Misplaced Pages

#611388

29-657: There was also a smaller, single-sided seal, which showed the Dome of the Rock (or the Holy Sepulchre), only. Different seals were used by provincial masters of the order. According to a papal bull issued by Innocent IV in 1251, it was customary for successive provincial masters to use the same seal. The master of Provence continued to use an Agnus Dei seal, while the seal of the Aragonese master William of Cardona and his successors depicted

58-576: A Lamb of God (or paschal lamb, or agnus Dei) is a lamb passant proper, with a halo or charged with a cross gules , and the dexter forelimb reflexed over a cross staff from which a pennon of St. George (Argent a cross gules) is flotant . The seals of the Masters of the Temple in England: of Aimery de St Maur , 1200, Robert of Sandford , 1241, Richard of Hastings , 1160–85, and William de la More , 1304, showed

87-542: A heraldic device of the Farnese family, from which Pope Paul III descended. Since the late 18th century, the lead bulla has been replaced with a red ink stamp of Saints Peter and Paul with the reigning pope's name encircling the picture, though very formal letters, e.g. the bull of Pope John XXIII convoking the Second Vatican Council , still receive the leaden seal. Original papal bulls exist in quantity only after

116-530: A knight on horseback, carrying a lance and shield, on which was a cross bearing the legend: S. MINISTRI TEMPLI 1 ARAGON 7 CATALON ("Seal of the minister of the Temple in Aragon and Catalonia "). The reverse of Bertrand de Blancafort's seal, Master of the Temple 1168 in Staatsarchiv Amberg The reverse of Grand Master William of Chartres seal from 1214 also depicts the Dome of the Rock. In heraldry,

145-598: A number of ancient gemstones. Seals of Brother Otto of Brunswich , commander of Supplingenburg , shows a lion; A seal of one Knight Templar, England, 1303 is showing the Lion of England and the cross pattée and the crescent moon of the Mother Goddess with stars. Aragon; Miravet ; 1278, 1287. Depicting a lion William, Master of the Temple in Hungary and Slovenia , 1297, depicts a winged griffon Papal bull A papal bull

174-488: A short " datum " that mentioned the place of issuance, day of the month and year of the pope's pontificate on which issued, and signatures, near which was attached the seal. For the most solemn bulls, the pope signed the document himself, in which case he used the formula " Ego N. Catholicae Ecclesiae Episcopus " ("I, N., Bishop of the Catholic Church"). Following the signature in this case would be an elaborate monogram ,

203-432: A shorter beard made of dome-shaped globetti (beads in relief). Each head was surrounded by a circle of globetti , and the rim of the seal was surrounded by an additional ring of such beads, while the heads themselves were separated by a depiction of a cross. On the reverse was the name of the issuing pope in the nominative Latin form, with the letters "PP", for Pastor Pastorum ("Shepherd of Shepherds"). This disc

232-411: A tower with a pointed roof. Aragon; Monzón ; Early 14th century. Round, depicting a castle with three towers, with a griffin on each side. Legend: S. CASTELL........ONI. Aragon; Huesca ; Round, depicting a castle. Legend: S. DOM. TEMPLI DE OSCA Aragon; Barbará ; Early 14th century. Yellow wax, round, 29 mm. in diameter, depicting a castle between two fishes. Legend: S. COMMAND.....BARBERA Here

261-483: A whip and shield. The Gnostics identified Abraxas with Yahweh (under the Greek form "IAO"). Amulets and seals bearing the figure of Abraxas were popular in the 2nd century, and these stones survived in the treasuries of the middle ages. Abraxas appears on the seal of a Templar Grand Master in a French charter dated 1214. The Templars' use of Abraxas as a seal was most likely a result of their expansive treasuries containing

290-493: Is a Templar cross found in the oldest tower of Château de Guilleragues in the Aquitaine region of France. The word Abraxas (or Abrasax or Abracax) was engraved on certain antique stones, called Abraxas stones, which were used as amulets or charms by Gnostic sects. The image most associated with Abraxas is that of a composite creature with the head of a rooster, the body of a man, and legs made of serpents or scorpions; carrying

319-484: Is a type of public decree, letters patent , or charter issued by a pope of the Catholic Church . It is named after the leaden seal ( bulla ) traditionally appended to authenticate it. Papal bulls have been in use at least since the 6th century, but the phrase was not used until around the end of the 13th century, and then only internally for unofficial administrative purposes. However, it had become official by

SECTION 10

#1732901765612

348-462: The obverse it depicted, originally somewhat crudely, the early Fathers of the Church of Rome , the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul , identified by the letters S anctus PA ulus and S anctus PE trus (thus, SPA •SPE or SPASPE ). St. Paul, on the left, was shown with flowing hair and a long pointed beard composed of curved lines, while St. Peter, on the right, was shown with curly hair and

377-558: The 11th century onward, when the transition from fragile papyrus to the more durable parchment was made. None survives in entirety from before 819. Some original lead bullae , however, still survive from as early as the 6th century. In terms of content, the bull is simply the format in which a decree of the pope appears. Any subject may be treated in a bull, and many were and are, including statutory decrees, episcopal appointments, dispensations , excommunications , apostolic constitutions , canonizations , and convocations . The bull

406-524: The 15th century, when one of the offices of the Apostolic Chancery was named the "register of bulls" (" registrum bullarum "). By the accession of Pope Leo IX in 1048, a clear distinction developed between two classes of bulls of greater and less solemnity. The majority of the "great bulls" now in existence are in the nature of confirmations of property or charters of protection accorded to monasteries and religious institutions. In an era when there

435-541: The 4th century Roman Emperor Constantine . From the time of Constantine, XP was a significant symbol of Christianity, surpassed only by the cross itself . Early military associations make Chi Rho an apt symbol for the Templars. On de Vichiers' seal, Chi Rho is visible on the shields of the knights. The Double-Headed Eagle is more commonly associated with Coat of Arms of the Byzantine Empire. Bertram von Esbeck , Master of

464-482: The Florentine engraver Benvenuto Cellini was paid 50 scudi to recreate the metal matrix which would be used to impress the lead bullae of Pope Paul III . Cellini retained definitive iconographic items like the faces of the two apostles, but he carved them with a much greater attention to detail and artistic sensibility than had previously been in evidence. On the reverse of the seal he added several fleurs-de-lis ,

493-532: The Temple in Germany, 1296 depicts an eagle with two six-pointed stars . Aragon; Tortosa ; Late 13th century. Depicting a cross. Legend: SIGILLUM MILICIE TEMPLI IN DERTOSA Aragon; Alfambra ; 1248. Brown wax, round, 30 mm. in diameter, depicting a cross. Legend:......LUM CASTRI.... A cross having arms narrow at the inner center, and very broad at the other end. A seal from Provence: the Templars from Roaix , Sérignan ... This knight, Giraud de Chamaret , hoists

522-599: The agnus Dei. SIGILLVM TEMPLI The obverse of a seal used by William de la More , master, 1304, resembles the above text . The reverse, a small oval counter-seal, with beaded borders, shows on the right a couped bust of a bearded man wearing a cap. and have the legend:— TESTIS SUM AGNI ("I am a witness to the Lamb") William de la More, styled frater Willelmus de la More miliciae . The seal is called commune sigillum capituli . The seal symbolic of their vow of poverty, showing two knights riding on one horse appears only to have been used by

551-618: The bull is the only written communication in which the pope will refer to himself as " Episcopus Servus Servorum Dei " ("Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God"). While papal bulls always used to bear a metal seal, they now do so only on the most solemn occasions. A papal bull is today the most formal type of public decree or letters patent issued by the Vatican Chancery in the name of the pope. A bull's format formerly began with one line in tall, elongated letters containing three elements:

580-410: The eleventh century, after which it was rapidly superseded by a rough kind of parchment . Modern scholars have retroactively used the word "bull" to describe any elaborate papal document issued in the form of a decree or privilege , solemn or simple, and to some less elaborate ones issued in the form of a letter. Popularly, the name is used for any papal document that contains a metal seal. Today,

609-410: The heads of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul on one side and the pope's name on the other. Papal bulls were originally issued by the pope for many kinds of communication of a public nature, but by the 13th century, papal bulls were only used for the most formal or solemn of occasions. Papyrus seems to have been used almost uniformly as the material for these documents until the early years of

SECTION 20

#1732901765612

638-768: The order in France; there is no example of its use in England. Some of the seals of the English Templars were a semi-typical Pascal lamb bearing sometimes, not the flag of St George (or the cross), but the Beauseant , the battle banner of the order. Other seals: Durham Cathedral Muniments, Medieval Seal G&B reference number: 3388 Knights of the Temple 1304 Description: Round. The Holy Lamb with banner. The Templar Seal showing two knights (perhaps Hugues de Payens and Godfrey de Saint-Omer ) on one horse. There are many interpretations of

667-439: The pope's name, the papal title " Episcopus Servus Servorum Dei " ("Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God "), and its incipit , i.e., the first few Latin words from which the bull took its title for record-keeping purposes, but which might not be directly indicative of the bull's purpose. The body of the text was often very simple in layout, and it had no specific conventions for its formatting. The closing section consisted of

696-571: The signatures of any witnesses, and then the seal. In modern times, a member of the Roman Curia signs the document on behalf of the pope, usually the Cardinal Secretary of State , and thus the monogram is omitted. The most distinctive characteristic of a bull was the metal seal ( bulla ), which was usually made of lead , but on very solemn occasions was made of gold , as those on Byzantine imperial instruments often were (see Golden Bull ). On

725-650: The symbolism of this seal. The image of two knights on the horse was widely used: The seals of the Grand Masters have textual differences: While Vichiers' motto is written in Latin, the word 'Christ' begins with Greek letters ( Chi Rho ) (Latin symbol, XP ) rather than the Latin CHR. The XP symbol arose early in Christianity and entered popular usage after the legendary pre-battle vision of Chi Rho and Christian conversion of

754-630: The templar cross and the "fleur-de-lis". 1234. The seal of Brother Roustan de Comps , commander of the Order of the Temple at Richerenches , 1232, shows a single knight on horseback, bearing a shield with a cross: probably St. George . Seals of Brother Widekind, Master of the Temple in Germany, 1271, and Brother Frederick Wildergrave , 1289, showed Christ's head (or John the Baptist 's head by other opinions) The seal of Templar officials in Yorkshire c.1300 shows

783-399: Was much fabrication of such documents, those who procured bulls from Rome wished to ensure that the authenticity of their bull was above suspicion. A papal confirmation, under certain conditions, could be pleaded as itself constituting sufficient evidence of title in cases where the original deed had been lost or destroyed. Since the 12th century, papal bulls have carried a leaden seal with

812-613: Was the exclusive letter format from the Vatican until the 14th century, when the papal brief appeared. The brief is the less formal form of papal communication and was authenticated with a wax impression, now a red ink impression, of the Ring of the Fisherman . Roaix Roaix ( French pronunciation: [ʁɔɛks] ; Occitan : Roais ) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in

841-456: Was then attached to the document either by cords of hemp , in the case of letters of justice and executory letters, or by red and yellow silk , in the case of letters of grace, that was looped through slits in the vellum of the document. The term " bulla " derives from the Latin " bullire " ("to boil"), and alludes to the fact that, whether of wax, lead, or gold, the material making the seal had to be melted to soften it for impression. In 1535,

#611388