A French historian and curator of the manuscript department at the Bibliothèque Nationale, Benjamin Guérard (1797–1854) made a considerable contribution to the study of medieval French cathedrals and monasteries. Having studied at Dijon, Guérard 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 Société de l'histoire de France, and this publication was part of the society's first series of documents inédits. Guérard 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-Père 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.