herkomstbeginsel

If any principle should govern archival theory, it is not the fonds, but rather the visualisation through description of functional structures, both internal and external: archival narratives about those multiple relationships of creation and use so that researchers may truly understand records from the past. If that is called the principle of (virtual) provenance, I shall not object, for it is the best continuation of the archival tradition of respecting the context of records.

(2) De archivaris dient het archiefmateriaal te selecteren en te bewaren in zijn historische, wettelijke en administratieve context en, onder handhaving van het herkomstbeginsel, de oorspronkelijke verhouding tussen de documenten te bewaren en zichtbaar te maken.

Archivists deploy provenance to defend the borders of context, to specify for all time the time when and place where the creation of meaning began and ended.