Charles Carroll Marden Collection of Spanish Documents, 1347-1887 (mostly 1505-1637)

Contents and Arrangement

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Collection Overview

Creator:

Marden, C. Carroll (Charles Carroll), 1867-1932

Title:

Charles Carroll Marden Collection of Spanish Documents

Repository:

Manuscripts Division

Permanent URL:

http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/7p88cg57j

Dates:

1347-1887 (mostly 1505-1637)

Size:

17 boxes, 1 folder, and 6.50 linear feet

Storage Note:

Firestone Library (scamss): Box 1-16

Language:

Spanish; Castilian

Abstract: The Charles Carroll Marden Collection of Spanish Documents consists of 637 Spanish documents, collected by philologist and university professor Charles Carroll Marden. The documents are divided into two groups: documents originating from the town of Burgos and several towns around Soria and documents from the town of Alarcon. Later additions to the collection include the earliest document in the collection, dated 1347.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

Consists of 637 Spanish documents, collected by Marden, divided into two groups: documents originating from the town of Burgos and several towns around Soria and documents from the town of Alarcon. The first group--170 documents--contains deeds, mortgages, wills, probate documents, and documents drawn up to establish genealogies, all apparently intended to prove rights to inherit capellanias; the second group, consisting of 467 documents, concerns the affairs of the seigneurial town of Alarcon, south of Cuenca. Most of these documents are legal files and illustrate the governance of a town which belonged to one of the most powerful grandees of 16th-century Spain, the Marques de Villena. The wool trade and industry of the area figures significantly in the documents.

Later additions to the collection (document numbers 638 to 642) include the earliest document in the collection, dated 1347, a power of attorney granted to "certain persons" in the town of Medina del Campo, a Papal dispensation (1650) for a marriage, and an inventory (1630) of inherited property.

Arrangement

Arranged in two chronological series, each group of documents relating to a geographic area in Spain (see scope note). Additions to the collection are added at the end, beginning with document number 638.

Collection Creator Biography:

Marden, C. Carroll (Charles Carroll), 1867-1932

Charles Carroll Marden was the first professor of Spanish in United States, teaching at Johns Hopkins from 1905 until 1917. His greatest scholarly contribution was as editor of ancient Spanish-language texts, such as Cuatro Poemas de Berceo, the works of the earliest known Castilian poet, Gonzalo de Berceo. Marden discovered parts of the text in a secondhand bookstore in Madrid then searched for the remaining portions of the manuscript and found the remaining thirty-two folios in a remote village in Spain. He then prepared the text for publication. In 1916, Marden became the newly created Emery L. Ford Chair of Spanish at Princeton University. After dividing his time between Johns Hopkins and Princeton, he moved to Princeton in 1917 and remained there until his death in 1932.

Collection History

Acquisition:: Gift of David Carroll Marden. Additions are a gift of Barbara Marden Brugh.
Appraisal: No appraisal information is available.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. No further photoduplication of copies of material in the collection can be made when Princeton University Library does not own the original. Inquiries regarding publishing material from the collection should be directed to RBSC Public Services staff through the Ask Us! form. The library has no information on the status of literary rights in the collection and researchers are responsible for determining any questions of copyright.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Credit this material:

Charles Carroll Marden Collection of Spanish Documents; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

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