Handbook for Data Entry
Policing Male Homosexuality in Eighteenth-Century Paris
Clickable Table of Contents
1. General Guidelines
2. Data Entry by Step
3. Data Entry by Field
Carton Tab
Document Tab
Interaction Tab
Related Interaction Tab
Sodomite/Pederast Details Tab
Person Tab
Location Tab
Index
GENERAL GUIDELINES
The database will include information from and photographs of police records from the Archives of the Bastille into the 1760s and the papers of the commissaires in the 1780s. The website includes relevant documents from the papers of commissaire Foucault, 1780-83, translated, annotated, and indexed. Other documents are available or forthcoming in print.
Our mission is not to transcribe all the records but to collect and arrange relevant details from them in the many fields we have defined, so as to enable us and Anglophone users to perform simple and complex analyses of the extant sources. To make the conclusions we extract as reliable as possible, we need to make the evidence we enter as consistent as possible. The guidelines in this section apply not to this or that field but to data entry as a whole.
Abbreviations. Do not use periods.
Additional review required. If so, explain why, e.g. illegible words.
Capitalization. Capitalize only proper nouns, names of people and places.
Compound names. Do not use hyphens, e.g. St Germain en Laye.
Dates. Use this format: day-month-year.
Edit. To locate a case you have entered, go to the relevant Tab and use the search box at the top of the list of cases or select your case from the list. To review or correct, click the blue EDIT button to the right. To correct or delete a misspelled word or name from a list of options, click the Categories Tab to the right of the Objects Tab. Click the appropriate Category and use the buttons on the right side.
Language. Use English throughout except in names and in fields specified in section 3, e.g. occupation.
Lists of options. When you click on or type in some boxes, you will see a list of options that you may select, sometimes more than one. If you see what you want to enter, click on it. If you do not see what you want to enter but do see a green NEW button, click on it to add your option. If there is no such button, email the team to suggest an addition. Section 3 includes lists of options only if we have provided explanations and examples.
Names. If you know the modern spelling, enter it, followed by the original in parentheses, e.g. Tréguier (Treilly). Otherwise enter the original, to be checked later.
People. We want to capture all people, involved or mentioned, but we need to enter them in different ways. Use the Sodomite/Pederast Details Tab ONLY for acknowledged and suspected sodomites and pederasts. For other people, use the Related Person Tab. You do not need to use the Persons Tab because Nodegoat automatically adds all names entered in other ways.
Quotations. If you quote, use English and quotation marks.
Save. The forms are nested, so always save before you return to another. If you do not, Nodegoat will prompt you to do so.
Spelling. Modernize archaic and erractic spellings in obvious cases, e.g. laquois = laquais, francois = François.
Streets. Use the abbreviations “ave” and “blvd” for avenue and boulevard.
Time. Use European or military style, e.g. 8:30 pm = 20:30.
Unnamed people. We need to enter all people, even if we do not known their names. Enter “unnamed” + date for such individuals, e.g. “unnamed 22-09-1781.” If you need to enter more than one such person from a single document or on a single date, add letters, e.g. “unnamed 22-09-1781a.” Never selected Unnamed from the list of options. Enter whatever information the document provides in Sodomite/Pederast Details, for acknowledged and suspected sodomites, or Related Person, for others.
Yes/No/None. Never select “none.”
+/++ buttons for sub-objects. To enter more than one residence or occupation, for example, you can use + twice or, after entering the first one, use ++ to create another box containing the details you have already entered, which you can modify.
DATA ENTRY BY STEP
To begin: Click Carton Tab and Add Carton.
Carton: Fill in fields. After reaching the Documents field, click the green NEW button to enter the Document entry form.
Document: Fill in fields. After reaching the Named Police Personnel field, select or click the green NEW button to enter the Person entry form. Fill in fields and click Save Person.
Document: In the Additional Signatories field, select or click the green NEW button to enter the Person entry form.Fill in fields. Click Save Person.
Document: Fill in fields. After reaching the Interactions field, click the green NEW button to enter the Interaction entry form.
Interaction: Fill in fields. After reaching the Information About Involved Person field, click the green NEW button to enter the Sodomite/Pederast Details entry form.
Sodomite/Pederast Details: In the Person field, click the green NEW button to enter the Person entry form. Fill in fields and click Save Person.
Sodomite/Pederast Details: Fill in fields. In the sub-objects (City or Region of Origin, Place of Residence, Occupation, Related Person, Character Details), click + and fill in fields. Save Sodomite/Pederast Details.
Interaction: Fill in fields. After reaching the Related Interaction field, click the green NEW button to enter the Related Interaction entry form
Related Interaction: Fill in fields and click Save Related Interaction.
Interaction: Fill in fields. In the sub-objects (Locations), click + and fill in fields. Click Save Interaction.
Document: In the sub-object (Patrol Location), click + and fill in fields. Click Save Document.
Carton: Click Save Carton.
DATA ENTRY BY FIELD
Carton Tab
Archive
Carton or Register Number, e.g. AB 11348, O1 1589, Y 13408
Year Start and End
Carton Format
Details, e.g. missing documents
Additional Review Required
If so, why?
Documents. Always click the green NEW button to add a new Document, even if it appears in the list of options.
Document Tab
Some dossiers include several types of documents produced by different authors. Enter them separately.
Folio Numbers
Document Type(s)
administrative correspondence involving agents, officers, inspectors, lieutenant general of police, minister of the Royal Household, and so forth
arrest [capture] of anyone taken into custody as a sodomite/pederast
case summary sheet
collaboration in the form of letter or memo from an outside expert integrated into police processes, e.g. Nicolas Theru
confrontation between suspects or victim and suspect
denunciation, written or dictated by someone who reports someone else
deposition dictated in custody, as in 1748-49 and 1783-89
formal interrogation [interrogatoire] of someone already in custody, as opposed to questioning in reports of arrest
observation, about men suspected but not arrested
pederasty patrol [patrouille de pédérastie], identified as such in documents from the 1780s
petition written on behalf of a sodomite/pederast
register of prison visit(s) by lieutenant general d’Argenson in the Clairambault series
register of the watch/guard, which arrested men throughout Paris
report of the Swiss Guard in the Champs-Elysées
search [perquisition] conducted at someone’s residence to collect incriminating evidence
submission [soumission] to orders not to frequent suspect places
trial record
Date
Day. If not stated in the document, to be entered later from the annual Almanach royal.
Named Police Personnel
Additional Signatories, e.g. individuals who signed petitions
Watch or Guard?
Additional Details e.g. about watch/guard, many changes in margins
Images/PDF. Attach a photo file of the document, most often from from Gallica or Canvas. Copy the URL for the image into the URL box. For files saved on your computer, click the File box, which will bring up a screen allowing you to look through your files. When you find the relevant one, click it once. Use the green ADD button for multiple pages.
Additional Review Required? If so, why?
Interactions. Always click the green NEW button to enter a new Interaction, even if it appears in the list of options.
Patrol Location(s) Tab. Enter all locations that agents visited, whether or not they made arrests.
Location
Time
Chronological Order of Location for this location, compared to others visited
Patrol Details. For example, if a patrol visited the Northern boulevards from Porte St Martin to Porte St Antoine, the Tuileries, and the Champs-Elysées, use the + sign to open a tab for each of the three locations. First, Northern blvds. In Chronological Order, enter 1. In Patrol Details enter from Porte St Martin to Porte St Antoine. Next, Tuileries, 2, and so forth.
Interaction Tab
Some documents, e.g. reports of pederasty patrols, include several interactions involving different individuals recorded at different times. Enter them separately. For example, if a patrol arrested one man at 20:15 and three men at 20:45, you need to enter one Interaction for 20:15 and one Interaction at 20:45.
Type(s) of Interaction
Reasons for Interaction
Information About Sodomite/Pederast(s). Enter no one but acknowledged and suspected sodomites/pederasts here. Always click the green NEW button to enter a new person in Person Details, even if the person appears in the list of options.
Decoy involved?
Related Interaction(s), e.g. previous arrest. Always click the green NEW button to enter a new Related Interaction, even if it appears in the list of options.
Additional Details, e.g. notes added at the end of a report
Additional Review Required? If so, why?
Location(s)/Time(s) (Interaction) Tab, for the site of the Interaction
Date
Location
Time
Location Details
Location(s)/Time(s) (Other) Tab, for other places mentioned
Date
Location
Time
Location Details, e.g. Grand Salon
Related Interaction Tab
Use this Tab or other interactions involving the same person(s), described in more or less detail, e.g. previous arrests.
Sodomite/Pederast(s). Enter no one but acknowledged and suspected sodomites/pederasts here. Always click the green NEW button to enter a new person in Person Details, even if the person appears in the list of options.
Reason for interaction
Details
Dates(s)/Locations(s) Tab
Date
Location
Sodomite/Pederast Details Tab
Use the Person Details Tab ONLY for acknowledged and suspected sodomites and pederasts. For other people, use the Related Person Tab. Many documents include conflicting statements about men arrested by the police. It is our job not to resolve these contradictions but to record them, by indicating who said what about whom.
Person. Always click the green NEW button to enter a new person, named or unnamed, even if the person appears in the list of options. Enter titles in the Character Details Tab.
Roles in Interaction. Use this field only for acknowledged and suspected sodomites and pederasts.
Age, e.g. 24, 23-25, young, old. Note any discrepancies. Use these symbols:
< 30 younger than 30
≤ 30 30 or younger
~ 30 around 30
≥ 30 30 or older
> 30 older than 30
Collège or Pension-house Mentioned?
Theru's Recommendation:
agreement not to frequent public promenades
banishment from Paris
deportation to overseas colonies
enlistment in army
execution
exile, usually to the native region
galleys, hard labor on prison ships
imprisonment in carceral institution
released
released and entrusted to relatives
reprimanded and released by lieutenant general, usually for notables
Marital Status
Marital/Relationship Details
False Information Given
Sexual Preferences, in general, in the past
Sexual Aversions, in general, in the past
Sexual History. Enter conflicting statements about the man and his conduct, up until the events that preceded his arrest.
Self-Labeled Identities
Police-Labeled Identities
Self Labeled Gender/Masculinity Tags
Police Labeled Gender/Masculinity Tags
Sexual Activities just before the arrest
Sexual Activity Details
Solicitation/Entrapment Details
Force/Violence, unwanted advances or actions more aggressive than French kissing or shoving hands in breeches
Force/Violence Description
Compensation Involved
Compensation Types
Compensation Details
Physical Appearance
Clothing
STIs Mentioned?
Resist Contact/Arrest?
Escaped Custody?
Released?
Outcome/Punishments
Outcome/Punishment Details, e.g. not a sodomite/pederast after all
Date of Order for Imprisonment
Date of Imprisonment
Date of Order for Release
Date of Release
Length of Punishment
Prison
Regiment
Officer of Regiment
Signed Name
Admitted Misconduct
Additional Information
Additional Review Required? If so, why?
City or Region of Origin Tab
Location
Details
Place of Residence Tab
Location
Landlord
Length of Residence
Details, e.g. at the corner of such-and-such street
Occupation Tab
Location
Current Occupation
Occupation: in French, to be translated later
Unemployed
Employer (Person)
Employer (Corporation), e.g. college, parish
Current Employer
Length of Occupation
Details: anything of interest, such as previous employers. Do not enter information about sexual activity, e.g. procurement, prostitution, here.
Title e.g. abbé, comte, sieur
AKA/Nickname in English, with French in parentheses, e.g. The Female Gardener (La Jardinière)
Self-identification with Nickname. Yes if he admits that he is called by his nickname.
Person Data Entry
Do not use this Tab on its own.
Given Name(s)
Family Name(s)
Alternate Spellings
Biographical Details
Location Data Entry
Do not use this tab on its own.
City/town/village
Street Name
Province
Country
Location Type
Details
Coordinates Tab
Location to be added later
