Examines legal formularies from the Merovingian and Carolingian periods, and considers their problems and possibilities as historical sources.

Introduction; Part I. Formulae, Charters and the Written Word: 1. Orality and literacy in Frankish society; 2. An uneasy partnership? Formulae and charters; Part II. Inventory of the Evidence: 3. Defining the corpus; 4. Catalogue of collections; Part III. Formulae as a Historical Source: Limits and Possibilities: 5. Dating formulae; 6. Local context and diffusion; 7. From late antique notaries to ecclesiastical scribes: when, where and why formularies survive; 8. Formulae and written law; 9. A methodological test-case: slavery and unfreedom in the formularies; Conclusion; Appendix: a handlist of manuscripts.