“Archival Latin”
Mediterranean Studies Advanced Skills Seminar
28 August - 18 November 2025 • Remote
The Advance Skills Seminar, “ Archival Latin,” will be held via Zoom over the course of ten Thursdays, from 28 August to 18 November from 10am to noon MDT.
Course overview
The Archive of the Crown of Aragon (ACA) in Barcelona contains one of the largest and richest archival collections relating to medieval Europe, comprising hundreds of thousands of documents, most from the twelfth to fifteenth centuries, and including financial records, royal letters, administrative documents, trial records, treaties, and many other genres. The documentation can be used for a whole range of topics including social, economic, political, institutional, gender, diplomatic, cultural and religious history.
The territories of the Crown of Aragon included much of the Iberian Peninsula, parts of southern France, Sicily and southern Italy, parts of Tunisia and Greece, the Balearics, Sardinia and other Mediterranean islands. It had a large and diverse urban population, was highly integrated into Mediterranean and European trade systems, and had significant populations of Muslims and Jews. It developed one of the earliest and most robust chanceries of medieval Europe; the collections of which have weathered the vicissitudes of history all but intact. Much of the documentation has yet to be used by historians. The skills seminar will focus on the Latin-language documentation (from the eleventh to the mid-fourteenth centuries) in the archive’s collections.
Over the course of ten two-hour sessions held on Thursday mornings thought the fall semester, this Advanced Skill Seminar enables participants to build on existing skills or as follow up to the Reading Archival Latin Summer Skills Seminar. After a first session refresher on topics inlcuding manuscript abbreviations, dating systems, place and personal names, the course will focus on hands-on reading of archival documents in Latin drawn from across a range of fonds at the ACA relating to themes as diverse as trade, religion, identity, administration, sexuality and gender, violence, diplomacy and social life. The precise documents we read will depend on participants interests. Over the course of the seminar, participants will have the opportunity to produce an edition and commentary of a document they select, with the guidance of Prof. Catlos. Documents will distributed in advance, allowing participants to explore them with ample time before each meeting.
Medievalists of all disciplines, graduate students, and qualified undergraduate students, as well as library and archival professionals are encouraged to apply. This is not an introductory course: it is open to scholars and students who have completed the Mediterranean Seminar Summer Skills Seminar in Reading Archival Latin, have similar training, or who have a demonstrated experience reading medieval archival documents in Latin and have a demonstrated intermediate or higher reading knowledge of the Latin. The goal is to reinforce and sharpen participants’ proficiency in reading archival manuscripts in medieval Latin, whether at the ACA or at other medieval archives across Spain and Europe.
Participants said of Prof. Catlos’s Summer Skills Seminar in Archival Latin:
“Dr. Catlos is a very patient instructor who knows the ACA and Latin very well. He understands that the subject matter is difficult to grasp, and he is always willing to help out the class and take lots of time on difficult words.”
“I really have to recommend this especially for grad students, whether or not they are able to travel to state or municipal archives abroad. Both the paleography instruction and the discussions of archives are something I wish I had in grad school, myself, and are extremely translatable to different contexts (although they may not know it beforehand).”
“I'm really thankful to Prof. Catlos for delivering information in a concise yet comprehensive way. It was a good class and it helped me advance my paleographic skills.”
“I felt the course was both extremely engaging and challenging. Through the intensive four hour a day study, I feel like I gained a wonderful baseline to continue to build the skill of archival reading, as well as the resources and techniques to make the task less daunting as I pursue it further.”
“Brian's deep knowledge of the archive and the region was critical to making sense of the documents. I especially appreciated how he used direct encouragement when reading difficult documents, and provided context on how reading skills develop throughout an academic's career. I also appreciated that he kept to time while moving through so much material, and that the reading sessions were kept short - they're intense but so rewarding!”
“The course was a great introduction to archival work generally, and ACA specifically, for grad students. I wish I had had something similar when I was doing my PhD! I was impressed that it was also pitched at a level that benefitted faculty who had either been away from archival work for some time, or weren't familiar with the ACA and its hands. I would absolutely recommend it for people at various career stages.”
Faculty
The course will be conducted by Prof. Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies, CU Boulder). A graduate of the University of Toronto’s Centre for Medieval Studies (Phd, 2000) and now a historian of pre-Modern Spain and the Mediterranean, Catlos has been using the collections of the ACA since 1995, primarily for research into the social and economic history of the Crown of Aragon and Muslim-Christian-Jewish relations. His books, including: The Victors and the Vanquished: Christians and Muslims of Catalonia and Aragon, 1050–1300 (Cambridge: 2004), Infidel Kings and Unholy Warriors: Power, Faith and Violence in the Age of Crusade and Jihad (Farrer, Straus & Giroux: 2014), Muslims of Medieval Latin Christendom, 1050–ca. 1615 (Cambridge: 2014) and Kingdoms of Faith: A New History of Islamic Spain (Basic: 2018), have won awards from the American Historical Association, the Medieval Academy, and the Middle East Studies Association, and have been published in 11 languages. The Sea in the Middle: The Mediterranean World, 650-1650 and Texts from the Middle: Documents from the Mediterranean World, 650-1650 (with T. Burman and M. Meyerson) were published in August 2022 by U California. He has held research fellowships from NEH and is a Guggenheim Fellow in 2024.
Application & Information
This course is open to scholars and students who have completed the Mediterranean Seminar Summer Skills Seminar in Reading Archival Latin, have similar training, or who have a demonstrated experience reading medieval archival documents in Latin and have a demonstrated intermediate or higher reading knowledge of the Latin.
This is an advanced course; scholars seeking foundational training are encouraged to enroll in the Reading Archival Latin Summer Skills Semester which will be offered next in May 2026.
Please note: sessions will not be recorded; synchronous attendance is required.
The regular application period is until August 15.
Applicants will be advised of acceptance by August 18. Payment is due on August 24. Applicants waiting on a grant or subvention may request an extension for the second payment.
Late applicants may be accommodated if space remains. Full payment will be due within three days of acceptance, including a $75 surcharge for late applications.
All payments are final and non-refundable. A letter of confirmation/ receipt will be provided by the Mediterranean Seminar, together with a certificate of completion once the course has concluded.
For sample documents, see the bottom of this page.
Apply via this form. [download poster]
NOTE: Numbers are limited; participants are encouraged to apply early.
For further information or inquiries, contact Brian Catlos (brian.catlos@colorado.edu; subject: “Advanced Skills Information”).
Fees
• $1100 for Full Professors, Librarians & Professionals
• $800 for tenured Associates, Emerita/us, Retired Faculty, Independent Scholars & Non-Academics;
• $575 for non-tenured Associates and Assistants, Postdoctoral Fellows & Graduate and Undergraduate students;
• $450 for Adjuncts, Lecturers & Contingent faculty.
Payment is due 22 August 2025.
Former Summer Skills Participants receive a 10% reduction.
Limited reductions are offered to applicants who are (1) nationals; (2) current residents; (3) AND faculty or students in low-per-capita GDP countries may apply for a reduction (the Low-GDP Bursary program).
Posted fees do not include a 5% processing fee.
Please enroll early, places are limited.
Participants will receive a certificate of completion.
How do we determine our fees?
Why have our fees gone up?
Can I get a reduction in fees?
What is the low-GDP Bursary program?
Program
Session 1: Thursday 28 August 2025
10am-noon
1. Introduction to the Archive of the Crown of Aragon; fundamentals of abbreviation.
2. Back to Basics - format and style, places, people and dates.
Session 2: Thursday 4 September 2025
10am-noon
1. Introduction to the Archive of the Crown of Aragon; fundamentals of abbreviation.
2. Back to Basics - format and style, places, people and dates.
Session 3: Thursday 16 September 2025
10am-noon
1. Parchments
2. Reading
Session 4: Thursday 9 October 2025
10am-noon
1. The Chancery Registers
2. Reading
Session 5: Thursday 16 October 2025
10am-noon
1. Royal Letters.
2. Reading
Session 6: Thursday 21 October 2025
10am-noon
1. Legal Processes
2. Reading
Session 7: Thursday 28 October 2025
10am-noon
1. Mestre Racional
2. Reading
Session 8: Thursday 4 November 2025
10am-noon
1. Vernaculars
2. Fundamentals of Editing
3. Reading
Session 9: Thursday 13 November 2025
10am-noon
1. Participant Presentations
2. Reading
Session 10: Thursday 20 November 2025
10am-noon
1. Participant Presentations
2. Reading
3. What next?
Sample documents and transcriptions
1) ACA, C., reg. 139, f. 303v – transcription
2) ACA, C., reg. 232, f. 80v–81r – transcription
3) ACA, C., reg. 304, f. 19r – transcription
Important dates:
Application period: 15 August 2025
Acceptance/stand by notifications: 18 August 2025
Full payment: 22 August 2025 (subject to extension for late applicants/ or pending grants)
NOTE: Numbers are limited; participants are encouraged to apply early.
Information
For general information regarding fees, enrollment, and administrative matters, contact the Mediterranean Seminar; for questions regarding seminar content and materials, contact the instructor directly.