1 résultat
1740ST12778-0377Rome 1740. 180 x 312 mm. 7 x 12 1/4". Single column 18 lines in an arcane "scrittura bollatica." <br/> Elaborate lettering across top line of text and at lower right corner. Lower margin with several signatures in ink; verso with brief notes in ink; remains of hemp tie for appended seal which has been cut away. With faint folds a little natural yellowing to vellum but in fine condition.<br/> <br/> Appearing almost as a dancing musical score this is Papal Bull that leaves a lot to be deciphered. The document is written in the so-called "scrittura bollatica" which the Catholic Encyclopedia calls "an archaic and very artificial type of writing . . . with manifold contractions and an absence of all punctuation which was practically undecipherable by ordinary readers." The script was used from after the Reformation until it was discontinued through papal edict by Leo XIII in 1878. Apart from the name of the issuing pope and the date the only readily identifiable part of the text here is the name of the Archbishop of Naples the addressee on the top line. We acquired this document along with several other bulls addressed to this archbishop all having to do with marriage dispensations and we suspect that the present item probably contains similar content. The esteemed polymath Pope Benedict XIV born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini 1675-1758 headed the Catholic Church from 1740 until his death. A scholar and reformer he worked to modernize church administration promote scientific study and improve relations with secular rulers. unknown