Frise chronologique

Publication of De Re Diplomatica by Jean Mabillon

The École des Chartes is traditionally regarded as a legacy of the Maurist Benedictine monks of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the Paris abbey where Jean Mabillon (1632-1707) developed his De re diplomatica. This vast practical and theoretical work sets out the rules of the historical criticism of charters. Marc Bloch regarded the year of its publication as ‘a great milestone in the history of the human mind’.

The Founding Ordinance

The upheavals brought about during the Revolution to the documentation inherited from the Ancien Régime, with the creation of conservation institutions such as national and departmental archives, revealed the need to pass on the scholarly disciplines nurtured in the past. Established by the royal decree of 22 February 1821 and housed in the Bibliothèque Royale, the new School harked back to medieval charters but was also in keeping with a regime governed by the Constitutional Charter of 4 June 1814, considered the guarantor of freedoms.

Birth of the ‘Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques’ (Committee for historical and scientific research)

François Guizot, Minister of Public Education since October 1832, organised historical science to encourage research into and the publication of sources of French history. On 18 July 1834, he set up the ‘Comité de l'histoire de France’ (Committee for French history), which became the ‘Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques’ in 1881. The school's teachers and former students, sometimes called ‘Guizotins’, were active members from the outset.

The Second Birth of the School

An ordinance of 31 December 1846 established the School's modern structure: multidisciplinary teaching that highlighted the diversity of historical sources, its director, premises, and library, and the requirement for students to submit a ‘public paper on their chosen theme’ to obtain their diploma. This was the origin of the thesis, for which an abstract was then published in Positionsdes thèses

Involvement in the Dreyfus Affair

The Dreyfus Affair, which broke out in 1894, allowed chartists to use their science to serve a cause beyond scholarly circles. Émile Zola enlisted the help of the school's director, Paul Meyer, and professors, Arthur Giry and Auguste Molinier, to contribute their palaeographical expertise to exonerate Captain Dreyfus. Another professor, Paul Viollet, played an active role in creating the Ligue des Droits de l'Homme (Human Rights League) in 1898 and co-drafted its articles of association.

The Toll of the Great War

307 archivists, palaeographers and students of the School were mobilised during the First World War. 51 of them were killed in action, a rate (16%) in keeping with the national average. The demographic effects of the bloodletting affected the youngest promotions and were severely felt two or three decades later.

Technical Internship

In response to a long-standing request from students and the profession, the French Archives Department introduced an end-of-studies technical course to prepare graduates for the practical aspects of the archival profession. In 1951, this course became the ‘stage technique international d'archives’ (international archival technical internship), which brought young palaeographers into contact with their future colleagues from various backgrounds. Since 1963, future librarians have received professional training at the École Nationale Supérieure de Bibliothécaires (which became ENSSIB in 1992).

Annexation of the Urfist

From its creation in 1986, the Unité régionale de formation à l'information scientifique et technique de Paris (regional training and scientific information unit in Paris) was attached to the École des Chartes. Like its six counterparts across the country, its range of training and support services has gradually expanded to include mastery of IT tools, internet research, scientific publication, and digital content production.

Award of Doctoral Degrees

Although the École des Chartes thesis was described in 1904 as a ‘doctorate in French history’, it was not until 2010 that the École des Chartes was granted doctoral status, currently co-accredited with Sorbonne-Université and the École Pratique des Hautes Études. By 2023, more than 40 doctoral students had joined the Centre Jean-Mabillon, the School's research laboratory.

Member of the Université Paris Sciences et Lettres

The École nationale des Chartes became a member of the Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, created in 2010, alongside other prestigious institutions and organisations such as the École Normale Supérieure, the École Pratique des Hautes Études and the Collège de France.

Creation of the École nationale des Chartes Foundation

In 2024, the School will launch its Foundation under the auspices of PSL. The aim is to support the institution's international expansion through public and private sponsorship and multi-partner funding of research projects in the fields of history, heritage, and artificial intelligence applied to these areas.