Abstract
The exceptional richness of Catalan archives offers material for the analysis of the creative processes implied in the drawing up of written documents. Their preambles emphasize the absolute necessity of writing, while more than one witness confesses to his ignorance of that art. The rising tide of documents comes alongside a great diversity in form: some documents simply follow the formularies, others resort to amplification and comment. The scribes make point of varying their vocabulary through the use of synonyms. Their writing pursues rhythms intended to make the words easier to remember: tautological c--ordination, diptychs, assonances, etc. Some highly elaborate documents may truly be seen as brief literary essays made hermetic by the use of Hellenisms or rare words dug up from glossaries, and not uncommonly misunderstood. The vernacular forces its way into the documents through single, technical words, and verbal forms in oath formulas. This creative richness dies out after 1070, with the dawning of notarial normalization and terminological conformity.
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