Prépa Chartes (entry to the École nationale des chartes)

In short

The École nationale des chartes trains archivists, palaeographers and researchers in history and old documents. You enter through an exam prepared in a classe préparatoire, often in a hypokhâgne or khâgne with a Chartes path. The tests cover history, Latin, a modern language, and historical texts or documents to analyse. It is a specialised track, with few candidates.

What goes on your cards

For Chartes, cards cover the chronology of the Middle Ages, early modern and contemporary periods, institutions, Latin vocabulary, including medieval, grammar, and authors. Add notions of archives and sources too. Lumi has you recall them.

A study rhythm

Latin needs constant recall, so keep ten minutes a day on vocabulary and forms. Dates and institutions gain from being reviewed at growing intervals (Cepeda et al., 2008). Put a review each week, then a full pass before the tests. See How to make a study schedule before an exam.