of the most enlightening essays is Roger Sablonier's examination of the role of carbon dating in the realm of document study, focusing on charters associated with the formation of the Swiss cantons as a distinct state. When examining an undated medieval document, it is tempting to think that all would be made clear if only one had easy access to the apparatus of the modern physical sciences. Sablonier presents a sobering dose of reality: even the most recent methods cannot provide complete

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... inty about dating, and what additional information they can offer becomes only one more piece of evidence that the scholar must weigh carefully before reaching a conclusion. Sablonier's conclusion is that the materials studied do not document the formation of Swiss national identity so much as they constructed it, particularly within a specific historical and political context around the years 1315-16. These essays, as well as others not mentioned here, demonstrate the power and broad applicability of Hagen Keller's research methods. This volume does great credit to its editors and to its honoree, and scholars interested in many aspects of medieval culture and literacy will find much to consider in its pages.