Charters from Holland and Zeeland 726-1299

By A.C.F. Koch, J.G. Kruisheer, and E.C. Dijkhof; indexes compiled by J.W.J. Burgers, P.J.J. Moors and J. Sparreboom

Charters deal with every known aspect of societal life: relations between sovereigns; favours granted by the Pope; donations; buying, selling, renting and leasing of property; financial transactions; rules and regulations issued by all manner of authoritative bodies; judicial verdicts; writs; the list is endless. There is hardly any aspect of mediaeval history whose original source cannot be traced back to a reference found in a charter. Moreover, further examination of the manuscript, wording and seal of a charter can provide us with insights into how the charters were made and the kind of environment and community in which they were created.

For many of the issues concerning the history of Holland and Zeeland until the fourteenth century charters are the only source of information available. The material is distributed over more than 200 archives at home and abroad, often in archive files that have not yet been made accessible.

The objective of the Oorkondenboek van Holland en Zeeland tot 1299 [Book of Charters from Holland and Zeeland up to 1299] is to publish this collection of sources for the purpose of historical, philological and onomastic research. The project was launched under the auspices of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and was continued by the Huygens Institute for Netherlands History (Huygens ING) in 2001. Four volumes have been published in an edition that was brought out by the KNAW. The fifth volume and a cumulative index on all five volumes are both Huygens ING publications. Alle volumes of this series can be obtained from Van Gorcum Publishers.

Oorkondenboek van Holland en Zeeland tot 1299, E.C. Dijkhof, J.W.J. Burgers e.a. Five volumes. Uitgeverij Van Gorcum. Den Haag, 2005-.