[PROTONOTARII APOSTOLICII]

Bullae et Statuta Officii Septem Sedis Apostolicae Protonotariorum In Curia Romana Participantium

      [n.p. Rome: [n.p., c. 1523 - c. 1839]. Folio manuscript on vellum (11 1/4 x 8 1/4 inches; 285 x 210 mm). [8], 69, [88 ruled blanks] pp. Written in five distinct book hands.#11;#11;Contents: [first hand] leaves 1-4, Bull of Calixtus III (1457); leaves 4-8, Bull of Pius II (1458); leaves 8-11, Bull of Alexander V [1492-1503] (written on the feast of John of Ragusa, June 10); leaves 11-15, Bull of Julius II (1506); leaves 15-19, Bull of Julius II (1506); leaves 20-21, Bull or mandamus of Adrian VI [1522-23]; leaves 21-43, Statutes of the offices; [second hand] leaves 43-56, Bull of Urban VIII, 1629; [third hand] leaves 57-59, Bull of Alexander VII, 1657 leaves 60-63, "On the division of the proceeds of the college [of notaries]", 1661; [fourth hand] leaf 64 - brief notice, 1667; and [fifth hand] leaves 65-68, Bull of Gregory XVI, 1839. The final important document in the book (pp. 66-68), from Gregory XVI, reinstates to seven the number of protonotaries after they were increased to twelve by Sixtus V at the end of the sixteenth century. The additional forty-four blank ruled vellum leaves (a rather remarkable and rare collection of blank vellum leaves in itself) inlcude one leaf entitled memoria summarum.#11;#11;Contemporary full red velvet with the original Renaissance bosses and fittings of gold-plated brass depicting a Protonotary and scenes from the Passion of Christ. Flyleaves, inner spine, and portions of velvet possibly refreshed in the eighteenth century. Some very slight wear to bands. Overall an excellent copy.#11;#11;The treatment of the Passion of Christ, from Giotto's frescoes to D!rer's series was a rite of passage for many great artists and it was a subject undertaken with great reverence and a special sense of purpose. Its beautiful handling here in a series of gilded brass metal fittings underscores the importance accorded the manuscript. The cycle represented consists of four corner bosses on the front board (Agony in the Garden with the apostles asleep, Jesus Before Pilate washing his hands of the blood of the innocent, the Flagellation, and Crowning with Thorns); and four on the rear (Ecce Homo, Crucifixion of Christ between two thieves, Descent from the Cross, and finally, the Lamentation).#11;#11;There are additionally two central bosses, the front boss with the motto VII VIRORUM PROTONOTAR BULLAE AC STATUTA. The rear boss, an example of exquisite Renaissance craftsmanship, is worthy or special note and certainly further scholarly investigation. It depicts the figure of a Protonotary carrying the tools of his trade, namely his quill and book, and fixed with an ethereal gaze in clear acknowledgment of the divine purpose of his work. It should be noted that the manuscript was written in a period concurrent with Benvenuto Cellini's employment in the royal mint Given the superlative Vatican provenance of the manuscript, the Ganymede-like face of the Protonotary, the superb artistic execution of the central boss, and even possibly the rather bold undertaking of the Passion series itself, it is fair, at the very least, to attribute it to Cellini's circle and immediate milieu, if not the artist himself.#11;#11;As stunning as this Renaissance manuscript is for its singularly exquisite binding, it is also remarkable for its important content:#11;#11;The protonotaries apostolic (protonotarii apostolicii) are prelates in the Roman Curia who perform duties with regard to papal documents. In the Middle Ages the protonotaries were very high papal officials, often raised directly to the cardinalate. As such, this unique and unrecorded statute book is of great importance to the study of the Vatican scribes, the composition of the Papal Bullae, and most importantly, the administration of ecclesiastical authority in the Renaissance.#11;#11;The manuscript comprises bullae and statutes of various dates relating to the office of the the Protonotary as detailed above. It is essentially equivalent to a private register made for the Office itself, and composed largely in a elegant humanist hand on the finest roman vellum. Given the continued light ruling throughout, it is evident that the manuscript was initially prepared as a blank vellum volume, to be updated as new bullae were issued or statutes were changed. The great expense of its production, when from the fourteenth century onwards volumes of the Papal Regesta were generally made of paper, is indicative of the important purpose for which it was created.#11;#11;We can make a historical parallel of this manuscript with the coveted printed Constitutiones of the Society of Jesus (Rome, 1559). That small book, considered to be one of the core documents of the Counter Reformation, provided the general pattern of rule and government of the Jesuits and projected their administration and influence to the far-flung reaches of the globe during the great age of exploration. Here by contrast, we have a revered manuscript, crafted for internal use, that helps establish the pattern of rule and government not in Paraguay or Japan, but at the very seat of Renaissance Papal power.