries as the Austrian Empire and the tially a discipline in legal and institutional Kingdom of Prussia. history, paleography, philology, diplomat- The Revolution and the Napoleonic wars ics, sigillography, and heraldry. Special had more or less abolished all previously emphasis was placed upon the Middle Ages. existing administrative structures in the The very name of the Ecole des Chartes above-named countries. All their archives, reflects the significance of the study of me- therefore, had to come under the control of dieval documents, including charters. Many new forms of government, but at the same elements of today's archivistique were time they had lost their practical and im- hardly considered in the archival schools mediate relevance since they were associ- of the first part of the nineteenth century, ated with defunct institutions. As a result, which were not so much schools of archival their historical significance came to pre- science as schools of historical science. dominate, which was a new feature of ar- The theory of accessioning and selecting chival practice. This transition in the role new records was nevertheless beginning to of the archives had important consequences take shape. As early as 1731, the Reali Is- for the future. truzioni (Royal Instructions), given in Turin With the suppression of most of the to the archivist of the Royal Archives of. monasteries, tribunals, and other places Sardinia, stated that "useless papers" were where pre-revolutionary archivists had to be destroyed.9 Identical practices existed learned their trade, it became necessary to in other archival repositories, sometimes create special schools in order to train ar- with written rules as their basis. However, chivists in reading old scripts, interpreting these practices did not follow any rational old documents, and understanding old lan- principles. The French Revolution regret- guages and spellings. This was needed all tably gave great impetus to the destruction of papers, on the political and ideological

7M. Duchein, "Requiem pour Trois Lois D6- funtes," Gazette des Archives 104 (1979): 12-15. 8It is significant that to this day the Vatican Ar- 9E. Lodolini, Archivistica: Principi e Problemi chives are still named "Archivio Segreto Vaticano." (Milano: Franco Angeli, 1984): 234. 18 American Archivist / Winter 1992

grounds that all documents of servitude and gradually developed the practice of trans- fanatisme (meaning the royalist regime and ferring papers from administrative offices Christianity) were to be destroyed in order to their archival repositories, but the meth- to erase the memory of "barbarism." As odology of such transfers, and above all the a result, many documents of historical in- theoretical problems which they raised as terest relating to the royal and feudal to the notion of "closed" and "open" ar- Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/55/1/14/2748349/aarc_55_1_k17n44g856577888.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 administration and to the Catholic Church chival series, were slow to emerge. were burnt between 1794 and 1796, ac- For a long time, the predominant em- companied by the public's rejoicing.10 This phasis in the keeping of archives was a can hardly be considered a first step towards "historicist" one. For some countries, this the modern theory and practice of archival orientation lasted almost to World War II. appraisal, however. For example, in Spain the Archivo Histo- rico Nacional, created in 1866, was de- From "Historical" Archives to Modern voted exclusively to documents from defunct Archives institutions; all new transfers were ex- cluded. In England, the Public Record Of- The modern administration of archives fice did not regularly receive "new" in Europe really began when it became clear documents until several decades after it was that archives could no longer be considered opened in 1838. only "historical" repositories. It was re- However, the increase in the bulk of pa- alized that they also had to receive, more pers produced by all governmental and ad- or less regularly, papers originating from ministrative offices was such that by the functioning institutions. Of course such a 1850s nearly all the European countries had practice had always existed in those archi- to face the quadruple problem of the trans- val repositories which were linked with ad- fer of these papers to archival repositories, ministrative bodies. For instance, in 1720 of their appraisal, of their arrangement and an Instruction issued by Peter the Great had description, and of their opening to public regulated transfers to the Russian Imperial 11 research. It was then that most of the na- Archives. However, after the great rev- tional archival institutions took their mod- olutionary and post-revolutionary changes ern form, which in several cases has lasted in the years 1789-1815, the link between until the present day. current records and archival repositories had With the regular transfers of records from been severed, causing the archives to lose functioning institutions, Europe became two their organic contact with active adminis- cultural zones. There was one zone with a tration. registratur system, and one zone without Napoleon I recognized the need for ar- such a system. The registratur is a practice chives to continue as a living institution. in use in Germany and central Europe by In 1808 he initiated an important series of which each administrative document is regulations on transfers by publishing a cir- "registered" with a registry number corre- cular ordering the regular transfer of the sponding to a methodical schedule known papers of the Public Works Division of the as the Aktenplan. Already at the point of Prefectures to the newly-created Archives its creation or reception, each document departementales. All European countries belongs to a file which is prenumbered in a predetermined system. In contrast, in non- registratur countries such as France, Bel- 10L. de Laborde, Les Archives de la France pendant gium, the Netherlands, Great Britain, or la Revolution Franqaise (Paris: J. Claye, 1866). Spain, the files produced by administrative "R.H. Bautier, "La Phase Cruciale de l'Histoire des Archives," 148. offices do not have a predetermined num- History of European Archives 19

ber or classification schedule so that archi- same deplorable results from the point of vists have to arrange and classify them after view of the integrity of archives. Prussia, their transfer to the archives. Austria, Milan, and others followed this R.H. Bautier is very clear, if perhaps a path. trifle overly pessimistic, when he writes that The principle of provenance, or respect "the archival division of Europe is such des fonds as it was originally named in Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/55/1/14/2748349/aarc_55_1_k17n44g856577888.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 that it is nearly impossible for archivists of French, was defined for the first time in one zone to really understand the problems 1841 by the archivist, diplomatist, and his- of the other."12 It is true that it is very torian Natalis de Wailly. He wrote in an difficult for a Frenchman, for instance, to official circular of the Minister of the In- grasp the principles of the registratur sys- terior that "all documents which come from tem. The non-registratur system is proba- a body, an establishment, a family, or an bly equally difficult for a German. It is fairly individual form a fonds, and must be kept easy to guess whether the archival system together .... The documents which only of any non-European country was created make reference to an establishment, a body, by archivists from the registratur or non- or a family, must not be confused with the registratur school. fonds of that establishment, body, family "13 The Principle of Provenance and the This principle was soon recognized as Modern Bases of Archival Science the only sound basis for archival arrangement. Not long after its recognition, there The main theoretical debate, which was emerged the corollary principle of "respect really the basis for archival science as we for original order." This second principle know it today, arose during the 1850s. was identified as Strukturprinzip by the Centering on the method of arrangement, German archivists of the Royal Archives this debate is not entirely settled even now. 14 of Prussia around 1880. It is indeed pos- The men of the eighteenth century were sible to say that the modern archival sci- fond of "classification systems" in chem- ence, such as it is, began with those two istry, zoology, botany, and astronomy. This basic principles of provenance and respect appealed to the mind of the Enlightenment for original order. Curiously enough, the era when everything had to be clearly de- most important theoretical treatises with fined and ordered in logical schedules. Ar- explanations and comments about these chivists of that school conceived of the principles were neither German nor French. arrangement of archives as distributing the Instead they were Dutch, Italian, and Eng- documents into "classes" or "series" lish.15 corresponding to legal or administrative concepts. The first classification schedule (cadre de classement) for the French Ar- 13G. Desjardins, Le Service des Archives departe- chives nationales was conceived in 1808 by mentales (Paris: E. Bourloton, 1890): 30. "See Ernst Posner's chapter entitled "Max Leh- Pierre Daunou. It completely dismembered mann and the Genesis of the Principle of Prove- the papers originating from the royal gov- nance," in Archives and the Public Interest: Selected ernment and religious institutions in order Essays, ed. Ken Munden (Washington: Public Affairs Press, 1967): 36-44; and M. Duchein, "Theoretical to distribute them into "legislative," "ad- Principles and Practical Problems of Respect des ministrative," "judicial," and "histori- Fonds," Archivaria 16 (1983): 64-82. cal" sections. The same principle was 15S. Muller, J.A. Feith, and R. Fruin, Handleiding voor het Ordenen en Beschrijven van Archieven adopted in many other countries, with the (Groningen: Erven B. Van der Kamp, 1898); E. Ca- sanova, Archivistica (Siena: Stab, arti grafiche Laz- zeri, 1928); and Hilary Jenkinson, Manual of Archive 12Ibid., 146. Administration (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1922). 20 American Archivist / Winter 1992

It seems by now that respect des fonds proaching a common doctrine for the in- and respect for original order are univer- ventorying of documents in archives. This sally adopted in the archival world, both in is one of the fields for which it can indeed Europe and elsewhere. Whether or not it be said that there is no such thing as -a will always be possible to preserve them is "European" archival tradition. Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/55/1/14/2748349/aarc_55_1_k17n44g856577888.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 a question for the future, in view of the However, some basic principles have changing nature of the notions of prove- more or less come to be accepted by all nance and internal order. New technologies countries, especially the principle which in automation and reprography have chal- distinguishes between the inventory (as a lenged these archival principles. description of the documents in the order Shortly after the 1841 definition of re- in which they are kept) and the catalogue spect des fonds, certain theoretical bases (as we understand it, a selective description emerged for archival description. These of documents according to certain themes principles of description were closely linked including subjects and place names). No to arrangement principles. The Italian doubt the evolution caused by the growing method called metodo storico consists of use of automation in archival description respecting with the greatest care the origi- will lead in the future to a harmonization nal order {ordine originario), which alone and systematization of the various national can reflect the historical evolution of the practices in that field.18 body generating the documents. It was adopted in Italy as a principle in response The Profession of the Archivist to rules formulated in Florence by Fran- cesco Bonaini in 1867.16 One of the common features of European archives is that they always have been quite Curiously enough, the methods of ar- distinct from libraries. Indeed their origin, chival description are somehow the "poor as part of the legal and administrative sys- relation" of archival science in many tem, explains why they took some time to countries. Rules on that subject were is- be recognized as "cultural" rather than ad- sued by the French Minister of the Inte- ministrative assets. The first archivists in rior as early as 1841, and modified and England, France, Germany, Hungary, It- expanded in 1862, 1909, and 1969.17 aly, Poland, and Spain were not librarians. However elaborate manuals such as those They were clerks of the chancery, clerks by Eugenio Casanova, Hilary Jenkinson, of judicial courts, clerks of municipalities, and Elio Lodolini are very brief on archival description. For a long time in all notaries, and the like. They received some countries, there has been a hesitation or practical training in reading old scripts and ambiguity between summary description understanding old documents, but they were ("summary lists," "inventarios suma- not historians. rios," "repertoires numeriques") and By the eighteenth century, archives be- detailed description ("calendars," "re- gan to be considered more from a historical gesten," "inventaires analytiques"). point of view than from a practical or legal While international standards exist for the one. At that time some European countries cataloguing of books in libraries, there is began to include archives in their libraries. nothing in Europe even remotely ap-

18An interesting, recent publication on that theme is volume III (1990) of the Spanish journal entitled 16E. Lodolini, Archivistica: Principi e Problem, Irargi, published by the Servicio de Publicaciones del 129. Gobierno Vasco, Vitoria-Gasteiz. It is dedicated to "Association des Archivistes franc,ais, Manuel the "Mecanizacion de fondos de archivos hist6ricos: d'Archivistique (Paris: S.E.V.P.E.N., 1970): 243-293. experiencias, problemas, resultados." History of European Archives 21

For instance, when the French Revolution between archivists and librarians in Eu- created the Archives nationales, many reg- rope. The gap, if one can use that expres- isters of documents (especially from the sion, is currently widening rather than Ministry of Foreign Affairs) were given to narrowing.19 the Bibliotheque nationale because they were During the course of the nineteenth and in the form of bound volumes. The same twentieth centuries, the archives of all Eu- Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/55/1/14/2748349/aarc_55_1_k17n44g856577888.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 happened in England, where the term ropean countries gained a certain legal status "manuscripts" applies in fact to many ar- defined by laws and official regulations. It chival documents located in libraries de- is not possible here to give even a brief list spite the fact that they would belong more of all these texts, many of which date from appropriately in archives. between 1880 and 1910, an era of wide However, nowhere in Europe were Ar- interest in national history everywhere. chives, with a capital A, as an institution, Throughout all of Europe in the pre-World placed under the jurisdiction or authority War I era, the organization of archives was of Libraries, with a capital L. Archives and considered as a cultural and administrative libraries have been separate, distinct insti- matter of the greatest importance. tutions since the beginning. In fact, the creation of archives preceded that of libraries Public Access to Archives in most countries, including England, France, Germany, and Spain. One point on which the diversity of na- The archival profession as such really tional traditions was especially noticeable began to be recognized as autonomous and until World War I was that of public access specialized in the second part of the nine- to archives. In France the theory, if not teenth century, linked with the growing always the practice, was that all the docu- awareness of the basic principles of archi- ments in the archives could be consulted val administration and the creation of ar- by every citizen; in many other countries the very notion that the archives were open chival schools in most countries. As early 20 as 1850, the French government decided to public research did not exist. Until 1918, that only graduates of the Ecole des Chartes nobody was admitted into the Royal Ar- should be recruited as archivists for the Ar- chives of Prussia without special authori- chives nationales. In Italy, Germany (spe- zation. In England, the consultation of cifically Bavaria), and Austria, the special documents dating later than 1760 was sub- schools of paleography and diplomatics ject to strict control. In Hungary, no doc- trained archivists quite independently from ument was accessible without permission librarians. Only in Spain did the Cuerpo from the Archivist of the Realm. Facultativo de Archiveros, Bibliotecarios y Despite the very strong national feelings Anticuarios, created in 1858, group archi- which characterized the European countries vists and librarians together. prior to 1914, it was already common to One of the results of the autonomy of exchange experiences in the field of ar- archives in the majority of European coun- chives, especially between the great centers tries was that archival science developed of historical research. There existed an independently of librarianship. The Dutch abundant literature in Dutch, English, manual of 1898, which was soon translated French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Span- into French, German, and later English, had ish, and Swedish about the archives of var- a great influence on the establishment of archival principles distinct from, if not ad- 19 verse to, those of librarianship. From that B.C. Bloomfield, "Relations between Archives and Libraries,"/Irctovum 30 (1984): 28-35. time on, there have been very few contacts Messidor, Year II. 22 American Archivist / Winter 1992

ious countries. Historians, if not always much the historical tradition continues to archivists, travelled fairly easily. In partic- distinguish archival organizations in var- ular, several countries commissioned ar- ious European countries, and how much the chivists to copy documents concerning their trends of modern evolution tend to blur those own history from archives in other coun- differences. tries. For instance, English archivists made After World War II, Europe was impov- Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/55/1/14/2748349/aarc_55_1_k17n44g856577888.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 transcripts of documents in France, Italy, erished and several of the greater archival the Netherlands, and Spain; Belgian and repositories had been destroyed. European Dutch archivists worked in Spanish ar- archivists dedicated themselves to the re- chives; and French archivists explored the construction of the buildings and systems Vatican Archives for documents touching which had been ruined by the war. Many, upon the history of France. countries, including Germany, Italy, and of There was even an International Con- course the Central and Eastern European gress of Archivists and Librarians, held in countries under Russian hegemony, under- Brussels in 1910. Archivists at this meeting went radical constitutional and legal changes discussed such professional subjects as the which modified the organization of their construction of archival repositories, the archives. Simultaneously, the great tech- principles of selection and appraisal in ar- nological and psychological changes which chives, and the professional training and affected the world of the 1960s and 1970s status of archivists. The proceedings of the affected Europe as well. 21 congress were published. Another con- In describing national archival systems, gress was scheduled for 1915, but the war it is customary to distinguish between came before it could meet. "centralized" and "non-centralized" ones. Gradually, European archivists and gov- These terms, however, are not quite ade- ernments realized the need to open archives quate because there is always some degree to researchers. The duration for access re- of "non-centralization" and some degree strictions was fixed in several countries, with of "centralization" in any system (other- varying lengths of fifty years or more. These wise it would seem anarchical). A more restrictions or periods of closure were less- appropriate distinction would be between ened after World War II, so that by now in "centrally regulated" and "non-centrally nearly all European countries the duration regulated" systems. of access restrictions is thirty years. Of the centrally regulated systems in Eu- rope, one could give the Eastern countries A Brief Overview of Archival Evolution of Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Ru- in Europe Today mania, the USSR, and the like as typical examples.22 In these countries, all archives This article is essentially historical in its except those of a purely personal character outlook. A detailed description of archival are part of the State Archive Fonds as de- legislation and practice in today's Europe fined by Lenin in his famous decree of 1 is not part of my efforts here, since this June 1918. All the archival organization in will be found in other articles in this vol- these countries is thereby ruled or con- ume. However, it is interesting to see how trolled by a central directorate, and the same

21Congr$s de Bruxelles, Commission permanente ^he author wishes to acknowledge that this article des congris internationaux des archivistes et biblio- was written before the changes in the constitutional thecaires (Brussels: Commission permanente des Ar- system of the USSR which occurred during the sum- chivistes et Bibliothe'caires, 1912). mer of 1991. History of European Archives 23

regulations apply throughout each coun- the same standards applying to the whole try.23 of the archival network of the country. In At the other end of the spectrum, Switz- contrast, each Land in Germany has its own erland is a model of a non-centrally regu- rules of recruitment and professional status. lated system. Each canton has its own The professional training is centralized in independent archival organization. There is France, in the Netherlands, and in some Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/55/1/14/2748349/aarc_55_1_k17n44g856577888.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 not even a national law on archives. Nei- other countries; but in Germany, Italy, ther the rules for arrangement, description, Spain, and the United Kingdom it is not. conservation, or access nor the standards There is no specialized archival training at for the recruitment of archivists are the same all in several countries including Belgium from one canton to another. and Switzerland. The majority of the other European Despite their significance, these differ- countries have systems somewhere in be- ences in administrative and legal organi- tween these two extremes. In Germany, for zation should not conceal the fact that the instance, while each Land has its own au- professional practice is heading towards a tonomous system of archival organization, harmonization throughout Europe, espe- it enforces a strict compliance with that cially Western Europe. The main features system for all archives within the Land. In of that harmonization can be defined as: Italy, the provincial archives are part of the • a growing emphasis on the problems Archivi di Stato (managed by state archi- of accessioning and appraising of modern vists appointed by the Director General of records and the organization of transfers. State Archives in Rome), while municipal This is in contrast to the former emphasis archives are controlled by regional Sovrin- upon the arrangement and description of tendenti, who are also appointed by the Di- "closed" archival fonds which character- rector General. In Spain, the "autonomic" ized pre-1939 legislation and manuals; Constitution of the State confers much ar- • a growing preoccupation with the chival responsibility upon regional author- problems of physical preservation of ar- ities, while Spanish state archives have their chives and their buildings, equipment, res- own network of repositories. In England, toration, microfilming, etc. This is linked national and local archives are quite inde- both to progress in scientific knowledge and pendent of each other. In France, both na- technology and to the acceleration of the tional and local archives are ruled by the physical deterioration of archives due to same laws and regulations, but only the Ar- environmental pollution and the frequent chives nationales are ruled directly by the handling of documents; Director General of French Archives, while • a growing awareness of the impact of local archives are managed by local au- modern technologies on the management of thorities under the supervision of the In- archives, especially automated data spectors General of Archives. processing; The rules for recruitment and profes- • a rapid evolution of the archival sional status of archivists also vary accord- profession and, consequently, of the ing to whether or not the country has a professional training of archivists. Even such centrally regulated system. For instance, in old, traditional schools as the Ecole des France the recruitment is centralized, with Chartes and the Archivschule in Marburg have modified their teaching according to new trends in such a way that the study of current administration now occupies more ^See the archival laws of these countries in Archi- vum, volumes 17, 19, and 28. time in the curriculum of the Ecole des 24 American Archivist / Winter 1992

Chartes than that of medieval institutions. ings with their neighboring, foreign Such a change would have seemed incre- colleagues. Practically all archivists within dible just thirty years ago. the EC have regular, though often infor- These changes have happened in all Eu- mal, contacts with archivists of other coun- ropean countries, but they occurred, and tries. Of course the administrative continue to occur, in a national rather than organization of archives remains a purely Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/55/1/14/2748349/aarc_55_1_k17n44g856577888.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 international context. Not only is there no national affair, but many problems are "European" archival authority or legisla- identical for all and the awareness of sim- tion, there is no "European" model for ar- ilarities is increasing. chival training. Each year the Stage Perhaps the suppression of economic bor- Technique International d'Archives of the ders within the EC in 1993 will help f acilitate French Archives nationales is host to some professional exchange in the archival field as twenty to twenty-five foreign archivists, both in other fields. One may hope so. Many ob- European and non-European.24 One pro- stacles will remain in the way of any really gram is not enough, however, to create a "European" integration. These barriers will continent-wide archival community. The continue to include the differences of lan- great international activities in the form of guages, historical and cultural traditions, the congresses and round-table conferences or- legal status of archives, and the professional ganized by UNESCO and the International training and status of archivists. But many Council on Archives are world-wide, not elements of unification do exist, if only Europe-wide. through the evolution of technology, that in Nevertheless, bilateral and multilateral the not too distant future any national differ- cooperation between neighboring countries ences will have very little significance in the is increasing considerably. Professional so- field of archives. Europe still has her part to cieties of archivists frequently work in play in the evolution of an archival science, common. Archives of regions along inter- though she is no longer the matrix of all tia.1 national borders regularly organize meet- ditions and doctrines. Regardless of what lies ahead, two things will not be taken from her: the antiquity of her historical tradition, and 24For a description of this program, see Paule Ren6- the irreplaceable treasure of archival docu- Bazin and Marie-Francpise Tammaro, "Le Stage ments from the past nine or ten centuries Technique International d'Archives: An Historical Overview and Future Prospects," American Archivist which is part of the cultural heritage of all 51 (1988): 356-364. mankind.

The History of European Archives and the Development of the Archival Profession in Europe

Abstract: The history of European archives or the development of the European archival profession can only be discussed superficially as single entities. Nevertheless, there is a tendency recently to harmonize European archival legislation and practices, if not to unify them. The author discusses the genesis and history of the evolution of archival theory and practice in the major European countries through the creation of the great archival repositories, the birth of archival science, and the development of modern archives. He ends the article with an overview of current archival evolution in Europe and suggests the areas in which archival harmonization is likely to be most successful. History of European Archives 25

L'histoire des archives europeennes et le developpement de la profession d'archiviste en Europe

Resume: L'histoire des institutions d'archives europeenes ainsi que le developpement de Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/55/1/14/2748349/aarc_55_1_k17n44g856577888.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 la profession d'archiviste en Europe ne peuvent etre discut6s que tres superficiellement comme des entites distinctes. Ne"anmoins, l'Europe tend depuis peu vers l'harmonisation, sinon vers I'unification des legislations et des pratiques en matiere d'archives europeennes. L'auteur dresse un profil de la genese et de l'histoire de revolution de la theorie archivistique et de la pratique dans les principaux pays europeens, en s'inspirant de la cr6ation des grands dep6ts d'archives, de la naissance de la science archivistique et du developpement des archives modernes. II termine son texte en jetant un regard sur la pr6sente Evolution archivistique en Europe et e"met des suggestions quant aux domaines dans lesquels l'harmonisation archivistique est des plus prometteuses.

Die Geschichte der europaischen Archive und die Entwicklung des Archivarberufs in Europa

Abstrakt: Die Geschichte der europaischen Archive oder die Entwicklung des europaischen Archivarberufs kann hier nur oberflachlich als ein gemeinsames Thema behandelt werden. Nichtsdestoweniger scheint sich in der letzten Zeit eine Neigung zu entwickeln, europaische Archivgesetze und Praxis in Einklang zu bringen, wenn auch nicht zu vereinheitlichen. Der Autor erortert den Ursprung und die Geschichte des Archivwesens. Er beleuchtet die Entwicklung von archivarischer Theorie und Praxis in wichtigen europaischen Staaten mittels der Griindung von beriihmten Archiven, der Geburt der Archivwissenschaft, und der Entwicklung der modernen Archive. Er schliesst seinen Artikel mit einem Uberblick uber gegenwartige Archiventwicklungen in Europa und schlagt Bereiche vor, in welchen archivarische Vereinheitlichung die beste Chance haben diirfte.

La historia de los archivos europeos y el desarollo de la profesion de archivista en Europa

Resumen: La historia de los archivos europeos y el desarrollo de la profesi6n de archivista en Europa pueden ser solamente examinados superficialmente como entidades separadas. Sin embargo, recientemente hay una tendencia a conciliar la legislation y las practicas archivologicas europeas, aunque no a unificarlas. El autor examina el origen y la historia de la evoluci6n de la teoria y practica archivologica en los principales paises europeos, mediante la creation de los grandes depositos de archivos, del nacimiento de la archivologia como ciencia y del desarrollo de los archivos modernos. El autor termina el articulo con una vision global de la presente evolution archivologica en Europa y sugiere las areas en las que la armonizacion archivologica pueda tener mas exito.