Image: Medieval, Reused papal bulla of Pope Boniface VIII (FindID 564384)

Description: English: A complete, but reused cast lead alloy papal bulla of Pope Boniface VIII (AD 1294 to AD 1303), dating to the period AD 1294 to AD 1303. The reverse depicts St. Paul is on the left of the seal looking right, depicted with a long pointed beard. St. Peter is on the right facing left and has a rounded face with beard and hair formed of pellets. Both faces are contained within beaded borders and separated from one another by a crozier. Across the top of the obverse, the inscription reads SPA SPE (an abbreviation of St Paul and St Peter. The pellet border around the outside of the obverse has been mostly erased by the edge being folded over it. A sub circular perforation (hole) is present slightly off centre, with an internal diameter of 4.3 mm. A ridge is present around the outside of the perforation, on both the obverse and reverse, suggesting that a drill was used to perforate the bulla. The reverse exhibits several vertical and diagonal scratches, across the faces of St Peter & St Paul, probably as part of a deliberate defacement. Four vertical scratches are present on St Peter's face, and two vertical and two diagonal across St Paul's face. The obverse bears an inscription of BONI FA[ ]VS PP:VIII, split into three lines, identifying it as a bulla of Pope Boniface VIII. Like the obverse, the pelleted border around the outside has mostly been erased by the edge being folded over. The edge of the bulla is plain and undecorated. A short horizontal slit is present at the base of the bulla, measuring 4.11 mm and a small hole is present at the top of the bulla. These holes are where the original cord, either silk or hemp, was placed to seal it to the papal decree that the bulla authenticated. The bulla has a diameter 35.68 mm and is 5.33 mm thick. It weighs 39.7 g. It is a mid grey colour, with an even surface patina. The papal bulla is a formal seal of office used by the Popes to stamp and authenticate documents produced by the papal curia. Dr Tim Pestell has commented: "Papal bulls came as two basic types, according to the contents of the document: Tituli, or "Letters of Grace", essentially granted or confirmed rights, conferred benefices or promulgated statutes. They generally had their lead bullae attached with cords of silk. Mandamenta, or "Letters of Justice" were mandates that conveyed papal orders, prohibitions or injunctions, and had their bullae attached by hemp threads". Two other examples of papal bulla with a central perforation have been recorded on the PAS database as SWYOR-F52016 and HESH-1517A7. It is possible that the bulla was reused as a spindle whorl, but if this were the case then much of the detail would probably have been lost. The other reason would be to suspend it either to wear or more likely to display. This example has been sent to Tim Pestell, of Norwich Castle Museum for his comments. Tim Pestell comments: The use of a central perforation is quite enigmatic but is a recurring feature found on at least eight other papal bullae I know of. Others have piercings at the top, apparently for them to be suspended. Quite why so many should be pierced is unclear but they may have been used as apotropaic pieces and affixed through the centre. Alternatively they may just have been convenient pieces of lead to make into spindle whorls.
Title: Medieval: Reused papal bulla of Pope Boniface VIII
Credit: https://finds.org.uk/database/ajax/download/id/429411 Catalog: https://finds.org.uk/database/images/image/id/429411 Artefact: https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/564384
Author: Birmingham Museums Trust, Teresa Gilmore, 2013-06-12 09:29:39
Permission: Attribution-ShareAlike License
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0
License: CC BY-SA 2.0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
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