Recent research in Canada has highlighted both the theoretical importance of diplomatic in the development of archival science, and the practical applications of a special diplomatic for electronic records. Luciana Duranti has described how the research has been stimulated by the fresh consideration of the origins of French, German and Italian diplomatic scholarship, its principles and purposes. This article looks at the origins of English diplomatic studies, focusing on Thomas Madox's Formulare Anglicanum. It considers the practical value of his work to archivists and users of historic legal documents today, and Madox's own understanding of the techniques and purposes of diplomatic analysis.