Methods of Notarial Prosopography and Initial Conclusions

Abstract

The writing of notarial prosopography was based on notarial archontology. According to the definition of archontology, it contains a list of all the holders of a given office. At the same time, archontology, as a method, also denotes the activity of historians, the purpose of which is to compile a list containing a professional list. Prosopography as a historical research method only appeared in the 1970s. From the point of view of compiling the notary prosopography, all data that could be suitable for social historical analysis from the point of view of the notary profession were collected.

Archival documents are an indispensable source of notarial prosopography. An important methodological element of the prosopographic research of notaries is the compilation of family trees of notaries, which can be used to reveal family-relative relationships and clarify lines of descent. The collection of data on the subject provides an opportunity for future socio-historical analyzes of the members of the notary profession, as the notary prosopography as a database can be the subject of multi-directional research.