The custodianship or safekeeping of important documents, records, or charters; an archive or repository.
From Medieval Latin charta + Greek phylaxis (from phylassein meaning 'to guard or protect'). The term describes institutional preservation of records, used in ecclesiastical and legal contexts.
This wonderfully obscure word emerged from medieval monasteries and cathedrals, which were the original archivists—monks carefully guarded charters and legal documents that proved property ownership.
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