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Diplomatics

Diplomatics is forensic palaeography.

Specifically, diplomatics is a branch of study that seeks clues as to the provenance of written documents, especially handwritten documents. It seeks to validate or disconfirm the alleged origin and authenticity of written documents by studying:

• the materials upon which they were written;
• the penmanship and alphabets or other scripts used in them;
• the language and style of language they were written in, including their vocabulary, usage, and literary style.

The study of diplomatics is important for history, to determine whether alleged historical documents are in fact true or forgeries. For the same reason, diplomatics occasionally comes into play in law. Some famous cases involving diplomatics issues include:

• Lorenzo Valla's proof of the forgery of the Donation of Constantine;
• The Hitler diaries hoax.

See also: false document