A medieval book or manuscript record that contains copies of important deeds, charters, and legal documents, usually belonging to a church, monastery, or estate.
From Medieval Latin 'cartularium,' derived from 'cartula' (small document or charter). The practice emerged in the 9th-10th centuries as religious institutions needed reliable ways to record and protect their property rights and privileges.
If a medieval monastery's cartulary was destroyed, they could lose everything—literally their legal claim to lands and properties that funded their operations, so monks guarded these books like they were priceless treasure.
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