Image: Medieval papal bulla (Urban VI) (FindID 601001)

Description: A medieval lead papal bulla of Pope Urban VI (AD 1378-1389). The object is sub-circular, with small truncations at the top and bottom at the points at which the cord would have travelled through an internal recess. One face bears the inscription '. URB/ANUS ./. PP . VI (omega above the 'P's; rounded 'U's) ' in three lines, within a pelleted border. There are bird's heads 'erased' stops around the Pope's name around the 'PP'. A pair of further eagles are depicted 'displayed' below the inscription. The 'PP' stands for 'Pastor Pastorum', translated as 'shepherd of the shepherds'. The other face bears the conventional stamped busts of Saints Peter and Paul both within drop-shaped pelleted borders, possibly haloes. On the left, St Paul's beard is portrayed as being long, straight and pointed, whilst his hair is straight and swept back. On the right, Peter looks left with his more rounded hair and beard both formed of pellets. Between the two is a crozier. Above is the inscription: 'SPA SPE' (abbreviations for St Paul and St Peter). The bulla has been twisted slightly and appears to have received two recent strikes, but otherwise survives well. A parallel can be found illustrated in Egan (2001, 88, 90; ref. 7). Egan (ibid., 88) quotes other examples and notes that the birds refer to the arms of the family of Bartolomeo Prignano, to which this Pope belonged.
Title: Medieval papal bulla (Urban VI)
Credit: https://finds.org.uk/database/ajax/download/id/456304 Catalog: https://finds.org.uk/database/images/image/id/456304/recordtype/artefacts archive copy Artefact: https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/601001
Author: Somerset County Council, Robert Webley, 2014-02-12 11:27:57
Permission: Attribution-ShareAlike License version 4.0 (verified 19 November 2020)
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Attribution Required?: Yes