INTOLERANCE AND THE BIRTH OF EUROPE
METHOD FOR READING AND ANALYZING A DOCUMENT: To be used both for individual documents and papers involving primarily documentary analysis. From a handout dstributed by Professor Kenneth R. Stow, Yale University, Spring 1987.
I. Identification. Who wrote the document, to whom, when, where? Is it legitimate, or a forgery? Where, if it can be discovered, is it possible to find a printed edition of the original, or the original itself? Does it belong to any class of texts (e.g.: papal encyclical, royal writ, monastic chronicle, sermon, hagiography, trial record, etc.)?
II. Explanation. An attempt to interpret any obscure, technical, and/or generally difficult words or phrases. Also, an attempt to explain the general meaning of both the document as a whole and of its easily recognizable sections. (From a technical point of view this is the most important task in the entire analysis. Any further interpretation and attempt to place the document in historical context is completely dependent on the right understanding of the simple meaning, the P'shat, of the text. This can also be the most difficult part of the analysis, for it demands the ability to spot technical terms, know their meanings, and also to recognize allusions of all sorts.) This section may well form the longest part of an analysis, although this is not an unbreakable rule.
III. Immediate Context. What immediate significance can be attributed to the document? E.g.: "The 1090 charter of Henry IV to the Jews of Worms is perhaps the earliest charter of a king creating a direct relationship between a community of Jews and the king himself. It is also an early attempt to remove the Jews from the control of local authorities. Further, it reflects the efforts of the Kingdom to assert and define the limits of its authority and jurisdiction in relation to the Church, just because the local power of the moment was the bishop of Worms who had sided with the Pope in the Investiture Contest; and it is an early instance of the fact that the Jews would become a disputed sphere of authority." Clearly, good performance in this section is directly proportionate with detailed historical knowledge of the period and situation into which the document fits. It is, therefore, perhaps the most difficult task of the analysis, and the one in which errors most frequently occur. As will be obvious, the next section of the analysis is worthless is the work in this section is incorrect.
IV. Long-Range Significance. Assuming the document elucidates and helps tie together a whole series of events or a protracted process, it is necessary to place the document under discussion into its proper context in this series or process. E.g.: "The above document is helpful in understanding the process in which the Jews eventually became tied directly to the kings as Serfs of the Chamber and dependent on charters for their legal status and privileges. It also reflects how the Jews were becoming an isolated element in society under special rules and regulations. Further, it shows how the kings would use their asserted control over the Jews both for the purpose of asserting their direct control and authority over all parts of their kingdom and for the purpose of limiting the Church's sphere of authority. (This last is particularly evident when this charter is compared with the 1090 charter to Speyer.)"
Footnotes. Footnotes in a written analysis are necessary not for the purpose of checking up but as an aid to the reader in the event that he wishes to pursue further the work the writer has begun. Notes serve both to indicate the sources and to indicate where additional material may be found.
Bibliography. Here should be listed not only the works and original sources consulted but also any other works and sources relevant to the analysis of both the text and the process or series under discussion. Again, this is for the purpose of aiding the reader who wishes to do further work in the subject. It should be as full and complete as possible. (Some call this bibliography padding, but a case can be made that the purpose of a work on any topic is not only to present the ideas of the writer but also to elucidate all previous literature on the topic.)
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