Project Description:

Jilted lovers, murderous heirs, thieves, and knaves fill untold court cases with colorful and illuminating detail about otherwise remote historical times and places. Other, more prosaic documents such as probate records yield rich detail regarding material culture, daily life, and the socially and culturally contested construction of communities and power. Perhaps more than any other source of information about the past, court documents from civil and criminal fora yield detailed information about the full range of historical actors and institutions. These documents provide precious data about how people lived their lives, struggled with their families, accumulated wealth, but also debts and other obligations, and how they negotiated with those who in positions of power and authority. Court documents often contain "testimony" of people who have not otherwise left written documents behind. But as all documents created by individuals within official institutions, they reflect the language and idioms of those in power. Thus, students of court documents need to learn how to "read" these records in order to mine them of the precious data they contain.

Core Personnel:

• Richard Roberts (Professor of History, Stanford)
• Zephyr Frank (Assistant Professor of History, Stanford)
• Kari Zimmerman (Project Coordinator)