Image: Lead-alloy papal bulla issued under Clement VII (FindID 869584)

Description: A virtually complete cast lead-alloy early Post-Medieval papal bulla issued under pope Clement VII, dating c. 1523-1534. It is circular in plan, with thin slot at its upper and lower edges where originally the cord attaching it to a document would have passed through the object. The obverse demonstrates the inscription +/CLE/MENS/PP V[II] within a pelleted border, while the reverse displays the facing busts of Peter and Paul within individual pelleted borders, a cross on a shield displaying uncertain arms standing between then. Preserved in fair condition with an uneven greyish patina, it measures 43.76mm in diameter, 4.50mm thick at its midpoint, and weighs 52.52g. Papal bullae are lead seals which were attached to documents issued by the Papacy. In terms of content, the bullae is simply the format in which a decree of the pope appears. Any subject could be treated in a papal bull, including (but not limited to) statutory decrees, episcopal appointments, dispensations, excommunications, apostolic constitutions, canonisations and convocations. They were also attached to indulgences, carried as protective amulets, and even buried with the dead. The use of papal bullae declined after the 14th century, and were afterwards mostly reserved for the more important decrees. This thus represents an extremely late example of this object type, with only two others recorded on the database (see records SUSS-B7ECA6 and NMS-1588D5). Clement VII was pope from 1523-34 and refused to annul Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon. He was the last pontiff whose bulls were valid in England, as the Act of Supremacy in 1534 ended papal authority over the English church.
Title: Lead-alloy papal bulla issued under Clement VII
Credit: https://finds.org.uk/database/ajax/download/id/633193 Catalog: https://finds.org.uk/database/images/image/id/633193/recordtype/artefacts archive copy Artefact: https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/869584
Author: Suffolk County Council, Alexander Bliss, 2017-10-13 11:55:55
Permission: Attribution License
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
License: CC BY 2.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
Attribution Required?: Yes