15
th
International Congress on Archives
Rumschöttel
www.wien2004.ica.org
1
Archives and Historical Research: A Connection to Redefine?
Hermann RUMSCHÖTTEL
Question 1: During which period was the scholarly historical aspect of archival work fully recognizes?
A close connection of archival work and historical research, assessed approvingly and uncontested, is
characteristic for the German language area during the 19th century and a considerable part of the 20th century.
This began at the turn of the 18th to the 19th century with the functional change of the archives, turning from
safe-deposits for legal positions and claims of sovereignty to stores of sources for historical research. The main
focus of archival work, until then legal, became history, law as the category of reference faded and history as
reference point became ever more prominent. Today we would call this a change of paradigm.
The new "archivist" contemplated his charters and older files in the first place with questions of historical
auxiliary science and foundation for research on national history, and in the period of romanticism this meant
medieval history. The development of historical auxiliary science - diplomacy, chronolgy, paleography,
sigillography etc. - and of territorial, regional and local history would be carried on for the coming years to a
considerable degree by archivists. Virtually a symbiotic connexion of archival work and historical and scholarly
research developed - in the case of critical editions, in historical societies, historical commissions, academies of
arts and humanities, at the universities. It is important to note, that historical research was only beginning to
unfold during this period and in part was completely orientated on the archives and the records that now had
become accessible.
The new archival curricula and training centres coming into being - graduate and postgraduate - adapted to this
notion of an archivist and were completely oriented on historical auxiliary science and the middle ages. The
historical orientation of archival training and the job outline of the "historian-archivist" ("archivist-historian")
remained dominant till after the second World War.
The new archival journals of the late 19th century, the curricula and examination regulations of the archives
schools, professional organisation emerging with congresses and meetings demonstrate a progressive
professional nature of the archivist's pursuit on the fields beyond historical research. But the connection between
both domains remained very close: when and as far as the archivist was not conducting historical research of his
own, but was acting rather "archival" in the narrow sense (that is gathering information on records, arranging,
describing, counselling etc.) he did this to support, promote or assist history.
Question 2: Present situation
Since the 50ies of the last century a shift of the thematic emphases can be observed regarding the actual
everyday requirements from the historical to the archival actual archival tasks. At the same instance archival
science is attempting its great leap towards an individual scholarly discipline. The reasons are multifold:
new challenges of organisation, conservation, technology and documentation,
change of method and contents in historical research,
the increase of potential holdings in the records offices,
new types of records,
altogether a new quality and quantity of records,
an increasingly urging problem of evaluation,
a growing interest of archival science in the structure and interdependencies of creation of records,
the increasing predominance of law in archival work, especially by archival legislation,
and the differentiation of the archival landscape
This can be summed up by noticing, that the shift of emphases from historical to archival tasks was more or
less enforced by the steady increase of these archival tasks and the advancing awareness that there are
considerable none historical areas of responsibility. Parallel the spheres of historical research within and
without universities have developed considerably, most of all in quantity, but also by permanent
diversification. This also applies to the fields of territorial history and historical auxiliary sciences
traditionally claimed by the archivists as partially their field of responsibility. An increase of chairs and
research institutes, historical commissions etc. guarantees a remarkable and continual progress of academic
history also without direct participation of the archivists. Thes began, at least some of them, to develop a
self-confidence within the archival profession; an intense discussion on the job outline began. It has not
been concluded so far.
This still very controversial discussion on the relation of archival work and historical research has a deep
impact on the design of curricula of archival training, on the question of qualifications required to enter the
profession or cooperation of archivists in projects of historical research. Can archival science be determined
