Pierre Camille Le Moine (1723–1800), an archivist at Toul Cathedral and then in Lyon was the author of the first printed French monograph entirely devoted to archives and archival management and description, the influential Diplomatique pratique (1765) which advocated the classification of documents by topics rather than in chronological order which had been the standard up until that time.
It is known that he spent a period training under a group of Maurist Benedictine monks who were influential on his future archival activities.
[3] After nearly a decade working with Roussel and Gerou, Le Moine started his own activities at the Cathedral Chapter in Tours.
The Diplomatique pratique was essentially a manual for archivists based on Le Moine’s years of experience working in local and church archives.
The book starts with several sections relating to the training of archivists and the character qualities which are necessary and even what is needed to maintain their health under unique working conditions.