Papal bull
A
Papal bull is a special kind of
patent or charter issued by a
pope and named for the seal (
bulla) that was appended to the end to authenticate it. Papal bulls were originally issued by the pope for many kinds of communication of a public nature, but after the 15th century, only for the more formal or solemn of occasions. Modern scholars have retroactively used the term "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.
Papal bulls have been in use since at least the
6th century, but the term was not first used until around the middle of the
13th century and then only for internal un-official papal record keeping purposes; by the
15th century the term had become official when one of the offices of the Papal
chancery was named the "register of bulls" (
registrum bullarum).
The bull's format began with one line in tall elongated letters containing three elements: the pope's name, the pope's title (
episcopus servus servorum Dei), and a phrase indicative of the bull's purpose for record keeping purposes (the
incipit), from which the bull would also take its name. The body of the text had no special formatting and was often very simple in layout. The closing section consisted of a short
datum, mentioning the place it was issued, the day of the month and the year of the pope's pontification, signatures, and finally the seal.
The Pope, for the most solemn bulls, would sign 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, the signature of any witnesses, and then the seal. Nowadays, 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. This seal was usually made of
lead, but on very solemn occasions was made of
gold. It depicted the founders of the
church of
Rome, the
apostles
Peter and
Paul, identified by the letters
Sanctus
PAulus and
Sanctus
PEtrus. The name of the issuing
pope is on the reverse side. This was then attached to the document by either cords of
hemp (in the case of letters of justice, and executory) or red and yellow
silk (in the case of letters of grace) that was looped through slits in the document. The term
bulla actually is the name of this seal, which to ancient observers looked like a bubble floating on water.
Bullire in
Latin means "to boil". Since the late
18th century, the lead bulla has been replaced with a red ink stamp of Sts. Peter and Paul with the reigning pope's name encircling the picture, though very formal letters, e.g. the bull of
John XXIII convoking the
Second Vatican Council, still receive the lead seal.
Original papal bulls exist in quantity only after 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 leaden seals, 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 was the exclusive letter format from the Vatican until the
14th century, when the
Papal brief began to appear. The Papal brief is the less formal form of papal communication and is authenticated with a
wax impression (now a red ink impression) of the
Ring of the Fisherman. There has never been an exact distinction of usage between a bull and a brief, but nowadays most letters, including
Papal encyclicals, are issued as briefs.
Today, the bull is the only written communication in which the pope will address himself as
episcopus servus servorum Dei, meaning "Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God." For instance,
Benedict XVI, when he issues a decree in bull form, will begin the document with
Benedictus, Episcopus, Servus Servorum Dei. While it used to always bear a metal
seal, it now does so only on the most solemn occasions. It is today the most formal type of
patent issued by the
Vatican Chancery in the name of the
pope.
*
Omne Datum Optimum,
1139 (recognizing the
Knights Templar)
*
Milites Templi,
1144—
Celestine II (granting privileges to the Templars)
*
Militia Dei,
1145—
Eugene III (granting more privileges to the Templars)
*
Quantum praedecessores,
1145—
Eugene III (calling for the
Second Crusade)
*
Laudabiliter,
1155—
Pope Adrian IV (exercising papal jurisdiction over
Ireland, used by
Henry II of England to invade Ireland)
*
Audita tremendi,
1187—
Gregory VIII (calling for the
Third Crusade)
*
Ad exstirpanda,
May 15,
1252—
Innocent IV (authorizing
torture of
heretics, see
medieval inquisition)
*
Clericis Laicos,
1296—
Boniface VIII (prohibiting seizure of
clerical revenues by the state)
*
Unam Sanctam,
1302—
Boniface VIII (supremacy of the
Church over the state)
*
Fasciens misericordiam,
1308—
Clement V*
Regnans in coelis,
1308—
Clement V*
Cum inter nonnullos,
1323—
Pope John XXII (rejecting the
Franciscan doctrine of the
poverty of Christ)
*
Dum diversas,
1452—
Pope Nicholas V (authorizing
Alfonso V of Portugal to enslave
infidels in
West Africa)
*
Romanus Pontifex 1455—
Pope Nicholas V (follow up to
Dum diversas, authorizing conquest and
enslavement of all people south of
Cape Bojador)
*
Aeterni regis,
1481—
Sixtus IV (confirming the substance of the
Treaty of Alcáçovas)
*
Summis desiderantes,
1484—
Innocent VIII (suppressing
witchcraft along the
Rhein river).
*
Inter caetera,
1493—
Alexander VI (realigning the
New World division between
Spain and
Portugal)
*
Exsurge Domine,
1520—
Leo X (warning
Martin Luther)
*
Decet Romanum Pontificem,
1521—
Leo X (
excommunicating Martin Luther)
*
Sublimis Deus,
June 2,
1537—
Pope Paul III (all but revoked the following year, on orders of
Charles V)
*
Regimini militantis,
September 27,
1540—
Paul III (establishing the
Jesuits)
*
Injunctum nobis,
March 14,
1543—
Paul III*
In Coena Domini,
1568—
Pius V*
Regnans in Excelsis,
1570—Pius V (
anathemising Elizabeth I)
*
Inter gravissimas,
1582—
Gregory XIII (
calendar reform)
*
Immensa Aeterni Dei,
1588—
Pope Sixtus V*
Gratia Divina,
1656*
Unigenitus,
1713—
Clement XI (condemning
Jansenism)
*
Sollicitudo omnium ecclesiarum,
1814—
Pope Pius VII (re-establishing the Jesuits after the suppression)
*
Quanta cura,
1864—
Pope Pius IX (introducing the
Syllabus errorum)
*
Pastor aeternus,
1871—
Pope Pius IX from the
First Vatican Council (
papal infallibility)
*
Quam singulari,
1910—
Pope Pius X (on admitting
first Communion to children)
*
Munificentissimus Deus,
1950—
Pope Pius XII (defining the
dogma of the
Assumption of Mary)
*
Dei Verbum,
1965—
Pope Paul VI from the
Second Vatican Council*
Abbreviator*
Bulla (seal)*
Golden Bull*
Holy Roman Empire*
Bulls and Briefs*
Papal Encyclicals at Vatican*
Papal Encyclicals Online*Chambers, Ephraim. "
Bull."
Cyclopaedia. 1728.
