A ''condaghe'' (; also spelled as ''condache'' or ''condake'', ), also known as a ''fundaghe'', was a kind of administrative document used in the

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

n judicates between the 11th and 13th centuries. They are one of the earliest witnesses for the development of the Sardinian language and are an important source for historians of medieval Sardinia. The word derives from the medieval Sardinian term , from . The original ''condaghes'' (later italianized into ''condaghi'') were collections of acts of donations to churches or monasteries. Later ''condaghes'' were kept by noble families for recording inheritances, purchases, donations (''datura''), transactions (''tramutu'') and litigation (''kertu''), principally when relating to the church. The chief object of such records was to provide precise dates in case of legal dispute. Physically, the first ''condaghes'' were scrolls: overlapping parchment manuscripts wound tightly around a ''kontákion''. Over time they took on the familiar form of a

codex The codex (: codices ) was the historical ancestor format of the modern book. Technically, the vast majority of modern books use the codex format of a stack of pages bound at one edge, along the side of the text. But the term ''codex'' is now r ...

(like modern books). They were produced in the

scriptoria A scriptorium () was a writing room in medieval European monasteries for the copying and Illuminated manuscript, illuminating of manuscripts by scribes. The term has perhaps been over-used—only some monasteries had special rooms set aside for ...

of monasteries and cathedrals, but the great majority have been lost. Only some ''condaghes'' have been preserved, with most of them being of ecclesiastical kind like the ''condaghes'' of the monasteries of Saint Mary of

Bonarcado Bonarcado () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Oristano in the Italian region Sardinia, located about northwest of Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and larg ...

(''Sancte Marie de Monarcanto'' or ''Bonorcadu''), Saint Michael of Salvennor (''San Miguel de Salvennor'', of which we have only a translation into Spanish from an original Sardinian copy), Saint Nicola of Trullas (''Sanctu Nichola de Trullas''), Saint Peter of Silki (''Sanctu Petru de Silki''), and of the

Basilica of San Gavino The Basilica di San Gavino (Basilica of Saint Gabinus) is a proto-Romanesque architecture, Romanesque church in Porto Torres, Sardinia, Italy. A former cathedral, it is now a place for the veneration of local martyrs and a parish church. Histor ...

(''Sanctu Gavinu'').Condaghe of Saint Gavin
/ref> There is only a single condaghe of laical kind left, the one of Judge Barisone II of Logudoro.

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Further reading