Charte Ménestrel

revue en juillet 2012

The Ménestrel network was created on 5 June 1997 on the initiative of URFIST de Paris and the editorial board of the journal Le Médiéviste et l’Ordinateur (published by Institut de recherche et d’histoire des textes from 1979 to 2009), in order to develop a documentary network for mediaeval studies on the Internet. Scholars and documentation professionals belonging to various institutions joined the project. In 2000, the Ménestrel network adopted a charter specifying the operational process and the commitment of signatories.

Missions and goals of the Ménestrel Network

The missions of the Ménestrel network are:
 to encourage the development of internet resources for mediaeval studies, to increase the visibility of international mediaeval scholarship and to promote scientific communication;
 to make available on the World Wide Web, at no cost, a critical directory of internet resources in the field of mediaeval studies for the use of professional scholars, students and interested laypersons.

Scientific organisation of the Ménestrel Network

The operational components of the Ménestrel network are:
 The Scientific Committee, composed of leading scholars. Its role is to provide advice and make proposals to the Editorial Board on the current activity and future developments of Ménestrel in the service of mediaeval studies. Whenever necessary, the Editorial Board may ask the Committee to assess the scientific quality of a contribution.
 The Editorial Board, appointed by the Assembly of Contributors. Its role is to direct and coordinate the activity of the network. It oversees the consistency of editorial activity and implements the decisions taken during general meetings.
 The Assembly of Contributors, composed of all those contributing to the scientific contents of the Ménestrel website. The Assembly of Contributors elects the scholars in charge of the various sections.

Becoming a member of the network

Any legal entity under private or public law interested in mediaeval studies and willing to participate in the network may apply by sending a written request to the Editorial Board. The Editorial Board will announce its decision after consulting the Assembly of Contributors. When accepted, an agreement will be signed between the applicant and URFIST de Paris.

Specific Responsibilities of signatories of an agreement

 All signatories agree to participate in the general activity of the Ménestrel network and to contribute scentific contents to the Ménestrel web site (url : <http://www.menestrel.fr/>).
 The contribution of each signatory will be described by a specific agreement, as mentioned in the previous paragraph.