Practice question · Multiple choice
Why is heavy formulaic boilerplate in a legal document a gift rather than an obstacle?
Hints
- What happens to your attention once you know the standard clauses?
- What does it mean when a charter does NOT follow the template?
Show the answer
C. It is predictable, so any deviation is evidence
Why
Know the formula and you skim it, concentrating on the few non-standard words that carry the information. Better still: a departure from the template means something happened that the boilerplate could not handle, the deviation is itself the evidence.
Practise Archives and Paleography
The app has 5 more questions on this lesson, and keeps your place in the course. History I is free to start.
More questions on Archives and Paleography
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