Cartulaire de l''Abbaye de Saint-Étienne de Baigne, en Saintonge

Published in 1868, this edition of a thirteenth-century Latin manuscript contains charters from the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries. It documents the property transactions and finances of a Benedictine abbey in south-west France, and also contains a substantial introduction, a thorough index, a glossary of place-names and a chronological table.

This 1868 publication contains transcriptions of 549 Latin charters from the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries relating to the early history of the Benedictine abbey of Saint Etienne de Baigne, in south-west France. The thirteenth-century manuscript containing them had been bought after the French Revolution by the bishop of Angouleme, to whom the edition is dedicated. The texts record details of property bequests, donations, land use and taxes, and provide valuable data on the economics and politics of medieval France. The substantial introduction (in French) sets the documents in context, and the book ends with a comprehensive index of names and places, a detailed chronological table keyed to the relevant charters, and a glossary giving the location and modern names of the places mentioned in the charters, with additional notes on their history. The editor had planned to edit two further cartularies, but died in 1867 while completing the index.