ABSTRACT
Exploring the formal characteristics of archival material might not initially
appear as a particularly thrilling endeavour. However, there are good reasons to
let the actual subject matter of documents rest for a while. For one, the analysis
and description of both outward appearance and internal formulary structure of
documents is an important step towards their correct understanding – and thus a
precondition for any subsequent interpretation of contents. This ancillary aspect
of diplomatic studies does not only facilitate the basic task of reading a
document in hand – or prior to “reading,” browsing through material found in an
unspecified file or collection – it might also help to ascertain defective dates or
to verify whether one is dealing with an original, a contemporary copy, or a
much later effected transcript. In many instances, an awareness of formularies
might be the only way to find out about what one is actually looking at. Thus, to
give an example, what appears at first glance to be a waqf deed, might in fact
turn out to be only the legal acknowledgement of a previously or separately
established foundation. Equally, what starts out as a contract of sale might
deviate from the standard and include additional stipulations, often constituting
a mixture of sale, rental agreements, and the reciprocal settlement of divergent
claims.
