Diplomatic Script and Pen Trials: The Case of Carolingian Lyon

Abstract

The scriptorium of Lyon represents a well-known case of uninterrupted learning throughout the early Middle Ages. Starting with the pivotal works of Tafel and Lowe, manuscript studies have greatly broadened our knowledge of this privileged writing centre. While further research is still needed to fully understand its Carolingian scriptorium, a substantial number of manuscripts have been convincingly located in ninth-century Lyon. This article looks at a handful of such manuscripts which contain pen trials written in diplomatic script, and specifically those executed in the elongated letters deployed in coeval royal and imperial diplomas. By discussing both pen trials and diplomatic evidence from Carolingian Lyon, the article uncovers the existence of a flourishing chancery milieu, and thus sheds new light on the cultural and political history of that learning centre during the second half of the ninth century.