A document held in Göttingen University’s Faculty of Humanities has been revealed to be an 18th-century forgery. While the document claims to date from 1266, it references a church in Pisa that was not constructed until much later. This revelation comes from research conducted by Dr Boris Gübele, a historian at the University of Göttingen, in collaboration with Italian researchers.

The investigation began as part of preparations for exhibits at Forum Wissen, the University of Göttingen’s knowledge museum. The document stood out because it was written in Italian rather than Latin, an unusual feature for medieval manuscripts in the Göttingen collection. It describes a married couple from Pisa who pledged their son to a religious order supposedly associated with a particular church in the city. However, the church in question was not built until the 14th century, well after the document’s claimed date.

Further scrutiny revealed additional inconsistencies, leading the research team to identify the document as the work of Domenico Cicci, an 18th-century forger. Cicci is known to have forged approximately 200 documents purporting to be from the Middle Ages. In these forgeries, he portrayed his ancestors as bishops, notaries, crusaders, and knights, all with the aim of elevating his family’s social status. His efforts succeeded in securing a noble title for his descendants.

“This 18th century forgery by an Italian counterfeiter almost led historians down the wrong track: it could have resulted in the church being re-dated, for instance,” says Dr Gübele. “In fact, many of his forgeries could still be lying undetected in various archives.”

The discovery serves as a reminder of the challenges historians face in verifying the authenticity of historical documents. It also raises questions about how many other forged documents may remain undiscovered, potentially distorting historical narratives.

See also: Forgeries in the Middle Ages with Levi Roach