The public notary's office in the southern Baltic area
Dr. Norbert Kersken
The institution of the public notary's office, evidence of which can be found in upper Italy from the 12th century, was also established and widespread in France and to the north of the Alps from the early 13th century; in the north and north-east of the empire, however, it only came about during the course of extending the bishop's officialate from the second quarter of the 14th century.
The public notary's office represents an important area in the development of private deeds. Initially starting in the area of spiritual jurisdiction, it gradually released itself from these ties and became a general legal institution. The public notaries to the north of the Alps ran notarial business almost completely as a sideline. Their parallel or consecutive work lay in a range of activities both in the spiritual arena in the administration of the bishopric as well as in the secular sphere in ducal or city chambers. The field of investigation covers the area of the bishoprics of the southern Baltic region ((Lübeck, Ratzeburg, Schwerin, the Ruegen part of Roskilde, Cammin, the Prussian bishoprics of Ermland, Pomesanien, Kulm and Samland, as well as the bishoprics of Kurland, Riga and Dorpat). On the one hand, these territories will be compared from the point of view of their developmental history and, on the other hand, show a clear communicative connection.
The starting point and core of the investigation is in determining the persons proven to be public notaries, as well as the recording and analysis of their certification activities. Their number will probably run to 1,500 - 2,000 persons. The investigation will start with the frequent occurrence of public notaries in the third decade of the 14th century and will conclude with the Order on Imperial Notary's Offices in 1512.
Initially, there will be the diplomatic investigation of documentation drawn up or signed by public notaries (document types, document forms, internal and external features, content of documents). The second question is directed at the personal profiles of this group. On the one hand, their activity as public notaries will be outlined: their regional and local links, the extent and type of their notarial work, as well as their social location; one particular aspect in this is the shared work of notaries in their certification work. On the other hand, their other professional work will be examined. Here, the course of their careers will be examined so that it can be understood as a component in the social history of the lower clergy.
An additional question is directed at the dynamics of national history, which will become apparent in this prosopographic access to a group of the lower clergy. This group biography of public notaries in the southern Baltic area will then finally lead to the question of whether this data can provide information to confirm that this border zone of the Roman-German empire, the Lower German-Baltic territories, constituted a cultural area that was connected through church and cultural history in the Late Middle Ages. Through this concept and questioning, it should be possible to gain the knowledge to provide an outline of a group of lower clergy and their significance in church, social and national history, beyond the traditional methodology of working to become a public notary.