Abstract

This paper demonstrates the resilience of historical investigation even after large-scale destruction, examining the fate of Tournai’s municipal chirograph collection, which spanned from the late 12th century to 1795. The chirographs, contracts issued in multiple copies on a single parchment sheet and cut apart, were systematically archived by aldermen since the 13th century, forming massive collections. Significantly impacted by various events that led to a drastic reduction in holdings, including the destruction of the tower hosting the archives, the sale of pieces in the early 19th century, and the relocation of surviving pieces, the Tournai collection faced its ultimate destruction in 1940 under Nazi bombs. However, despite common belief in irretrievable loss, faint traces persist worldwide, in the form of scattered originals, photographs, facsimiles, and full or partial copies, enabling a partial reconstruction of this vast archival heritage. The retrieval effort yielded 394 originals and the complete or partial text of nearly 3,300 chirographs from the 13th century. Caution is due to uncertainties introduced by transcriptions, with 73% of the data comprising partial copies and extracts. The complexities of interpreting 19th century quantitative data provided by scholars and archivists underscore the difficulty in establishing precise figures for the total chirographs. This highlights the nuanced nature of historical investigation based on archival records.