Über den Diplomatischen Apparat

The Diplomatic Apparatus (Apparatus diplomaticus) is a research institution that forms part of the Faculty of Humanities. It houses a unique collection of more than a thousand written documents in various – predominantly old and non-European – languages (such as Latin, Middle German, Ancient Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Tamil, Sinhalese). The pieces in the collection date from Late Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. The collection’s origins date back to the very foundation period of Göttingen University and the so-called "Diplomatisches Cabinet" (Diplomatic Cabinet), a collection that since 1759 was used for instruction in Diplomatics - the science of studying charters. Apart from charters, the collection also comprised manuscripts, seals, and copperplate engravings. The Diplomatic Apparatus in its current form was established in 1802 and its core is still formed by the collection of papal, imperial, royal as well as ecclesiastic, dynastic, municipal and private charters. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the collection was expanded by dedicated scholars who aimed to connect research and teaching through tangible artifacts, adding numerous charters, manuscripts, manuscript fragments, and seals, as well as newly created seal casts and reproductions of charters, manuscripts, records, seals, and coats of arms.

Notable directors of this institution included, among others, Johann Christoph Gatterer (1759–1799), the founder of auxiliary historical sciences in Göttingen and thereby in Germany; Jacob Grimm (1835–1837); Paul Fridolin Kehr (1895–1903); Wilhelm Meyer (1895–1917); Karl Brandi (1902–1946); Alfred Hessel (1924–1935); and Hans Goetting (1964–1976).

Until March 31, 2007, the Diplomatic Apparatus was a “Betriebseinheit” (operating unit) of the Faculty of Humanities, according to the terminology of the Lower Saxony Higher Education Act. Since April 1, 2007, it has been under the administration of the Department of Medieval and Modern History. Since October 2023, the Diplomatic Apparatus has been headed by Prof. Dr. Anne Greule.

Further information can be found in the article on the Diplomatic Apparatus on Wikipedia.

Additional literature

Hans Goetting: Geschichte des Diplomatischen Apparats der Universität Göttingen, in: Archivalische Zeitschrift 65 (1969), S. 11–46.
Mark Mersiowsky, Barocker Sammelstolz, Raritätenkabinette, Strandgut der Säkularisation oder Multimedia der Aufklärung? Diplomatisch-paläographische Apparate im 18. und frühen 19. Jahrhundert, in: Erika Eisenlohr/ Peter Worm (Hgg.): Arbeiten aus dem Marburger hilfswissenschaftlichen Institut (elementa diplomatica; 8), Marburg 2000, S. 229–241.
Wolfgang Petke: Diplomatischer Apparat, in: Dietrich Hoffmann, Kathrin Maack-Rheinländer (Hrsg.), "Ganz für das Studium angelegt". Die Museen, Sammlungen und Gärten der Universität Göttingen, Göttingen 2001, S. 82–90.
Wolfgang Petke: Aus der Geschichte des Diplomatischen Apparats, in: Göttinger Jahrbuch 50 (2002), S. 123–148.
Jörg Bölling: Päpstliches Pergament mit Kriegsgekritzel. Die Nr. 1 des Diplomatischen Apparates, in: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen (Hg.): Dinge des Wissens. Die Sammlungen, Museen und Gärten der Universität Göttingen, Göttingen 2012, S. 151–153; ders. (zusammen mit Daniel Graepler u.a.): Was die Dinge Lehren, in: ebd., S. 228–237; ders.; Diplomatischer Apparat (Apparatus diplomaticus), in: ebd, S. 284–285.
Hedwig Röckelein/ Jörg Bölling, Diplomatischer Apparat, in: Die Sammlungen, Museen und Gärten der Universität Göttingen, Göttingen 2013, S. 24–25/ englische Ausgabe: Hedwig Röckelein/ Jörg Bölling: Apparatus Diplomaticus, in: The Collections, Museums and Gardens of Göttingen University, Göttingen 2013, pp. 24–25.

The Collection

Urkunden, Handschriften und Handschriftenfragmente

The collection of charters comprises nearly 900 items; the oldest charters date back to the 11th century. The medieval charters are generally recorded in the relevant editions and regesta volumes. Finding aids for the main corpus of charters have been available in typed form since 1972. Copies of these finding aids are also held by the Lower Saxony Main State Archive in Hanover and the Lower Saxony State Archive in Wolfenbüttel. In addition, the Diplomatic Apparatus preserves 67 loose original seals and 144 seal casts.

Zum Bestand:

🌐 Monasterium (since 2013) : Digitized copies of charters, manuscripts, and manuscript as well as charter fragments

🌐 Collection Portal of the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen (since 2017) : Seal collection

📚 Wilhelm Meyer, Verzeichniss der Handschriften im Preussischen Staate. 1 Hannover. Die Handschriften in Göttingen Bd. 3, Berlin 1894 S. 501–507 : Manuscripts, Papyri, and approximately 570 manuscript fragments dating from the 6th to the 15th century.

Library

The Library of the Diplomatic Apparatus is a teaching and research library with a reference-only collection. It currently comprises approximately 5,700 volumes and 6 current journal subscriptions, primarily in the field of auxiliary historical sciences. The library is physically connected with the libraries of the Department of Medieval and Modern History and the Institute for Historical Regional Studies and is accessible within the Centre for Cultural Studies (KWZ). The Library of the Diplomatic Apparatus is fully included in the Göttingen University Catalogue (GUK).