A French historian and curator of the manuscript department at the Biblioth+que Nationale, Benjamin Gu_rard (1797-1854) made a considerable contribution to the study of medieval French cathedrals and monasteries. Having studied at Dijon, Gu_rard became a banker in Paris, before studying at the École royales des chartes where he trained as an archivist. He was a founding member of the Soci_t_ de l'histoire de France, and this publication was part of the society's first series of documents in_dits. Gu_rard was elected to the Academie des inscriptions et belles-lettres and became the director of the École des chartes in 1848. This collection of the medieval charters of the Abbey of Saint-P+re at Chartres was published in Paris in 1840. Volume 1 contains the Prolegomena describing the founding of the abbey, the size of its demesne, its feudal rights, and official structure.