Political Theory and Narrative in Charters

"Political Theory and Narrative in Charters." Charters and above all imperial diplomas were intended to be seen and only secondarily to be read. For the entire medium of representation of lordship, visual rhetoric was as essential a component of the statement as the verbal rhetoric brought forward by the diplomatic formulae. A series of examples illustrates the great importance of charters for historical examination in general and medieval political theory and narrative in particular. Although it must never be forgotten that first of all charters serve legal aims, they also carry a host of information on the issuers' legitimization, social, legal, and political rank, and even administrative requirements. By no means did all diplomas which survive as single documents present themselves to contemporaries as an ensemble of symbols of lordship. However, they were all capable of doing so and were, when necessary, so employed by the appropriate personnel. These needs could arise in circumstances that were polar opposites: they could be an expression and presentation of actual power, or as claims to such in uncertain situations of impotence.